CAMTA
The Canadian Association of Medical Teams Abroad (CAMTA) was established in 2001 by a small group of Edmonton-based health care practitioners and lay people who had been on two previous medical missions to Ecuador. The focus was to provide orthopaedic surgery to pediatric and adult patients and to provide continuing education on detection and treatment practices for medical personnel in Ecuador.
CAMTA has now sent 15 “teams” on medical missions to Ecuador
CAMTA provides orthopedic surgeries at Un Canto a la Vida Hospital in Quito. The group does not charge the patients or their families, but patients do have to pay something to the hospital. Potential patients are screened by a local orthopaedic surgeon for surgical suitability. People travel from across the country to be seen in the hope of having life-changing surgery. The CAMTA team then spends the first day in clinic reviewing all the cases and determining who can benefit from surgery.
CAMTA provides orthopedic surgeries at Un Canto a la Vida Hospital in Quito. The group does not charge the patients or their families, but patients do have to pay something to the hospital. Potential patients are screened by a local orthopaedic surgeon for surgical suitability. People travel from across the country to be seen in the hope of having life-changing surgery. The CAMTA team then spends the first day in clinic reviewing all the cases and determining who can benefit from surgery.
Currently CAMTA performs as many as 80 surgeries in a two week period. This includes between 20-25 adult hip replacements in a week. Often, the cases include dysplastic or “malformed” hips. These cases are more complex and affect patients younger than those typically needing hip replacements in Canada. CAMTA provides all the surgical supplies, orthopaedic implants and post-operative medications.
Dr. Rodriguez-Elizalde has been part of the 4 surgeon adult team that has visited Ecuador in each of the last 2 years. It has been an extremely rewarding experience and has allowed him to give back to some of those that need help the most. Due to family commitments, he is not attending the 2017 mission, but looks forward to going again in 2018.
If you would like to support the CAMTA group, which continues to be a leader in Canadian Orthopaedic surgical philanthropy, please click here. You can even volunteer for a Mission if interested!