A surgical team at Vaiola Hospital in Tonga’s capital Nuku’alofa has pre-selected patients who will be reviewed by a visiting team later this month.
The visiting Interplast team comprises specialists from Australia and New Zealand and will be in the Kingdom from February 16 to 23.
The coordinator of the Interplast team, Thomas Loporto said preparations for the visit are well underway.
“Over 80 patients are identified to be reviewed by our team which is an impressive number. This means that it will be a very busy program which is excellent,” Loporto said.
The team is aiming to consult at least 70 cases and carry out 35 procedures involving plastic and reconstructive surgery.
There are two plastic and reconstructive surgeons, two anesthetists, two nurses and one physiotherapist in the team.
Interplast medical teams are funded by the Australian Government and Rotary Clubs in Australia and New Zealand.
They have been visiting Tonga since 1983 to provide free surgical intervention programs to people with a disability.
The teams have carried out a total of 2663 consultations and 1561 life-changing procedures to date in Tonga.
The Interplast team is based in Melbourne and works across Australia and New Zealand sending volunteers to the Pacific islands from both Australia and New Zealand.