gSource, LLC is pleased to announce a third donation of their surgical instruments to the Foundation of Orthopedics and Complex Spine (FOCOS), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The donated instruments, valued at $9, 063, will be provided to the FOCOS Orthopedic Hospital in Accra, Ghana for use in orthopedic procedures to help alleviate musculoskeletal problems including complex spine and pediatric orthopedic disorders. To date, gSource has donated instruments valued at $19, 658. Surgical instruments are in need as FOCOS hopes to complete more than 150 surgeries in 2014.
gSource Donates Instruments to FOCOS
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“We are pleased to help support the mission of FOCOS by providing another donation of gSource instruments to the FOCOS Orthopedic Hospital in Ghana. gSource is committed to putting the finest instruments into the hands of surgeons and their teams. Our instruments will help the volunteer surgeons provide life changing treatment to those patients served by the FOCOS Hospital”, commented Gerd Billmann, President of gSource, in the January 14, 2014 news release.
Foundation of Orthopedics and Complex Spine (FOCOS) was founded in 1998 by Dr. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei, professor of orthopedic surgery and chief scoliosis surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. The FOCOS mission is to provide comprehensive, affordable orthopedic and spine care to underserved communities in Ghana and throughout West Africa. Thanks to the generosity of supporters, FOCOS volunteers have performed over 1, 000 corrective orthopedic and joint procedures for adult and pediatric populations.
In April 2012, the FOCOS Orthopedic Hospital in Accra, Ghana opened its doors. The 50-bed dedicated hospital offers comprehensive orthopedic services including diagnostics, imaging and laboratory, outpatient consultation and surgical care.
Billmann told OTW, “The instruments donated were those from the gSource Small Ortho Joint Set. These include various scissors, hemostats, retractors, elevators, bone reduction and cutting forceps, osteotomes, gouges, bone rongeurs, wire twisters and cutters, and screwdrivers. We do plan on continuing to donate to FOCOS and look to expand our relationship.”
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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