Association of Medical Doctors of ASIA, founded in 1984, Consultative Status with UN ECOSOC since 1995

AMDA International teamed up with AMDA Indonesia and the Clebus Cleft Centre (CCC) from Makassar to conduct a Cleft Palate and Lip operation mission free of charge in the Pare-pare district of Eastern Sulawesi. Once again AMDA International collaborated with TaiwanIHA to fund this mission for the first time in Indonesia. TaiwanIHA has helped AMDA to conduct many cataract missions and dental programs in Sri Lanka and Turkey. AMDA Indonesia, due to the remote location and the demand for cleft palate/ lip deformities, selected the district of Pare-Pare in the South Sulawesi Island as the mission site.

A team of 10 members from Taiwan and one coordinator from AMDA HQ, Japan arrived in Makassar international airport and then took a 3 hour bus ride to reach the Andi Makassau Hospital in Pare-pare. This time, TaiwanIHA invited 3-Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, 2-Anesthesiologist and 3-operation theater nurses from Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, one of the leading hospitals in cleft palate/ lip surgery in Taiwan, through Noordhoff Craniofacial Foundation in Taiwan.

There were also 6 Indonesian local Oral-Muscular-Facial surgeons from the CCC in Makassar participated and worked with the visiting team from Taiwan to complete the mission successfully. CCC was founded in 2005, however became active with the free surgical missions from 2010. It is a local charitable foundation formed by charitable minded young surgeons from the South Sulawesi Island.










The team conducted a screening of all the patients on the 28^th of May and according to the degree of difficulty divided the total of 30 into 16 and 14 for 29^th and 30^th of May respectively.  Diagnosis were varied from Labioschisis, Labioschisis bilateral, Palatoschisis, labiopalatoschisis and post labioplasty which required the complicated surgeries of Labioplasty, Palatoplasty, Pharingeal flap, lip and nose repair plus extraction and labioplasty. Surgeries were conducted on the 29^th and 30^th of May around the clock from 8am till 8pm.

 

There were 30 patients and 20 of them were female and 10 male. 7 of the patients were between the age of 14-27 and the rest, 23 of them were between the ages of 6 months to 9 years. Many of them came from far away from different Island after hearing about the mission through their friends and family in Parepare and through radio and news paper, thanks to CCC`s considerable effort. The Operations were conducted at the Andi-Makassau Teaching Hospital where a welcome reception was also held for the visitors on the 28^th of May. The director and deputy were very appreciative and thankful for this meaningful and much needed mission by AMDA and the Taiwan team. The hospital had 3 fully and well equipped operation theaters with 5 operating tables for the mission.

There was also workshop and demonstration sessions were held for the parents and family of the operated patients on after care and wound care. The nurses from Taiwan explained and demonstrated the proper way to take care of the operation wound so that there is next to no chance of clear scaring.

The Hon. Mayor of Paprpare in South Sulawesi organized a special welcome and appreciation dinner on the 30^th May at his official residence. The visitors were also treated with colorful cultural dance and music performances from the region. Hon. Mayor spent some time with the AMDA and Taiwan team to thank them for the great work for his municipality people and took some memorial photos with them. He also honored the leading surgeons with plaque of appreciation.


The news was published in a local newspaper (in Indonesian language).