| Providing Medical Care Around the World
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Haiti
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Dr. Duffy went to Haiti shortly after the
2010 earthquake to assess reconstructive needs and operate on a variety of patients with exposed
fractures and other problems secondary to the earthquake. Prior to the earthquake, Dr. Duffy
had begun talking with an organization called Partners in Health (www.pih.org)
based in Boston which has already been working in Haiti providing healthcare for over 20 years. They had recently
realized a need for a microsurgical team in their efforts and Dr. Duffy had been arranging a trip to Haiti for
this purpose when the earthquake struck. He was able to catch one of the first commercial flights approximately a
month after the earthquake and operated at PIH's main facility in Cange, which is about 90 km north of
Port-au-Prince.
Many of the earthquake victims found their way to hospitals outside Port-au_prince and Dr. Duffy spent several days operating, primarily using
local tissue flaps to cover leg fractures which had already been treated by the orthopedic surgoens but which
had wound healing complications. He also worked with a team of Irish surgeons who were at the facility.
"I had previously been to Haiti back when I was in college and have always been impressed with the
resilience and fortitude of the Haitian people. This is the latest in a string of disasters both
natural and man-made that the country has had to covercome. There remains a great need for future
reconstructive capabilities in the country and I foresee myself going back in the future to help set these
service up and teach local surgeons."
Frederick J. Duffy, Jr., M.D.
You can watch a video of Dr. Duffy discussing the experience by
clicking here.
The pictures below show the operating room he worked in as well as one of the cases he was involved with and some of the devastation in Port-au-Prince
that he witnessed.
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Honduras
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Dr. Duffy also recently went to the Honduras to provide
care in remote regions. This trip he went with his wife, who is an otolaryngologist, as well
as his two teenage sons. This was an opportunity to not only help with the care needed
in this country but also to help his sons see the needs in countries outside our own.
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