28 February

For immediate release

Australian medics arrive in Port Moresby

A team of Australian medics has arrived in Port Moresby to perform life-changing surgery on patients with physical deformities and abnormalities.

The Australian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea, Ian Kemish and his wife Roxanne Martens visited patients recuperating after surgery in Port Moresby General Hospital today.

The Interplast Australia team, predominantly funded through AusAID and Rotary, is performing the surgery on patients all this week at Port Moresby General Hospital. Last week was spent operating on patients in Madang.

The Interplast team has visited PNG 72 times over the last 25 years providing free surgery to relieve people unnecessarily suffering from disabilities. In PNG alone, teams have conducted 4000 patient consultations and 2103 patients have received life changing surgery.

During this visit around 35 people are expected to receive life-changing surgery.

The Australian doctors worked side-by side with PNG doctors to share information on the best-practice treatment of injuries and deformities and to discuss the latest medical technology.

Mr. Kemish said Australia was delighted to fund a program that literally changed people lives.

“During Interplast’s last visit the doctors performed surgery on a young girl and were able to free her right arm which had become fused after she had fallen into a campfire. The girl will regain the full use of her arm and go on to live a life free of disability,” Mr. Kemish said.

“Each two-week visit to PNG costs approximately K100,000. While Australia is a strong supporter of the visits, Interplast also rely on donations from individuals and private sector organizations to continue their work in PNG.”

Lead surgeon on the visit, Dr James Masson who is volunteering his time said that his fifth visit to PNG was a particularly rewarding one.

“We spent the first week in Madang working with Doctor Maihua. He is now doing procedures in his hospital that we showed him how to do last year and he is also teaching young surgeons in Madang how to do those procedures, so that’s very encouraging,” Dr Masson said.

“The PNG doctors are committed surgeons, they are keen to learn and they are fun to work with. The patients are delightful, they always smile and they are always grateful,” Dr Masson said.

Organizations wishing to donate to Interplast can email [email protected] or
call +61 3 9249 1231.