Bond University Associate Professor, Dr Sam Henalla has embarked on a 2-week charity health mission to Nepal to perform surgery on disadvantaged women who have suffered injuries through childbirth.
Dr Henalla is an obstetrician at Pindara Hospital, a Visiting Medical Officer at Gold Coast hospital, and was formerly the director of Women’s Health at Gold Coast Hospital. Dr Henalla also played a significant role in setting up the clinical rotations for Bond University medicine students. The doctor is being accompanied by a small team, consisting of Kim Fuller who is an anaesthesiologist and Lisa Kiddle, an anaesthetic technician.
In addition to the volunteering mission, Dr Henalla has also recently helped organise a charity ball which raised approximately $3000 in aid of the people of Nepal.
The Nepal surgical camp is run by Aus-Nep, an organisation which was established in 2008 to provide health links between Australia and Nepal giving access to medical care to people who would otherwise not be able to afford it.
The volunteer medicos are expected to operate on up to 20 women of all ages with prolapsed pelvic floor and incontinence, in the Bandipur Hospital, which resembles a small shed. A US company, Devise, has donated specialised medical equipment to assist with the operations.
Prolapsed pelvic floors and incontinence can be life-threatening if infection occurs and suffers often encounter social and family difficulties.
The mission will be a first for Dr Henalla. He and his team will be sleeping in tents and will have a translator with them for the duration to overcome any language barriers.
Nepal is a mountainous third-world country, landlocked between China and India. The people are very grateful for this medical support, many of whom live in extreme poverty and lack access to adequate health services and education.