We are happy to report that our most recent medical mission to El Salvador March 27-April 1 was very successful. We met our goal, completing 54 joint replacements, but the trip was successful in many other ways. We tackled numerous complex and challenging surgical cases on this trip, restoring mobility to many patients with no other options and positively impacting not only their lives, but also the lives of their families.
One patient with such severe bone loss and deformity of his knee had not walked for three years and had been turned away by numerous hospitals there. We were able to successfully replace his knee and he was up walking with physical therapy later that day! Another successful story this year was our anesthesia team performing peripheral nerve blocks to relieve post op pain in our patients undergoing knee replacement. For the first time ever we were able to provide this to our patients there just like we do in the United States. It made a remarkable difference, and we hope to continue this in the future.
Also extremely gratifying was seeing how our entire team pulled together and worked to take care of all these patients in a short time period. Surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, surgical techs, physical therapists, and our equipment specialists all worked hard and showed what dedicated professionals they are. We are extremely grateful to everyone who came and helped us this year.
It’s also important to recognize the group of young student volunteers who joined us. This years group was one of the best we’ve had! They all joined in and did a fantastic job with all kinds of tasks, reprocessing surgical instruments, running supplies, and helping nurses and physical therapist on the ward. They were instrumental to our efforts this year and we could not be more proud of them!
We are already planning for our next trip in spring of 2027. To everyone who donates their time and money to our cause, we thank you for your support.
