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BWH’s Cheryl Grove, at left, and Tammy Martin, at right, join Armenian orthopedic surgeon Garen Koloyan to perform a pediatric orthopedic surgery in the Republic of Georgia. When Tammy Martin, MD, of Orthopedic Surgery, adopted twin girls from an orphanage in the Republic of Georgia, she was so appreciative of the country that gave her two beautiful children that she decided to give back in a unique way.
Since the adoption in 2003, Martin and several colleagues from BWH and other organizations have traveled to Georgia regularly to treat the orthopedic needs of children from all over the country, including those living in the orphanage. Since declaring its independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991, Georgia, a nation without pediatric orthopedic surgeons, is striving to improve its health care system, and Martin’s efforts are making a difference.
“Without pediatric orthopedic surgeons, babies aren’t treated for routine birth defects, like clubfoot and cleft lips and palates, at birth, as they would be in the U.S. and other countries,” Martin said. “Instead, these children are sent to orphanages and most likely are never treated.”
On the first volunteer trip, Martin and Cheryl Grove, BSN, RN, ONC, of Orthopedic Surgery, along with a student and an operating podiatrist, coordinated with M. Iashvili Children’s Central Hospital in Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital city. The hospital allowed them to use its operating room to perform orthopedic surgeries on patients and other children.
“We brought whatever we could carry for supplies on the first trip,” Grove said. “We conducted six club foot surgeries and treated 270 children in a clinic with supplies like braces and orthotics for their shoes, and by teaching them corrective exercises.”
On the next trip, residents and fellows from BWH Anesthesia, Perioperative and Pain Medicine joined Martin and Grove. “That was a big breakthrough for us,” Grove said. “With their help, we were able to do more surgeries and bring more equipment and medications.”
The anesthesiologists introduced their Georgian counterparts to regional anesthesia. “The doctors were excited to learn something new,” Grove said.
Education plays a big role in the visits. Mike Bonnar, of National Orthopedics and Prosthetics Corporation (NOPCO) in Boston, has traveled with the team to Georgia, bringing braces and other supplies donated by his company. He teaches staff in Georgia different bracing techniques, and NOPCO hosted training in Boston for them to learn even more. Martin hopes to host medical residents from Georgia in the U.S. for training someday.
Before the team’s third trip last May, Martin and Grove loaded a 40-foot container with supplies donated from BWH and other companies and organizations. The equipment enabled them to perform 17 surgeries.
“Every time we go, we’re able to do a little more,” Grove said.
The BWH team is planning its next trip for May, when Martin hopes to conduct arthroscopic procedures on children who need ligaments in their knees repaired. She noted that many people from BWH, the VA Boston Healthcare System and other organizations help out by donating and sterilizing equipment for the team before the trips.
“We’re always looking for volunteers and donations, and we welcome anyone who would like to join our efforts,” Martin said.
Tammy Martin and a Georgian patient From left, BWH’s Cheryl Grove, Mike Bonnar of NOPCO and Karen Martin of MGH during a trip to Georgia.