Operation Walk Carolinas is reporting that its recent team of 50 providers from OrthoCarolina, Atrium Health, and Novant Health has performed 60 total hip and knee replacements on 54 patients in Panama. This is the largest number of joint replacements performed to date since Operation Walk Carolinas took its first trip to Cuba in 2017.
Operation Walk Carolinas: 3 Days, 60 Surgeries
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While in Panama, the team also hosted professional training sessions for local physicians about advanced orthopedic treatments and care.
According to the good folks at OrthoCarolina, the 1.4 million general population in Panama is generally underserved for such life-changing surgeries as hip and knee replacements and many thousands of patients are left waiting for joint replacements.
“The reason that we go to great lengths to travel to these countries and do this work is because of outcomes like what we experienced in Panama—patients who couldn’t walk before surgery are now mobile and able to work, spend time with their families, provide for those families, and do the things they love,” said Bryan Springer, M.D., Operation Walk Carolinas co-founder and hip and knee surgeon with OrthoCarolina. “We work closely with our national Operation Walk colleagues to determine which destinations most need our care and are already considering where we will go in 2020.”
Hendrick Motorsports and Hendrick Aviation provided transportation for the 2019 Panama mission, along with videography and additional volunteers to help support the effort. Operation Walk Carolinas funds are raised almost entirely by the medical providers on the team, who volunteer their time for the cause. For more information, visit opwalkcarolinas.org.
Asked about the most rewarding moment, Dr. Springer told OTW, “There are so many that it’s difficult to say. Each moment of each day we are there is rewarding. We are all so fortunate to be able to be a part of this mission. Seeing the gratitude on our patients’ and families’ faces after surgery is amazing. These patients have absolutely no way to pay us back, but the rewards we get are priceless.”
“Go once, just once. It will change you. Your life and your perspective on everything will change. I promise. It is impossible to explain. You just have to go. Everyone should be required to go at some point in their career.”
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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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