Twelve needy patients in Ecuador will get new knees this month thanks to a donation by Maxx Medical, Ltd. and a team of 30 medical professionals who are flying to Machala, Ecuador to install them. Rick Savino, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon with Long Island Bone and Joint in New York, will perform the surgeries which have been arranged by Blanca’s House, an organization that provides 21st century medical care for the underprivileged. The operations will take place at the Hospital Militar in Machala.
Maxx Medical Donates Knee Implants to Ecuadorian Project
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The medical professionals are paying their own way as well as bringing with them everything necessary to perform the 12 total knee implants. Maxx Medical is donating the implants and surgical instruments required for the surgeries.
“These trips provide me with the opportunity to perform medical procedures for the reason I went into medicine in the first place—to help those who truly need and appreciate it with no insurance issues, documentation worries or attorneys looking over our shoulders. It’s as simple as people who need medical help and a team dedicated to making them better, ” said Savino.
“It feels good to give back to the global patient community, partnering with surgeons and charitable organizations to restore patient mobility, ” said Ashesh Shah, the CEO of Maxx Medical.
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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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