I just returned from a 9 day trip to treat earthquake victims in Indonesia. Thank you to those surgeons who have called offering their services, orthopaedic equipment and who are interested in the situation in regards to volunteers traveling there. I operated in 2 hospitals in Yogyakarta and one in Bantul, Jakarta. SIGN was the only IM nail interlocking screw system that I saw or heard about being used. Many long bone fractures were treated with plates and screws. The Red Cross donated many plates and screws to the different hospitals.

Each day I performed SIGN surgeries with orthopaedic residents from Jakarta and/or local orthopaedic surgeons. The orthopaedic surgeons were willing to work as efficiently and as long as possible providing the hospital furnished the operating rooms and personnel. I was fortunate to work with the residents because they picked the difficult cases, mostly communited femur fractures, which were amendable to treatment by an IM nail interlocking screw system.

I saw teams of orthopaedic surgeons from Russia, Philippines, Japan and Malaysia. I understood that a team was there from Singapore and probably other countries as well. Teams from other cities in Indonesia were also working. These teams were usually composed of residents and one staff orthopaedic surgeon.

Report of the backlog of patients awaiting surgery varied daily. This backlog is decreasing. If you wish to travel I suggest you contact Didik Librianto, M.D. disya@centrin.net.id who is staff orthopaedic surgeon at Fatmawati Hospital.

I found Dr. Bambang Kisworo at Panti Rapih Hospital to be a technically excellent surgeon, hard working and compassionate in serving his patients. I left two sets of SIGN instruments and 150 nails and 400 screws with Dr. Bambang so that he could continue doing SIGN surgery after I left.

Many of you have volunteered equipment I suggest that you contact Dr. Bambang to see his needs. I did not pay customs on the SIGN equipment that I carried with me through the airport but we did have to pay customs on items we shipped to Indonesia. MicroAire shipped a new drill to Dr. Didik’s house by FedEx.

Future needs will include surgeons and equipment to treat nonunions, malunions and broken plates and screws as is the case in Pakistan. Surgeons skilled in reconstruction will be needed.

I would like to thank MicroAire for donating an electric drill and Depuy for donating 6 Taylor external fixator frames.

I toured the earthquake areas around Bantul and saw the destruction. I also toured the wards of the hospital and a parking garage where many patients are still awaiting treatment. Many of their x-rays showed very communited fractured femurs. Eighty-five percent of the injuries are orthopaedic. SIGN equipment will be needed for many months and possibly years to take care of the disasters as well as the many traffic injuries that occur.

We donated all of the equipment for this trip as well as other equipment including awls. We continue to donate SIGN systems and implants to Banda Aceh and two hospitals in Pakistan who are treating the injuries that were sustained in their disasters. Your past donations have been very helpful.

Your donations help SIGN accomplish these goals. As you know we do not have government grants and we do not have major funding. I appreciate very much your help. Many patients owe you their gratitude for your contributions.