Smith, Nephew Aids Tsunami Survivors
(This article was published in the Commercial Appeal, about the orthopaedic partnership between Memphis-based Smith and Nephew and Hope
Force International)

Crushed bones didn't get the attention in the tsunami aftermath that devastated homes and missing people did, but along with infrastructure rebuilding, surgeons are now rebuilding human beings.

To aid in that effort, a group of orthopedic surgeons nationwide, including Dr. Tony Russell with the Campbell Clinic, are partnering with Memphis-based Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics and the Brentwood-based Christian aid organization Hope Force International to bring trauma equipment and implants to two cities in Sri Lanka.

Dr. Tim Browne, an orthopedic surgeon from Montana, is coordinating the trip to Colombo and Jaffna scheduled for May 26-June 7.
"We've been ready to go ever since (just after the tsunami hit), but we wanted to be very purposeful in our response. It would be silly to have all this equipment and have it sit in a warehouse somewhere."

The country and its hospitals were in no shape to handle the orthopedic equipment just after the disaster, he said. But now that the triage is done and the facilities up and running, longer-term medical care can begin.
The group, which also includes a Smith & Nephew representative and an internal medicine specialist, will assist local surgeons and teach them to use the donated equipment.

Russell, a renowned trauma surgeon, and his wife, Gina Russell, a surgical nurse in orthopedics, accepted an invitation Friday to join the group.
The trip required some shuffling of previous commitments and will mean dashing off immediately following their daughter's graduation, but the mission is worth it, Russell said.

"We have been looking for some opportunities for medical mission work," he said. "And these guys, they're cool people. They've got a really good group of people assembled and we really feel blessed to go."

More than 31,000 Sri Lankans were killed in December's tsunami, which destroyed much of the island nation. Sri Lanka, located in the Indian Ocean south of India, has about 20 million people and is roughly the size of West Virginia. The country has fewer than 30 orthopedic surgeons, however.
"There is a lot of stuff that just goes undone," Browne said. "And with the tsunami, it's just overwhelmed the county's medical system."

The equipment Smith & Nephew is donating includes plates and screws and intramedullary rods, all of which are implanted, and external fixations, which are attached to bone on the outside of the body to facilitate proper bone regrowth.

The company is still determining exactly how much equipment will be needed, said Anthony James, vice president of trauma development for Smith & Nephew. Smith & Nephew plans to continue supporting the aid efforts after this trip is completed, said Susan Bennett, chairman of Project Apollo, a Smith & Nephew charity, which supports surgeons who donate their time to perform surgery around the world.