Surgical Program
In 2009, Esperança’s volunteer surgical teams performed 376 free surgeries at an estimated in-kind value of $1.76 million dollars!
Over $1.6 million dollars of medical goods were donated to our Bolivia project in 2009, thanks to Esperança!
Esperança is now sending 4 surgical teams a year to our project in Nicaragua!
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Common to third-world countries is a poor infrastructure to respond to the surgical needs of their populations. City centers and especially rural areas have an inadequate supply of surgeons and resources to address both simple and complex surgery needs. Esperança’s Volunteer Surgical Program addresses this need through a three-pronged approach:
- surgical mission teams who provide free surgeries for the poor
- education and training of local medical staff, and
- the donation of medical goods much needed in scarce environments.
Volunteer Surgical Missions
Of all of the work Esperança conducts, none is more dramatic than the effect the surgeons have on the lives of the families served through the medical missions. We have provided medical teams to third world countries for the past 38 years. Over the years we have gained expertise in ensuring a broad impact from the surgical missions. Esperança is able to send each surgical team for $6,000 – an invaluable service to these remote villages who would otherwise go without surgical care.
Esperança sends 10 volunteer surgical groups per year to their project site in Bolivia, and is currently in the process of initiating a surgical program at their project site in Nicaragua for 2009. Surgical missions are typically two weeks in duration with 40-50 surgeries performed during each visit. Esperança is currently scheduling general, gynecologic, orthopedic, ophthalmologic, plastic/reconstructive, and urologic surgery missions. If you are interested in volunteering on a surgical team, please vist the surgical volunteer page.
Training and Education to Local Medical Personnel
In addition to a full daily surgery schedule, volunteers are asked to provide training to local medical personnel on surgical and surgical related activities to help build capacity among the medical professionals in their country. Local residents and surgeons may observe pre-op, post-op or surgical procedures. The sustainability of our program is in large part due to the interaction and education with the host country's medical staff and residents.
Donated Medical Supplies
When the Bolivia surgery personnel are not working on preparing a surgical mission or administering one, they are processing donated medical goods and equipment sent to them from us. Esperança sends a shipment every year. These supplies are utilized in the medical missions and are also distributed among participating hospitals. The donated goods aspect of our program has proven to be an important “bridge builder” to the local medical communities where we operate. These relationships are important because we rely on their collaboration to ensure that our patients receive a complete surgical experience from a foreign team. For more information on how to donate medical supplies, please visit the medical goods donation page.
