‘Operation Rainbow’ seeks to reduce long surgery list

SOME patients, whose names have been on a long waiting list for orthopaedic surgery, will benefit from a programme of free surgery during this week. Approximately 150 patients were screened yesterday at the Surgical Clinic of the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex by specialists from the University of California, San Francisco. According to Health Minister John Rahael, the work of the 18-member team of Operation Rainbow, is part of the ministry’s initiative to deal with the long waiting list for various types of surgeries.

The orthopaedic surgery waiting list, Rahael said, is the second longest in Trinidad and Tobago — the longest being the cataract surgery list. However, he added, although that list was the longest, there had been a marked reduction in the waiting time for cataract surgery. The team will work alongside local doctors, who are expected to benefit from its expertise and gain knowledge of current procedures that are being practised in the US.

Rahael said four operating theatres have been reserved this week for surgery. Approximately 150 patients are expected to undergo surgery.  He estimated that one surgical procedure would last at least four hours. The Operation Rainbow team, which has been here on two previous occasions, is a non-governmental organisation that has a 25-year history of performing free orthopaedic surgery on children and teenagers around the world. Its work is voluntary, and according to the team’s leader Dr Taylor Smith, the doctors are happy to volunteer.

The link to Operation Rainbow was established through Missions International Trinidad, which is headed by Dr Brian Lushington. Lushington said a team of maxilo facial specialists would arrive in this country on March 19 to perform surgery on persons whose names are on a waiting list. He said a team would be brought in to deal with gynaecological surgery in April, and in May, a team from Sweden would arrive to do general surgical procedures.