Annual Report Dokters van de Wereld (Médecins du Monde ...

7b. Operation Smile - Dokters van de Wereld and networkSince 1989, delegations of Dokters van de Wereld of Japan, France, Germany, Great-Britainand the Netherlands organise ‘Operation Smile’ in Asia and Africa. These are short-termmissions where children and young adults with cleft lip (harelip) or burn contractures, receivefree reconstructive surgery. These conditions result in physical and social problems, but manypeople in developing countries cannot afford specialized care. Besides conducting operations,strengthening the capacities of local medical personnel is an important objective.In 2011 Dokters van de Wereld has made grade strides. An independent mission wasconducted in Bangladesh, with medical staff of the Academic Medical Center (AMC) and VUMedical Center (VUmc). A special experience in which we were able to treat 126 children andyoung adults. Following contacts in the Netherlands with the Lion Heart Foundation, we alsostarted with the preparation for missions in Sierra Leone. In cooperation with local partnersand a local Dutch tropical doctor, we examined five hospitals, two of which are selected for themissions in 2012.Activities 2011: Establishing partnerships with Dutch hospitals to jointly carry out missions indeveloping countries Entering into partnership with Interplast Holland to support (sharing expertise,resources and materials) Implementation of two preparatory missions to Sierra Leone and Bangladesh to selectappropriate hospitals and partners Implementation of Operation Smile mission in Bangladesh with a Dutch medical teamof AMC and VUmc Development of standard tools to ensure the uniformity, quality and safety of themissionsResults 2011: Sending out a Dutch medical team; 3 plastic surgeons, 2 anaesthesiologists and 2surgical assistants / nurses Offering reconstructive surgery to 126 children and young adults 26 local medical personnel trained through on the job training Alliance started with physicians of 4 Dutch hospitals: AMC, VUmc, University MedicalCenter Groningen (UMCG) and Medisch Spectrum Twente (MST) Alliance with Interplast Holland started: to support the mission in Bangladesh a teammember joined the mission to select hospitals and Interplast Holland has made surgicaland anaesthesia equipment available In total, 807 patients were operated in 2011, and Dokters van de Wereld Nederlandaccepted 126 patients.18