Orthopedic surgeon Jeffrey McConnell, MD, travels to the Dominican Republic to care for children and young adults with scoliosis
It’s the smiles on the face of the patients that motivate him, orthopedic surgeon Jeffrey McConnell, MD, says – that and a feeling of obligation to share his talents in those parts of the world where they are needed the most.
Dr. McConnell is talking about his recent mission trip to the Dominican Republic, where he spent a week as part of a team doing day-long surgeries to correct major spinal deformities, changing lives along the way.
The surgeons volunteer their time and pay their own airfare and expenses, something Dr. McConnell, with Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute, has done in the Dominican Republic and elsewhere every year for the past 10 years or more. He plans to return to Good Samaritan Hospital in La Romana, Dominican Republic, to do more surgeries this coming February.
“It’s about giving back,” Dr. McConnell says, “about doing something just because you can. We have a skill set that we can share with many people around the world who don’t have access to that level of care.”
Years ago, he co-founded two nonprofit medical aid organizations in India and went there annually to correct spinal deformities in the operating room while training local surgeons to do the work. Now, those organizations are self-sustaining, and he has turned his mission-trip focus to the Dominican Republic.
Dr. McConnell was joined by other orthopedic spine surgeons and a support staff of anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, nurses and scrub techs from six states, along with industry reps from companies that donated the surgical implants.
The trip was organized by World Spine Outreach, a nonprofit that helps coordinate and fund such efforts. In addition to volunteering on its trips, Dr. McConnell is a financial donor to World Spine Outreach.
Other surgeons on the trip were: Jaime Gomez, MD, chief pediatric spine surgeon at Montefiore Medical Center in N.Y; and Shirvinda Wijesekera, MD, and Glenn Russo, MD, both of Connecticut Orthopaedics and affiliated with Yale New Haven Hospital, in addition to Evan Mostafa, MD, a fourth-year orthopedic surgery resident from Montefiore.
The patients, all children and young adults, suffered from major spinal deformities called scoliosis, in which the spine curves sideways into the shape of a “c” or an “s.”
“These deformities can be very debilitating and painful,” Dr. McConnell says. “The goal of the surgery is to enable these people to support themselves and their families later in life. In addition, it can really improve someone’s quality of life, particularly girls who may face stigmas in society because of their condition.”
Why do surgeons and support staff make these trips? “We are very blessed with the level of care we have here in the United States,” he says. “People in other parts of the world aren’t lucky enough to have access to that kind of care. So we are happy to share our expertise.
“Just the smile you see on the faces of the patients and their families, who are so thankful that their children can have this surgery,” he says. “That’s very rewarding.
“When you can help someone in this way, you can change their life.”
