Up to 40 patients in need of specialist reconstructive surgery will be treated next week at Vanimo Provincial Hospital next week as part of the partnership between Frieda River Limited (FRL) and Interplast.
Men, women and children with cleft lips, congenital deformities, burn victims, trauma survivors and people with hand and upper limb deformities will be treated as part of the program running from 22 to 28 November.
A team of expert, volunteer surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and therapists will travel from Australia to Vanimo to perform the surgeries alongside their Papua New Guinean counterparts.
FRL Country Manager, Dr Joel Hamago described this program as a mission of compassion and community commitment.
“The need for plastic surgery services is enormous not only in East and West Sepik but throughout PNG. Most of the patients needing these surgeries are often overlooked and left without support. This partnership with Interplast, alongside the local surgical team and Vanimo Provincial Hospital, will help ease some of that burden, especially in West Sepik,” Dr. Hamago said.
This year marks the second year in a three-year commitment FRL has with Interplast. Earlier this year, the Interplast team travelled to Wewak’s Boram Hospital where they treated 25 people with 29 delicate reconstructive procedures. In 2024, 17 surgeries were successfully performed, alongside 50 consultations and 18 PNG surgeons, nurses and anaesthetic support staff trained.
“Reconstructive and plastic surgeries are typically expensive procedures beyond the means of many Papua New Guineans. However, through this collaboration between FRL and Interplast, patients will receive the operations at no cost,” Dr. Hamago noted.
The next Wewak Program is scheduled for February 2026 at the Boram Hospital.
Accredited by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Interplast provides free vital plastic and reconstructive surgeries to those in need across 17 Asia Pacific countries. Its mission also includes strengthening local medical systems and personnel through training and mentorship.
Featured image: Interplast team performing one of 17 surgeries at Boram Hospital in 2024.
Image description: 17-year-old Joyce Kokol being tended to by Interplast staff following a surgery to treat painful burns scars she has lived with since a childhood accident.
Image description: 17-month old Nachain with her mother following a successful surgery to treat bilateral complex foot polydactyly delivered by Interplast and FRL in August 2024.
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