KRB Update #2143 September 8, 2009
Plastic Surgery Screening – the below report was written by our Communications Department – I volunteered for the day to help with patient care and flow and now I am seeing those patients on board in our Hospital – plus many were at our optional Sunday morning service in the ward.
South African Surgeon Screens for Burns and Keloids
Dr. Tertius Venter, a plastic surgeon from South Africa, has volunteered with Mercy Ships since 2000. He will spend five weeks onboard the Africa Mercy serving the forgotten poor of Benin. Dr. Venter has already screened over 100 patients at the Mercy Ships Hospitality Center in Cotonou, and 94 were given appointments for an operation.
“There are many good candidates for surgery,” Dr. Venter said. “The challenge is making it work in the time frame.”
Many of the patients Dr. Venter sees are people who have been severely burned and have lost range of motion in their arms, hands, and legs. He will also remove keloid scars, which are hugely disfiguring and often painful, and reconstruct noses and other severely damaged areas of the body. In addition, he screens patients suffering from elephantiasis, a severe thickening of the legs and ankles.
Keith Brinkman, a 20-year volunteer with Mercy Ships, has seen the transformative effect of Dr. Venter’s surgeries. Keith remembers a patient whose hands were gnarled and non-functional from leprosy. Dr. Venter was able to restore enough motion to the man’s hand so that he could grasp a paintbrush. The man was able to become a painter, earn an income, and improve his life.
Dr. Tertius Venter will work onboard the Africa Mercy in Benin, healing patients and reconstructing areas destroyed by burns or disease.
Dr. Tertius Venter, a plastic surgeon from South Africa, hopes to heal Ganiyou from the effects of a severe electrical burn.