Successful First Effort in Ecuador

Successful First Effort in Ecuador

The International Hip Dysplasia Institute is supporting hip dysplasia teaching efforts in Ecuador.

Five different groups will be using educational materials that has been developed and provided by IHDI. The first educator to return is Eric Fornari, MD, an Assistant Professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Here some photos of Dr. Fornari teaching doctors and medical students how to diagnose and treat hip dislocations.

Please read his comments after returning to the United States. We are hopeful that this IHDI teaching method will begin to decrease the burden of hip dysplasia in Ecuador.

From Dr. Fornari:

“We just got back from our week in Ecuador.  An amazing experience.  Unfortunately, it is clear that hip dysplasia is big problem there.  It was my first time down there but it was impressive.  We did 9 true DDH surgical procedures and probably turned away another 5-10 due to time and circumstances.  In total we did 25 cases in the week.  

I cannot thank IHDI enough for supplying the various teaching materials.  I had the opportunity to give a lecture on Tuesday and put it all to great use.  The video was perfect and a great segue into practicing the exam on the model and hands on learning about the Pavlik application.  The local surgeons seemed to really appreciate and benefit from it and the students took away a lot.  The ability of the staff and students to be able to actually feel an unstable hip exam was great to watch as it seemed like it would stick.

I discussed POSNA’s and IHDI interest in the pediatric course surrounding their national meeting next summer.  I didn’t get to meet the head of the Orthopedic Society there, but I made sure the local pediatric orthopedic staff knew about our interest. I’ll keep you posted on what develops.“ 

Materials provided by IHDI include Spanish-language brochures, Teaching videos in Spanish about newborn examination and Pavlik harness application, a life size synthetic medical teaching model of an infant with a dislocated hip, and Pavlik harnesses to use for treatment.

IHDI appreciates all the support from Larry the Cable Guy and his Git-R-Done Foundation, but we also ask you to donate to IHDI to help with this and other efforts.

To help with the Ecuador Initiative, wash and send any useful Pavlik harnesses or children’s braces to:International Hip Dysplasia Institute, c/o Susan Pappas, 1222 S. Orange Ave. Fifth Floor, Orlando, FL 32806. For more information on the Ecuador Initiative click here.