Help IHDI with the Ecuador Initiative

We need your Pavlik harnesses or other childhood braces that are in good condition.

A lot of children in Ecuador have hip dislocations that aren’t recognized until walking age. Some live their lives with severe dislocations that cause pain and limit their ability to work as adults. Ecuador is a poor country, but has a democratically elected government that is trying to reduce poverty and improve living conditions.

The International Hip Dysplasia Institute is focusing on Ecuador to begin our efforts to decrease the burden of hip dysplasia in developing countries. If we can do this in Ecuador, then we might be able to do the same thing in other regions.

We chose Ecuador because of several reasons:

1. There is a huge problem with hip dislocations in Ecuador.
   1. Part of the problem is traditional swaddling with the hips and knees extended.
   2. Another part of the problem is inadequate education of physicians and midwives to diagnose and treat hip dislocations during infancy.
2. Ecuador is small enough that we could make a big difference with your help.
3. The government is friendly to peaceful international efforts
4. Volunteer orthopedic surgeons from Canada and the United States serve Ecuador on a regular basis, and they have requested help from the International Hip Dysplasia Institute

In May, 2015, the International Hip Dysplasia Institute organized a meeting of interested volunteer orthopedic surgeons to develop a plan to decrease the burden of hip dysplasia in Ecuador. The meeting included IHDI members, the Committee on Underdeveloped Regions of the Pediatric Orthopedic Society of North America, and a group of Canadian orthopedic surgeons with Operation Walk who volunteer in Ecuador that joined the meeting by videoconference. A plan was organized under the direction of Eric Fornari, MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York

In October this year, Dr. Fornari will be going back to Ecuador with materials provided by IHDI to help educate doctors, nurses, and midwives about hip dysplasia. This includes, Spanish-language brochures, Spanish-language teaching videos 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.

Please consider donating to IHDI to help us with this and other efforts. Also, wash and send any useful Pavlik harnesses or children’s braces that we might send to Ecuador for this outreach program. The address to send to is:

International Hip Dysplasia Institute, c/o Susan Pappas, 1222 S. Orange Ave. Fifth Floor, Orlando, FL 32806

Thanks

Charles T. Price, MD
Director, International Hip Dysplasia Institute

To view a PDF version of this article: New IHDI Efforts in Ecuador.