Project Sekong 2012: Hats off to the Dutch! Surgeons from the Netherlands perform reconstructive surgeries.

February 3, 2012
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As a child, Gadam's face was destroyed by noma (oral facial gangrene). For over twenty years he never ventured out in public without his face shrouded by a scarf. Thanks to multiple surgeries over several years his appearance is so improved that he no longer feels the need to hide his face. Hat's off to the Dutch NGO, "Bridge the Gap" for their work in Laos!

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Hats off to the Dutch!

I arrived in Vientiane a day too late to meet the surgeons from the Netherlands who were in Laos under the auspices of the Dutch non-government organization Bridge the Gap.  They had completed their annual surgical mission to Laos the day before and had already departed from Mahosot Hospital.  These fine, altruistic men and women had worked tirelessly for two weeks doing reconstructive facial surgery on a variety of patients.

I offer a tip of my hat to the surgeons for the labor and resources that they commit to assisting some of the most desperate medical cases in Laos — people afflicted with oral facial gangrene, cleft lip, cleft palate, gunshot wounds, and on two occasions that I know of, victims of bear attack.

Prior to the team’s arrival each year word travels throughout the countryside and doctors, nurses, village naibans, aid workers and others inform needy villagers about the coming opportunity.  Those who have the resources and the requisite level of courage to make their way to Vientiane have an excellent prospect of receiving world-class surgery free of charge.

The Vientiane Woman’s International Group, or WIG, partners with Bridge the Gap and reimburses patients for their travel costs.  They also provide patient support throughout the villager’s hospital stay.

Although the Dutch doctors had left before my arrival, many of the 42 patients they treated were still in recovery in two open hospital wards. The morning I stopped by, several WIG members were in the wards passing out hardboiled eggs and cartons of soy milk to each patient, along with a small cash stipend that the recipient could use to purchase washing powder, hand soap or other necessities.

I interviewed patients who had journeyed from all parts of Laos. Some had received relatively matter-of-fact surgery to correct a cleft disorder; others were in the process of major, multiple surgeries to reconstruct facial features destroyed by illness or injury.

I asked after my friend Gadam, a Noma survivor (oral facial gangrene) that I delivered to the Dutch three years ago.  Happily, the hospital staff remembered him and told me that last year, after his third round of surgery, the surgeons dismissed him from care because he had achieved all reasonable goals toward his rehabilitation.

So… those of us who have Dutch friends, or in any way network with people in the Netherlands, should make a point of citing the efforts of Bridge the Gap.  Perhaps our appreciative words will reach donors, or the surgeons themselves, and let them know that the world has learned how their efforts are dramatically improving lives in Laos.

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