Anal atresia
What is otherwise not talked about ...
Who we are.
And what we do.
Our names are Carlos Reck, Wilfried Krois and Christoph Arneitz – we are writing here on behalf of a group of pediatric surgeons who travel voluntarily, with their own money and outside of their working hours to regions where children have been since birth suffer from rare deformities - and may need our help. Specifically, we are talking about malformations in the area of the anus and rectum, which are often associated with anomalies in the genitals.
Analatre ... what?
Why haven't you heard of it before?
This region of the body, which is important for survival, is taboo in society. In contrast to volunteer work, for example with regard to heart deformities or eye diseases, you will not see any advertisements or posters. Most affected families also keep their children's anal atresia a secret. Understandably ...
What is it really about.
It's about the life of these children! Many such anorectal malformations would - after severe suffering - be fatal without treatment. That is why the children are supplied with a temporary artificial anus (stoma) from the abdomen immediately after their birth - whereby the “temporary” usually becomes a permanent state of suffering for the surviving children. This first operation can be performed by just about any surgeon. As a result, special expertise is required in order to permanently remedy the anomaly, to close the artificial anus and to normalize the excretion process. What is everyday for us determines life and death elsewhere.
(Survival) life and quality of life
There are too few pediatric surgeons for this in developing countries. And even if they did exist, such operations would be far too expensive for the families and not “acute” enough for the hospitals - after all, after the first operation, it is no longer a matter of life and death. But hand on heart: if you or one of your children with a provisional, often smeared and foul-smelling anus had to cope with everyday (school) life, you would rate this procedure as “acute”! In fact, the children affected are socially stigmatized: they are avoided, teased and marginalized. In addition, there are medical complications such as chronic urinary tract infections, bladder or kidney damage and the exclusion from a sexual life as a partner.
We make it
Fortunately, there are people who can - and want to help - these children. In Honduras, one of the poorest countries in Central America, a group of dedicated medical professionals takes care of such special cases. You select the patients, take care of the appropriate preparation and organize the procedure in advance. This effort is necessary because such an operation can take up to 6 hours. The interventions are then carried out by volunteer specialists from Europe and the USA. We and an international team - were able to treat a total of 34 such cases in a week in 2014, often with daily working hours of more than 12 hours. And this is exactly where you come into play ... because your support makes our commitment possible!
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Your money will DIRECTLY benefit the affected families, the little patients!
This is used to finance examinations, treatments, care services and the operation of the hospital.
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Very important: Your donation will NOT be used for plane tickets, accommodation or food for the western doctors - we will pay for all of this out of our own pocket.
What is $ 10,000 for?
So that you can better assess the situation: The medical treatment of the 34 cases mentioned above cost around $ 10,000 in 2014. Can you imagine what 34 such operations would have made in Europe or the US? We tell you: We couldn't do a single operation here for this amount. So you can see that on such a mission in Honduras, every penny really arrives and is used highly efficiently. And this year there is again a lot to do ...
A matter of honor - again this year
This year around 25 anal atresia cases are on the program. In the meantime it has become a matter of honor that we and our pediatric surgeon friends want to help again at our own expense. With your support we can actually make a difference! And I can promise you one thing: every donation, no matter how small, helps us advance, every larger donation enables us to make real progress. As a supporter, you will of course receive a comprehensive report on our activities for the little patients on site after the mission has been completed.
Donation account
HELPING HANDS FOR ANORECTAL PAINTING INFORMATION
IBAN: AT89 2011 1826 8970 0500
BIC: GIBAATWWXXX
Institute: Erste Bank
