Dr. William Stetson with Sasoon Amerian

Operation Arthroscopy would like to congratulate Volunteer Saturday patient Sasoon Amerian for recently achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts.

Sasoon earned 21 merit badges by providing service to the community and outdoors in additional to taking on leadership roles and organizing a service project.  For Sasoon’s leadership project he built three wooden kiosks for Brand Park.

Congratulations Sasoon!

During his visit to the Ortho Center, the director gave praise to the innovators of the center, in that they were able to restore the use of multiple operating tables and other necessary equipment needed to proceed with the project.  He also commended them that this was all done at minimal cost.

The Ortho center which will have it’s grand opening in a few days consists of  three surgery rooms, a recovery room, a pre-anesthesia room, a sterilization room, a nurses station and a waiting room.

Dr. Antonio Raunel Hernandez Rodriguez, chief of Orthopedics and Trauma, commented that this is a state of the art facility with such advanced technology.  This center boasts reduced surgical time, minimal blood loss and other adverse occurrences.

To date, more than 500 patients with disorders of the shoulder and knees have benefited from this new method.  We have introduced new advanced techniques to treat patients with disorders of the ankle and a project exists to treat disorders of the wrist, elbow and hip.

The opening of the Ortho Center will not only broaden the surgical coverage but will also expand the capacity of professionals specializing in orthopedics in this territory and other provinces of the island.

Accompanied by Jorge Luis Tapia Fonseca, first secretary of the Partido in Ciego de Avila, the director also celebrated the effort of organizations working to finish a Center of Pathological Anatomy, Cytology and Legal Medicine.

Patient Dillon Fuller & His Mother

Operation Arthroscopy continues “to bring orthopaedics and arthroscopic surgery to those in need” in our local community with Volunteer Saturday which was held at the Glendale Endoscopy and Surgery Center on June 18th.  Dr. Stetson and his surgical team volunteered their time to perform surgery for those who are unable to afford it.

Pictured here is our patient, Dillon Fuller, with his mother.  Dillon had a dislocating shoulder and was unable to find someone who would do his surgery because he had no insurance.  With the help of all of our “Volunteer Saturday” staff, we arthroscopically repaired the ligaments in his shoulder and he is now on his way to returning to all his regular activities.  Special thanks to Smith and Nephew who donated implants for the surgery.

If you are interested in attending this conference, please Contact Us now.

The trip established a new port of call for Operation Arthroscopy to develop a center of arthroscopy in East Africa to include Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Kenya.  Dr. John Muriithi, CEO of the Mater Hospital, committed hospital resources to provide care for patients who cannot pay for care.  Dr. Owinga will work with the visiting physicians of Operation Arthroscopy to screen patients from the neighboring countries and perform surgery.

Dr. Powell’s first patient  was a victim of the tribal violence in Somalia.  While working for the United Nations, he was caught in a cross-fire, sustained a gunshot to his abdomen and fell to the ground, dislocating his shoulder.  While he recovered from his gun shot wound, his shoulder continued to dislocate.  Dr. Owinga and Dr. Powell performed an arthroscopic Bankart and SLAP repair to stabilize the shoulder.  Donations of equipment and implants were made by Arthrex, Arthrocare, Smith and Nephew, Providence St. Joseph’s Hospital and the Motion Picture Hospital.

Dr. Powell was made an honorary member of the East Africa Arthroscopy Association.  Future trips will include Nairobi and Mombasa, Kenya as well as the First Annual Conference of the East African Arthroscopy Association in Kampala, Uganda in February, 2011.

The Mater Hospital

Dr. Powell performing shoulder arthroscopy

Dr. John Muriithi, CEO of Mater Hospital, with Dr. Powell and Dr. Owinga

"The Nairobi Team"

Havana photos

Dr. Stetson examining a Cuban patient

The Havana group with Dr. Rodrigo Cambras and his son Dr. Rodrigo Lorenzo.

Dr. Stetson lecturing at the Frank Pais Hospital in Havana

Dr. William Stetson and Dr. Eric McMillan performing a shoulder arthroscopy

Dr. Bojan Zoric and Dr. Sean Rassman performing a Hip Arthroscopy

The Havana team after a successful week of surgeries at the Frank Pais Hospital

Santiago de Cuba photos

The Santiago group with their Cuban colleagues

Dr. Betsy Watson teaching shoulder arthroscopy

Dr. Joe Cheng performing a shoulder arthroscopy

Dr. Watson with a very happy post-op patient

Dr. Watson lecturing on shoulder pathology

Volunteer Saturday with Brian Nova.

Operation Arthroscopy has decided to go local and help out our Southern California community. “Volunteer Saturday” was started by Operation Arthroscopy to continue our mission of “bringing orthopaedics and arthroscopic surgery to those in need.” On January 9th, 2010, the team from Operation Arthroscopy performed two surgeries on patients who had no insurance but required surgical intervention. Pictured here is Brian Nova, an aspiring young football player with an ACL tear. Dr. Stetson and his team reconstructed his knee with the help of donated supplies, the surgery center, and the staff. We wish Brian luck in his senior year of high school football!