A TEAM of surgeons will be in the country next week to provide general and hypospadias plastic and reconstructive surgical services and training.
The Interplast Australia and New Zealand team will be at Lautoka Hospital from May 7 to 11.
A statement from Australian AID said appointments would have to be made with Sister Shobna at the hospital before Friday for the free consultation clinic on May 7. It said patients with congenital deformities such as hypospadias, cleft lip and palate, burn scar contractures and hand injuries are urged to contact the hospital's surgical unit for an appointment.
Hypospadias is a birth defect in which the opening of the urethra is on the underside rather than at the end of the male organ. The statement said patients with common skin diseases or cosmetic conditions would be excluded from this consultation.
Funded by AusAID and Rotary Clubs in Australia and New Zealand, Interplast medical teams have been visiting Fiji since 1983 to provide free surgical intervention programs to relieve people of disability. The Interplast programs in Fiji have so far provided 8249 consultations and performed 4511 life-changing operations.
The Lautoka program will be the 106th Interplast visit to Fiji and will be funded by Rotary District 9930 in New Zealand, the Rotary Foundation and the Rotary Club of Lautoka. The AusAID statement said the Australian government funds approximately 50 surgical teams every year.