Local Dentist Tells of Medical Mission to Ethiopia

Approximately 150 people filed into Pearl River High School's Pirate cove to hear about the abysmal medical conditions in Ethiopia and the efforts of a team of foreign physicians to alleviate the suffering of the people in one city Monday night. 

Hosted by Dr. Edward Fisher, DDS,  who has practiced dentistry in Tappan for the past 35 years, “A Mission of Mercy” took place from November 21 through December 4 of 2010.  Fisher was a member of the team that traveled to Dessie, Ethiopia on a project sponsored by Rotaplast International. 

The not for profit organization is supported by Rotary and a number of other organizations.  This specific trip was underwritten by a Rotary District in the Netherlands while the Pearl River Rotary chapter donated money in the name of Fisher, a long-time member and former president of the Pearl River club.

The primary service that Rotaplast International provides is free reconstructive operations and treatment for children in need worldwide.  Another stated goal of the organization is to “help foster international goodwill, peace and understanding.”  The goal of Rotaplast is to eliminate the incidence of untreated cleft lips and palates in children worldwide by the year 2025.

At present this group has sponsored 152 missions in 19 counties.  They have treated 13,700 patients suffering from conditions including burns, cleft lips and palates.  Dr. Fisher’s team performed 12-15 surgeries every day during its time in Ethiopia.

At the top of the program, Fisher paid special thanks to Etoile LeBlanc of Jawonio, Cathy Bove of Nyack Hospital and Kathy Kruger of Rotary.

Fisher’s long journey encompassed flights to San Francisco, 11 hours to Frankfurt, Germany and eight hours to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  It was then another 12 hours by bus to Dessie which is located 240 miles from Addis Ababa

Dessie is a city of 170,000 people located 8,500 feet above sea level with a privately-owned hospital and one run by the government.  Fisher’s team worked in the government hospital. 

As described by Dr. Fisher, Ethiopia’s “health care system is in total disarray. The worst on the planet with absolutely no preventive medicine.’ The living accommodations for the people of Dessie included no toilet facilities, no running water, and no heat.  “Electricity is provided by the government so the people can watch Al Jazeera.”

Ethiopia has an infant mortality rate of 81 per 1,000 births (one of the highest rates in the world), an extremely low number of doctors for its population and health care marked by a large number of low level health care workers.

The thirty members of the Rotaplast team had no tap water, no ice and no fresh salads.

Their diet did include a lot of eggs, hamburgers and bottled water, though Fisher made it clear that everyone had to be very careful about what they ate. 

“We were provided with knives and forks but the people of Dessie eat with their hands," Fisher said. "We were told not to touch the water.’

The medical teams performed its work in one 400-square-foot operating room with three tables.  With no running water, all surgical instruments were heat sterilized.  No patient spoke English and there was no translator present, but fortunately there were people available who did speak the local language.

With all of these obstacles, Fisher said “We did make a difference.” 

His team saw people of all ages who had never had any medical care.  He made it clear that cleft palates or lips translate to lives horribly altered because of difficulty eating, speaking, gaining weight, hearing, appearance, and socialization.  Possibly the most remarkable statistic of the evening was that this life changing operation generally took under two hours even in the difficult conditions presented in Dessie.

“The medical team treated 83 patients in the week they spent in Ethiopia," Fisher said. "A number of the patients suffered from cleft palate but more often they suffered from scalds or burns.  It was 30% clefts and the balance scalds or other surgeries.  In most cases, it is mostly clefts.”

Maybe the most heart warming story was that of Patient 83.  The surgeons had essentially closed up when a little boy arrived at the hospital.  He had traveled almost six days to reach his destination.  

“He became our last surgery,” Fisher said.

For all their hard work and dedication, Fisher said that he and the others left with concern for their patients.

“We all left with a heavy heart because we did not know if any of our patients will get any follow up care," Fisher said. "Only 20 of 45 patients showed up for post op treatment. But I can’t wait to do it again.”