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Operation Walk Ireland 2018

Tekno Surgical were proud to be involved and support the Team of Operation Walk Ireland 2018. They returned from their second mission in Hanoi in Vietnam last week having achieved 56 Joint replacements on 48 patients in just under 5 days.

Operational Walk Ireland is an Irish-based charity whose mission is to perform hip and knee replacements for patients who would otherwise not have access to this life-changing surgery. This incredible initiative provides hip and knee replacements for people with advanced arthritis in developing countries such as Vietnam.

Although Vietnam’s percentage of population classified as "in poverty" has fallen from 58% to 13% in the last 20 years, the life expectancy is rising rapidly. This creates a population with a rapidly increasing demand for joint replacement and it is estimated that as development proceeds, Vietnam will reach an annual demand for hip & knee replacements of 260,000 annually.

Operation Walk was first set up in 1996 by Dr. Larry Dorr, Los Angeles, and has expanded to form 15 separate chapters in North America. The next stage of the development was forming an international group and with this, Operation Walk Ireland was set up in 2017.

The Irish Team partnered with Operation Walk Chicago, under the direction of Dr. David Stulberg last year to perform Operation Walk's first International joint mission in Hanoi, Vietnam. This mission performed 86 hip & knee replacements in 5 days and engaged in a surgical educational program with the Vietnamese Orthopaedic surgeons.

This year, leveraging strong connections with colleagues in the United States to grow the organisation, Mr. Derek Bennett and Mr David Cogley led a strong team which consisted of 9 Surgeons, 8 Anaesthetists, Nurses for Floor, Theatre and Recovery, CSSD, Ancillary Support Staff and Tekno Surgical’s Medical Engineer; Gerry Long was also delighted to be a part of this initiative and assist with the co-ordination and maintenance of Surgical Power Tools and equipment. 

With 48 patients on the list, the team completed 56 joint replacements which included 16 Bilateral Hips and approximately 25 Replacement Knees. Following the success of this mission, Gerry Long and all in Tekno Surgical would like to express their gratitude to all involved; the Team of Operation Walk 2018, the Military Hospital 108 who facilitated their work and to the wonderful and accommodating Vietnamese people. We wish them prosperity and success in the construction of their new hospital which is due to be commissioned this coming September. 

To find out more about the Operation Walk Ireland Initiative or to donate to this wonderful cause, visit http://operationwalk.ie.