What we do best - save lives through surgery

TravelManagers' Janice Lee is a personal travel manager with a difference. One of her clients is an organisation called Operation Open Heart that operates a program where volunteer medical teams visit developing countries to perform surgery that would otherwise not be available in these countries.

The concept began more than 23 years ago when a Sydney-based intensive care nurse, Russell Lee, (Janice's husband) visited Tonga. Mrs. Lee explains that her husband saw a real need and decided to do something about it.

Two Little Patients

"Russell saw that many young people had rheumatic heart disease and required surgery that simply couldn't be done in Tonga. When he shared this observation with colleagues back in Australia, doctors and nurses soon volunteered to form a mobile cardiac surgical team, supported by various medical supply companies."

In 1985, Operation Open Heart was launched in collaboration with the Sydney Adventist Hospital and the Adventist Development Relief Agency. Mrs. Lee says it isn't just about the surgery however.

"A significant part of the work is to provide training, skills transfer and equipment so local medical teams can establish independent, sustainable, specialty surgical programs in their own countries."

Teams have visited up to 12 different countries including Fiji, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, China, Mongolia, Nepal, Vietnam, Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia and Rwanda providing the necessary support and critical surgery.

Each Operation Open Heart team comprises of volunteer surgeons, cardiologists, anesthetists, generalist and specialist nurses, biomedical engineers and allied-health personnel.

"Team members pay their own air fares and often use their annual leave allocation during these trips. Initially the volunteers came from Australia and New Zealand, but now that word has spread, people are volunteering around the world, including the States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Israel and Belgium."

The operations performed are predominantly cardiac surgery for congenital heart defects in children. The incidence of congenital heart disease is, on average, eight per every 1000 babies born.

"This can translate to thousands of babies born each year with heart defects. Operation Open Heart is often the only chance for many of them to receive life-saving treatment while remaining close to their own families and homes."

A very tired Doctor

Mr. Lee says not only is it incredibly personally satisfying but that the objective of facilitating in-country specialty cardiac services is now becoming a reality.

"Papua New Guinea has established a level of independence from visiting teams and provides high-quality, well-equipped, cardiac surgery services of their own."

In 1994, the Operation Open Heart program expanded to include plastic surgery, and a volunteer team began travelling to Nepal to repair cleft lip and palate deformities. Mr. Lee explains;
"Due to the overwhelming need in many of the developing countries, we have also been asked to expand our services to other specialties such as obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology, orthopedics and ear nose and throat surgery."

As you can imagine taking a mobile, specialist surgery team to another country can be an enormous logistical challenge.

"We usually transport tonnes of equipment and need to co-ordinate a team of up to 60 people drawn from different nations. Luckily I have a great personal travel manager in my wife who handles all of our logistics. It is vital it goes smoothly and with the backing of TravelManagers and their expertise and strong supplier relationships, it does."

Photo from a trip by some team members to see Gorillas after the completion of the surgical program. Janice joined Russell after his surgical program commitments and is with Russell on the front right of this photograph

Mrs. Lee recounts joining TravelManagers.

"I started just three weeks prior to the 2008 Operation Open Heart team comprising of 56 including Russell leaving for Rwanda. You can imagine how busy it was plus I was learning completely new systems. Thankfully not only were TravelManagers systems and processes very easy and logical to master, the commitment of the team at TravelManagers national partnership office was just invaluable."

Mrs. Lee says it is a true partnership approach.

"They are genuinely interested in Operation Open Heart and are always asking what Russell is up to. Russell thinks joining TravelManagers' is the best thing I've done career wise and when he isn't saving people around the world he even helps out as my administration assistant."

Mr. Lee says raising awareness of Operation Open Heart is an ongoing battle but again the generosity of people shines through.

"Last year the brother of one of the cardiologists in the volunteer team (a film maker in the Netherland accompanied the team and made a film 'Open Heart; Repairing Hearts In Rwanda'. He has gifted this to the many of our volunteers, their families and friends with the hope that the film will raise awareness and understanding of the essential services we provide to underdeveloped countries."

Fully tax deductible donations can be made to Operation Open Heart and details are available through the following internet link http://rwanda.ooh.org.au/