A Lasting Impact
Along with providing thousands of surgeries to the people of Benin during the 2009 Field Service, Mercy Ships is also offering medical training to health care workers and surgeons to build the capacity of Benin’s medical sector for years to come.
Dr Steve Arrowsmith is training surgeons in vesico-vaginal fistula (VVF) repair, while general surgeons Dr. Jose Uroz Tristan and Dr. Bruce Steffes are training surgeons from Benin and other parts of West Africa to increase the capacity for surgical care.
Dr. Glenn Strauss, Chief of Ophthalmology, will also train three residents from abroad through a $50,000 Alcon Foundation grant, and Beninese ophthalmologists are also receiving training in Dr. Strauss’s sutureless cataract surgery – a method developed specifically for Africa.
Mercy Ships eye surgeons have found that techniques commonly used in the developed world are not suitable for many of the cataracts in West Africa. Manual techniques are much more appropriate for surgeons in developing nations and are much more successful for the severe cataracts in Africa.
“The Beninese surgeons are about 15 or 20 years behind what is happening in the rest of the world,” Strauss said. “I was able to introduce to them a procedure that is appropriate for the technology that they have, that is within the scope of what they can accomplish here. They were thrilled! In fact, one of the surgeons commented to me, ‘This is going to change eye surgery in Benin for years to come.’”
Dr. Wendy Hofman is working onboard the Africa Mercy under the Alcon Eye Fellowship with Dr. Strauss. Dr. Hofman and her husband will stay for three months and then go to Gabon to work for two years with the medical arm of Samaritan’s Purse.
She describes her training as a “great opportunity” and has completed 65 cataract procedures in just the first three weeks. Eventually, she will be able to achieve an average of 100 cataract removals per week – the project’s goal for a single surgeon.
“This cataract surgery technique allows me to operate in a more efficient manner, using less equipment, and gives the patients a very good outcome for very difficult cataracts,” Dr. Hofman said.
“I love the fact that Mercy Ships is able to not just do surgery, but to bring training to those who will continue to do surgery after we leave,” said Dr. Strauss. “To me, what this will accomplish for Benin is a lasting impact, a permanent legacy of our presence here, sharing with them what we know.”