Operation Walk completes 4th medical outreach

The delay in clearing medical equipment at the Kotoka International Airport for surgery on patients with various fracture problems has led to a reduction in the number of people who benefitted from the surgery, which was undertaken by Operation Walk, a medical team from the United States of America (USA).

The team arrived from the USA early last week and expected to have its equipment cleared by Friday last week to enable it to carry out surgeries from last Saturday through to yesterday. But it was held up for three days and that has affected the number of people it could operate upon.

The medical team is part of Operation Walk, which undertakes annual trips to Ghana to perform surgeries on people needing the specialised surgery.

This year’s event, just like previous ones, was organised in collaboration with the Child Malnutrition Foundation and the St Joseph’s Hospital and sponsored by Vitamilk.

The Chairman of the Child Malnutrition Foundation, Prof. Agyeman Badu Akosa, made this known at a meeting with the visiting medical team and other stakeholders at the St Joseph’s Hospital in Koforidua for the fourth edition of Operation Walk 2019.

Delay

He said it was unlikely that all who applied would receive attention, as the medical team was scheduled to fly back to the USA in the evening of today.

“I’m not sure of the exact number, but some 52 people are likely to be denied the chance to undergo surgery, since the team is leaving today.

“The team arrived in Koforidua last Friday evening and carried out patient assessment until Saturday and surgeries were begun on Sunday through to Wednesday and were rounded up yesterday,” he said.

Prof. Akosa said the team was unable to start on schedule because of delay in clearing equipment from the airport.

“The team’s equipment was not cleared until Monday and so two working days were lost out of the working schedule just because someone failed to do his or her job right,” he said.

He said because of the delay, the team was able to conduct only six surgeries.

Operation Walk is a voluntary medical outreach programme undertaken by a group of medical doctors from the USA who conduct surgeries on people to correct fractures in their waists, hips, legs and joints so that they can be fit again to go about their normal duties.

The team comprises doctors, cardiologists, physiotherapists, theatre nurses and machinists.

Increasing numbers

The first Operation Walk programme was held in 2016, during which 46 people were successfully operated on. The second edition was in 2017 and 62 people were attended to. In 2018, 100 people underwent surgery under the programme.

About 400 people applied to undergo surgery under the programme this year, but as of the time of filing this report, the actual number of people who had benefitted was yet to be determined.

Prof. Akosa identified road traffic accidents as the main cause of bone fracture and urged road users to abide by road traffic rules and regulations to help reduce road accidents.

He also encouraged persons with sickle cell anaemia (SS) to be more careful, as they were prone to having hip problems which could result in their legs becoming deformed.

Commitment

The Director of Operation Walk, Kimberly Murray, said her team was committed to working to support majority of people who had such peculiar problems in the country.

‘’We keep coming to support the people because we are moved by the results after we have conducted the operations,’’ she said.

The Medical Superintendent at the St Joseph’s Hospital, Dr David Kupualor, said close to 400 patients had applied to undergo surgery for the 2019 edition of Operation Walk, adding that it was an indication that the demand from people requiring surgery was increasing.