Chicago Surgeons Give Back
BY LAUREN UZDIENSKI, AUGUST 8, 2011
Founded in 1995, Operation Walk is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1995 with the aim of bringing needed large joint surgeries to patients throughout the globe, primarily in the third world. Volunteer surgical teams have participated in trips to Cuba, China, Nepal, Philippines, Nicaragua, Peru, Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama and Ecuador. Now the Chicago Tribune is praising two surgeons striving to help Chicago-area patients lacking insurance or access to hip or knee replacements.
Like other branches of Operation Walk, the Chicago organization had been dedicated to treating patients outside the U.S. But when two hospitals in the city stopped providing operations to uninsured patients, Dr. David Stulberg and Dr. Victoria Brander, both co-directors of Operation Walk Chicago, attempted to redirect these services to local patients. They set up a pilot program in March 2011 with the intention of relieving these patients from debilitating pain and, in many cases, return to work. Operation Walk cites one study showing nearly all employed people return to work and more than half of those not working regain employment after hip replacement.
The article estimates that the number of uninsured patients in need of joint replacement exceeds Operation Walk's capacity, despite support from the community and local businesses. In comments to the Tribune, Dr. Brander says she hopes her efforts will inspire other surgeons to help. "Do one or two and that affects a person, they get back to their house and job - that has a ripple effect. Other hospitals start doing it, and they see an effect and others see it work."
