THE WORLD PAEDIATRIC Project (WPP) facilitated a successful recommencement of surgery on September 5, 2021, in St. Vincent and the Grenadines(SVG); the first General Orthopaedic Mission since the COVID-19 pandemic took place at the Kingstown Clinic.

With a full schedule of surgeries throughout the week, the clinic day had more than 60 children, including some from Barbados and Dominica, a release states.

The WPP practitioners were quite upbeat about the return to SVG. Tracy Przybylski, the Team Physiotherapist said, “it was not easy getting here, but we are just thrilled to be here… it is important to assess the children and help design fitness programs that they can perform within their tolerance…. so we are glad to be able to see them and get them on the right track.”

Another celebratory event that materialised on Sunday was the handover of equipment from the Mustique Charitable Trust (MCT” to WPP. A portable x-ray machine, orthopaedic drill set, and a scoliosis drill set were presented as a donation by the charitable organization represented by the Administration Director Dularie Malcolm. Executive Director of WPP, Lauren McIntosh; Lead paediatric orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. Eric Gordon; and other travelling team members received the donation.

Malcolm, in her remarks, was complimentary to WPP for its continued work for children, particularly in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and expressed delight in providing essential equipment to assist with the success of the General Orthopaedic missions.

Dr. Gordon provided a backdrop on the importance of the equipment received, stating that “The portable x-ray machine will be very effective in terms of giving real-time information… the drills are going to be incredibly invaluable…

this is going to be really really helpful in terms of keeping the OR moving and allowing us to treat more patients and treat them better”.

McIntosh echoed gratitude and excitement to the Mustique Charitable Trust for their donation as it is timely and meets WPP’s needs. “We are excited to start using the equipment. They will make our clinic and our surgery days run more efficiently,” said McIntosh.

About the overall return of the Mission, she added, “This is our first team on the ground in about 18 months; the clinic has gone very smoothly, which has been immensely gratifying, particularly with the extra demands and hurdles due to the pandemic. It has been a total team effort.”

The Mission which ended their operations on Thursday, September 9 conducted surgical procedures on 13 patients.

Six more teams are expected in SVG up to the end of this year, the next two being urology and cardiology teams scheduled to visit in October.