Missions in Lusaka (Zambia-Central Africa)

Dr. Daniele Gandini since 1995 is part of 'International Organization "Interplast" www.interplastitaly.it and participated, from 1995 to 2004 six humanitarian surgical missions, at the Zambian Ortopaedic Italian Hospital of Lusaka in Zambia, Central Africa, where he performed, with Prof. Paul Santoni Rugiu, (team leader, designer and promoter of Zambian missions) around 250 plastic surgery for pediatric and congenital malformations outcomes of burns.

In August 2002 he organized and directed as Senior Surgeon of Interplast Australia, a further surgical mission in Zambia for a period of 20 days, during which he performed 35 operations.

This section of the site and 'given to me by Prof. Paul Santoni Rugiu, one of the few true "fathers" of modern plastic surgery Italian, former Chief of the Division of Plastic Surgery of Pisa until 1980, now Senior Surgeon of Interplast surgical activity continues in the world (Africa, Iraq and now Cambodia), was a student and collaborator of Professor Toord Skoog, Sweden, one of the most large plastic surgeons of our century, it is only thanks to Prof. Santoni, that I wanted with him in 1995 in Africa, that I was able to start and continue this fantastic adventure plastic surgery in the world of volunteering with Interplast Australia. Although I have not done in time to have as a teacher in a hospital (I arrived there eight years after his resignation from primary), I hope, in the seven years of missions in Central Africa at his side to be able to learn from its infinite experience patience and ability to teach, both in the operating room and in the lives of all days. Daniele Gandini

Zambia

the italian Zambian Lusaka hospital where there were all the missions of Interplast

Interplast Australia has had in Pisa, since 1995 as its active members Paul Santoni Rugiu (formerly primary Plastic Surgery at the St. Clare) and Daniele Gandini (Medical Director at the Division of Plastic Surgery and Burns at the Center for Cisanello Pisa) who went, at least once a year for about a month to operate abroad, first in Lusaka in Zambia (formerly Rhodesia North, Central Africa) in a small missionary hospital - the Zambian Italian Hospital and then, with surgical missions conducted in other countries.

The activity of the Interplast team in Africa has always held at the Zambian-Italian Hospital for Handicapped Children in Lusaka (Zambia), founded by Rotarian Grisostomo Emidio, orthopedic marchigiano and directed, from its birth in 1995 until today, the Franciscan missionary nun Egidio De Luca, in Africa for 40 years.

The small Zambian hospital is part of the Cheshire Home Society, an international association for great care for the orphans of the countries of the world, founded in sixties by Sir Leonard Cheshire, which in 1944-45 was part of the group of scientists and military and unfortunately received the order to build two atomic bombs and then launched on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Zambia has always been reached by the team of Pisa, via London, for a total of about 14 hours of flight, with the British airline British Airways, which, when it was necessary, in 1996, bringing Italy Zambian burn a little girl who could not be made there, transported, free of the little patient to three years and the sister who accompanied by the Lusaka in Pisa.

As always happens in the missions of Interplast Australia, also in Zambia was to be brought much material to work, purchased with funds and donations received from individuals, organizations and service clubs such as Pisans Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Pisa, Rotary, the Mercy, the Rotaract, the Inner Wheel, the Ammi and others.

Although the small missionary hospital was already up and running, however it was necessary to bring a lot of material and equipment, both for the particular type of plastic surgery reconstructive, but mainly for not burdening the resources of the small structure that is only thanks to humanitarian aid that come from more affluent countries.

Since 2004, the year of the mission in Lusaka, Pisans surgeons have shifted their operations elsewhere in the world (Paul Santoni in Iraq and Cambodia and Daniele Gandini in Tibet, China), and this because, with great satisfaction, because of large number of patients operated on over the years, requests for intervention have gradually decreased.

Thanks to an idea of Prof. Paul Santoni then, a Ugandan physician, Edris Kalanzi Wamala was able specialize in Pisa in Plastic Surgery, with a grant from the European Union, working for four years with Dr. Gandini (with which it also was to work together in Zambia in 2000 and 2002) before returning to Kampala, in Uganda and to work there as the only plastic surgeon in his country.

Missions LUSAKA (Zambia - Central Africa) 1995-2004

LUSAKA Mission 1995

Zambia 1995 - Daniele Gandini and Paul Santoni to work in the operating room in Lusaka

Duration: 4 weeks, period: August
Plastic surgeons: PAUL SANTONI, DANIELE GANDINI
Anesthetist: MARZIA CORINE
Nurse tools: A. Mwambazi, M. Chileshe (Zambian)

ACTIONS TAKEN: 20

interventions lasting between 40 minutes and 5 hours
Type of intervention:
Outcomes Burn 11
Labiopalatoschisi 2
Congenital malformations hand / foot 2
Keloids 2
Genital malformations 1
Other (soft tissue malignancies) 2

It 'the first mission in Zambia, with which Paul Santoni, Daniele Gandini and Marzia Corini back in 1995 started their surgical activities in the former Rhodesia, which would then be continued with a mission a year, for seven years.

In 1995, when doctors began to work Pisans in Lusaka, the small missionary hospital just opened, and opened with their own actions, had only six beds for children in 2004, thanks to funds from abroad arrived in Zambia (piucchealtro European countries) the Zambian Italian Hospital had reached the quota of 30 beds divided into three lanes.

In this mission there was an intense collaboration with a surgical team of orthopedic and Italian Orthopedic British residents in Lusaka (Prof. Jellis and Dr Gregory) and with a local plastic surgeon, of Bosnian origin, Dr. Goran Jovic, which then continued its activities in that surgical hospital.

LUSAKA Mission 1996

Duration: 3 weeks, period: August
Plastic surgeons: PAUL SANTONI, DANIELE GANDINI
Surgeon General: MANUELA RONCELLO
Anesthetist: MARZIA CORINE
Tools and nurses room spaces
Nursing staff and collaborators: BARBARA FODALE (Nurse Physiotherapist)

ACTIONS TAKEN: 39

interventions lasting between 30 min and 3 hours
Type of intervention:
Outcomes Burn 19
Labiopalatoschisi 2
Malformations congenital hand / foot 4
Keloids 4
Noma (cancrum oris) 2
Genital malformations 1
Other (soft tissue malignancies) 7

In the second year of operation in Lusaka, the team of Interplast Australia has been able to count on the presence of a surgeon general, Dr. Manuela Roncella, which could also address more complex surgery and breast cancer in the neck; Quest 'years, the presence of a nurse physiotherapist Italian Fodale Barbara, has helped to Interplast surgeons in their work.

LUSAKA Mission 1997

Zambia 1997 - before the hospital with Sister Egidio, founder and director dell'ospedale

Plastic surgeons: PAUL SANTONI, DANIELE GANDINI
Anesthetists: MARZIA CORINE, MARINA CALAF '

Staff: Maria Lilli
Instrumentalists and staff room spaces

ACTIONS TAKEN: 44;

interventions lasting between 40 minutes and 2 hours;
Type interventions:
Outcomes Burn 17
Labiopalatoschisi 4
Congenital malformations hand / foot 8
Keloids 5
Other (soft tissue malignancies) 10

In 1997, the Interplast team, along with Paul Santoni and Daniel Gandini, was formed by a voluntary, Maria Lilli and two anesthesiologists, Marzia Corini and Marina Calafà so they could alternate date and postoperative management of patients small .

At the end of this mission was brought to Australia a child with severe outcomes of burns that could not be made in Africa, the little Emma, for three years, orphan of mother, accompanied by a nun nurse, stayed for two months in Pisa, a guest at a convent and was submitted at the Plastic Surgery of Pisa a variety of projects to rebuild the severely burnt face, at the end of treatment was able to return to his country with the skin of the face entirely replaced with tissue taken acceleration from expanded skin, nose and papebre rebuilt, and three large bags of clothes and some money from many generous donategli Pisans citizens.

LUSAKA Mission 1998

Duration: 3 weeks. period: August
Plastic surgeons: PAUL SANTONI, DANIELE GANDINI
Doctors Specializing: STEFANO Malloggi
Anesthetist: FERDINAND Cellai
Instrumentalists and staff room spaces

ACTIONS TAKEN: 21

interventions lasting between 40 min and 3 hours;
Type of intervention:
Outcomes Burn 8
Labiopalatoschisi 3
Congenital malformations hand / foot 3
Keloids 3
Noma 1
Other (soft tissue malignancies) 3

LUSAKA Mission 2000

Surgeons Plastic: PAUL SANTONI, DANIELE GANDINI
Doctors Specializing: Edris KALANZI, ISABELLA MAZZOLA
Anesthetist: LOCAL (MR Mwambo), nurse specialist
Instrumentalists and staff room spaces
Collaborators: FRANCESCA Venzo (pharmacy)

ACTIONS TAKEN: 63

(Outcomes burn, labiopalatoschisi, scars cheloidee, noma)

LUSAKA Mission 2002

Duration: 2 weeks, Period: AUGUST
Plastic surgeon: DANIELE GANDINI
Doctors Specializing: LIVIO Colizzi, Edris KALANZI
Anesthetist: ROBERTO MOZZO
Instrumentalists and staff room spaces
Collaborators: FRANCESCA Venzo (pharmacy)

ACTIONS TAKEN: 30
25 CHILDREN, ADULTS 5 outcomes for burn, labiopalatoschisi, neurofibromatosis, noma

In this mission, the team leader and organizer was Daniele Gandini, took part Edris Kalanzi Wamala, Uganda surgeon, Livio Colizzi, a doctor specializing in Plastic Surgery in Pisa, Roberto Mozzo, anesthetist and Francesca Venza, already present in Lusaka in 2000, with the task of organizing the operation of the pharmacy of the hospital, the cataloging and storage of large quantities of drugs and materials arriving with donations.

LUSAKA Mission 2004

Duration: 2 weeks, period: August
Plastic surgeons: PAUL SANTONI, DANIELE GANDINI
Doctors Specializing: FABIO ROTACONTI
Anesthetics: local (Mr Mwambo), nurse specialist
Instrumentalists and staff room spaces

INTERVENTIONS PERFORMED: 35

(burn outcomes, congenital malformations of the face and limbs)

With this mission in 2004, ended the cycle of seven surgical missions in Central Africa of Interplast Australia, due to a significant drop in requests for assistance for specific diseases chirirgia plastic; this positive decline in clinical cases, we believe it is due is to the significant number of procedures performed over the years but especially in the presence stable Lusaka of a local plastic surgeon trained with us over the years and thus become completely independent and able to tackle and run successfully the majority of reconstructive operations during the year.