Upon invitation by the government and health authorities of that nation, the Mercy Ship will dock in Togo for a period of up to 10 months. Reconstructive surgeries have been core to Mercy Ships surgical expertise since the late 1980s, when one of the first volunteer surgeons onboard, Dr. Gary Parker came for three months and stayed more than 20 years. With his firm belief in each individual’s “right to look human” and with his expertise Mercy Ships surgeons have performed more than 41,000 life-changing operations such as cleft lip and palate repair, cataract removal, orthopedic procedures, facial reconstruction and obstetric fistula repair in the past 31 years. Craniofacial anomalies are prevalent among adults and children through out all of sub-Saharan Africa, a result of little or no access to health care. If treatments are available, they are too costly for the average person to afford. Surgically treatable craniofacial anomalies include: maxillofacial trauma, cleft lip and palate, neglected benign facial tumors, and tissue injury from Noma, a disease which results in a gangrenous process that destroys facial tissue. Mercy Ships goal with the Outlook of Hope is to improve access to specialist surgical care with a focus on children whose needs are often ignored in societies struggling to survive. Scarce resources are often given first to men, then to women, and finally to children and the disabled. Those seen by society as providing day-to-day security are given the priority for survival. Its objectives are:
- To provide approximately 375-395 specialized surgeries for 210-230 patients affected by maxillofacial deformities (tumors, complications of injury, or infections). Of these, approximately 100-110 will be cleft lip and/or palate procedures for about 65-85 patients.
- To mentor 1-2 international surgeons in advanced techniques that are suitable for service in a developing country.
- To offer mentoring in advanced technique to African surgeons if available.
- To provide counseling to men, women, and children who are affected by their adverse physical conditions.
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