Brazil: Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery
Programme Coordinator: Dr Philippe Valenti and On-site Coordinator: Dr Rui Ferreira
Active in Brazil since 2005, La Chaîne de l’Espoir regularly undertakes missions in Recife at Instituto SOS MAO Crianças and Instituto Materno Infantil to operate on destitute children from the northeast of the country stricken with upper extremity deformities. Since 2013 we have collaborated with the National Traumatology and Orthopaedics Institute of Rio to train new surgeons.
ACTIVITY :
- Surgical Missions in Recife
Multiple missions under the direction of Dr Philippe Valenti take place each year, always in the same fashion; examinations are conducted at the Children’s House, which also manages post-operative check-ups and care; surgeries are carried out at Instituto SOS Mao Crianças; both junior and senior surgeons are trained in complex surgical techniques and anaesthetists are trained in local anaesthesia, aided by computers. The objective of these missions is to operate on children suffering from severe pathologies such as sequelae of brachial plexus injuries which are very common in Brazil but rarely treated due to insufficient surgical skills. Around 20 children are operated on each mission.
- The National Traumatology and Orthopaedics Institute of Rio
The collaboration between La Chaîne de l’Espoir and the National Traumatology and Orthopaedics Institute of Rio began in 2012 with a series of conferences on deformities including video broadcasts of operations for around 60 Brazilian surgeons.
The objective is to train surgeons in Rio and Manaus in treatment of complex deformities and sequelae of brachial plexus injuries through video broadcasts of conferences and operations and to pursue a long-term collaboration, averaging of 2 missions per year. The children will be operated on free of charge.
