Surgeons trained to expand clubfoot surgical service in Cameroon
Hope and Healing International Canada, is strengthening and expanding actions towards the treatment of children with clubfoot in Cameroon.
Last month, from February 21 to 23, some ten surgeons from six regions of the country were trained on better clubfoot surgical procedures at the Baptist Hospital in Mutengene, Southwest region, Cameroon.
The program is an initiative supported by Hope and Healing International in partnership with the CBC Health Services through the Clubfoot Program in Cameroon, a project funded by Hope and Healing in six regions across the territory.
Dr. Henry Ndasi, lead trainer and Head of the Orthopedic Unit at Baptist Hospital Mutengene during the training said the training of the doctors is “to create more treatment centers in the country that will treat the increasing number of children with clubfoot”.
“Many children and their caregivers often travel long distances from the North and the West Regions to come and receive surgeries here in Mutengene. This sometimes hamper effective follow-ups and healing of the children,” he noted.
For the past three years, Hope and Healing International has been supporting the treatment of children with clubfoot and other musculoskeletal deformities such as knocked knees and bowed legs in the Northwest and West regions of the country, and over 200 children have already benefitted from this gesture.
This year, the project has expanded to six regions of the country namely: Adamawa, West, Northwest, Southwest, Centre, and Littoral. The expanded initiative is said to focus on treating 130 clubfoot cases for children between 0-4 years old, within six months, running from January to June 2024.
“The training of the surgeons is coming to expand and improve access to clubfoot surgical services in the country,” said Tamon James, Coordinator of The Clubfoot Program in Cameroon. “The 130 children target is to add to the about 100 children already treated for Clubfoot deformity from July last year till present, and we want to make sure the children get quality treatment,” he said.
During the training session, the surgeons were drilled on treatment techniques such as Tendon Transfer, The Ponseti technique, Casting, and other surgical and corrective procedures for treating clubfoot.
It takes six months to two years to have complete healing for clubfoot after surgeries, and surgeons say every procedure from surgery to follow-up is very vital to achieve a corrected foot.
“Dr. Bououe Horline, Orthopedic Surgeon at the Limbe Regional Hospital, Southwest Cameroon, and a trainee in the program said the techniques they have learned will make work easier and more efficient. “I am so excited because my surgical procedures will be different and more efficient onward,” she said.
“I have learned an easier and more effective way to handle tendon transfer, which is very crucial during surgery. We thank the CBC Health Services and Hope and Healing International for this kind gesture,” she told us with a bright smile.