Interplast team working at Mahosot Hospital, Vientiane, Feb 6, 2017.
Photo by Australia in Laos

(KPL) Phu Bia Mining (PBM) has announced that a volunteer medical team from Interplast Australia & New Zealand (Interplast) has travelled to the Mahosot Hospital in Vientiane to carry out a two-week consultation and surgical programme.

The programme, funded by PBM and supported by the Women’s International Group (WIG), is the continuation of a sponsorship arrangement that has existed between PBM and Interplast since 2012.

The volunteer Interplast team of plastic and reconstructive surgeons, anaesthetists and nurses conducted surgical assessments of people who exhibited symptoms relating to congenital and acquired deformities on Monday, Feb 6.

Free-of-charge surgeries will be conducted at the hospital for two weeks beginning on Tuesday, Feb 7.  Interplast will work alongside and train local medical staff at the hospital for the duration of the programme and WIG will provide pre- and post-operative assistance to all patients.

Since the inception of the sponsorship arrangement, PBM have contributed in excess of US$220,000 to the programme which provides life-changing free-of-charge surgery for people in Laos who would otherwise not have access to such services.

In 2015, Interplast travelled to Xieng Khuang to perform free surgeries at the Lao-Mongolian Friendship Hospital in town of Phonsavanh.

Free consultations were given to 91 patients at the hospital, of whom 62 were selected for surgery. Most patients underwent surgeries for skin lesions, soft tissue deformities, upper limb deformities, and cleft lips and palates.

The focus of the 2017 Interplast programme is surgical treatment for those with congenital and acquired deformities from birth or growth development.

PBM Chairman, Mr Chanpheng Bounnaphol said that PBM’s support of the Interplast programme demonstrates the company’s commitment to bettering the lives of people living close to where it operates.

“The specialist medical treatment Interplast has provided has transformed the lives of more than 263 people in Xieng Khuang over the last four years. This year, our hope is that another 60 patients in the Lao Capital of Vientiane will receive free, life-changing treatments,” Mr Chanpheng said.

KPL