"We must be the change we want to see" - Gandhi

There is a universal feeling among surgeons all over the world that we must help patients who come helplessly to us. Their dependence on us to correct their problems is a privilege and a burden.

In India, many doctors want to serve poor patients and feel frustrated by the lack of resources. The need is staggering - more than 700,000 tibia fractures each year. An example is shown in these X-rays (at right) of a poor milkman who was knocked down while carrying two heavy cans of milk. He sustained compound fractures in both legs. Thanks to the intervention of Dr. Nicholas Antao, one of the SIGN-trained surgeons, and donated SIGN implants, the injured milkman will be able to resume work.

Surgeons like Dr. Antao have increasingly sought help from SIGN. My December trip resulted from 10 requests that arrived from India within a single week. During this trip, we established six SIGN sites -- each one a little different, but all providing needed implants to the poor.

Six New Sites Established - Opportunities to Heal the Poor

Following is a summary of our six new sites:

Dr. Sanjay, the surgeon at a Mehsana Lion’s hospital, organized a conference involving doctors from a 110-km radius. We did three operations and all went well.

In Mumbai (Bombay), Dr. Antao is project director. He is the editor of the Indian Orthopedic Journal and works in two mission hospitals. Dr. Gurbani, who has relatives there, will train him.

Dr. TI George met us in Hyderabad and operated with us to learn the technique. Grace Presbyterian Church in Texas helps support that mission hospital.

We also started sites in Codacel and Boroda as well as organized a camp to treat earthquake victims whose fractures had not healed or had healed crookedly.

"The tibia case is a lady of 84 years old - fresh fracture - osteoporotic bone. I made her walk on the 7th day weight bearing as you can see in the photo."

Dr. Nicholas Antao (January 24,2002 e-mail)

The India Orthopedic Conference - An Opportunity to Teach

One of my presentations was at a symposium of the India Orthopedic Conference, arranged by my traveling companion Dr. Gurbani, who grew up in Gujaret, India and now practices and directs an ankle and foot clinic in California. (We had corresponded by e-mail since he requested SIGN nails for the Bidada Trust Camp – where a severe earthquake resulted in many fractures.)

After the presentation, we demonstrated the technique of SIGN instruments, which drew an enthusiastic crowd. We made many contacts. At the conference, I also was fortunate enough to see the spectrum of treatment for different fractures. Many were treated by more conservative methods than ours, which means a patient must lie down until the fracture heals. The results are not as good as with proper interlocking nail systems. However, this is all that is available to patients - either because the patients cannot afford alternative methods, or because the implants simply are not available.

I was particularly impressed with the altruistic motives of the people we visited. Several will lead future sites -- as soon as SIGN can manufacture more instrument sets and I can return. For example, Dr. Aggarwal in Ludiana has wanted to join SIGN for many months. Dr. Aggarwal is trying to form his own institution to treat the poor. He is very interested in working with SIGN for research and academic purposes, as well as using our implants. We look forward to working with him. We also hope to set up sites in Ahmedabad and at the 2,000-bed hospital at Chennai.

The expansion into India has stretched our resources more than ever before. We have cut costs to the bone at our manufacturing facility and have dug deeper into our own pockets. This report talks about people in India who have regained mobility thanks to SIGN. Thousands more are at risk for long-term disability without SIGN’s presence. Please join us in this humanitarian outreach. Your tax-deductible donation will literally help others to rise up and walk.

We move forward in the coming year with encouragement from your continuing support and eagerness at the prospect of helping even more people.

My best personal regards,