Koforidua, Feb. 24, GNA - A seven-member team of plastic surgeons from the German Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) INTERPLAST, who spent two weeks to perform 100 plastic surgeries at the Atibie Government Hospital on Thursday, paid a courtesy call on Miss Susana Mensah, Deputy Eastern Regional Minister at Koforidua. Dr Isaac Richard Osabutey, Medical Superintendent in-charge of the hospital who led the team, said the team also performed orthopaedic surgical operations free of charge.

He said the operations included one performed on a 22-year-old hermaphrodite adult with well-developed breasts and two sex organs into a man as preferred by the patient.

Dr Osabutey said it was a good experience for the local doctors who worked with the team because some of the diseases they treated had not been reported at the hospital before. Miss Mensah appealed to the NGO to assist build the local capacity of health workers to ensure a competent technical team to work with them on their next visit and in addition could handle some of the operations during their absence.

She expressed appreciation of the chiefs and people of the Kwahu area to the team for their support.

Dr Ebenezer Appiah-Denkyirah, Eastern Regional Director of Health Services, appealed to the team to spend some of their time in the country to help train theatre nurses in the Eastern region. He said though most of the nurses in the region work at the theatre, they had not received specialist training in theatre nursing. Dr Joseph Opare, Kwahu South District Director of Health Services, said the visit was the second time the NGO had sent a delegation to work at the hospital, the first was in February last year. He said the visit was through the efforts of some Kwahu citizens in Germany and in the country.

Dr Michael Schidelko, Leader of the team said the NGO was established by a group of plastic surgeons in Germany. He said many children from developing countries were sent to Germany yearly for plastic surgery at very high cost, therefore, the members decided to use their holidays to perform free plastic surgical operations for children in developing countries. Dr Schidelko explained that such operations performed locally were less expensive for parents and relatives of the affected children.