A medical team led by Dr Matthew Tait and Dr Narko Tutuo from Nepean Hospital has completed a lifesaving mission to Solomon Islands where they performed the first ever brain surgeries in the Pacific nation.
Nepean Hospital’s Dr Matthew Tait & Dr Narko Tutuo led the neurosurgical mission to Solomon Islands
With no neurosurgeons in Solomon Islands, the team of medical staff volunteered their skills and expertise to perform the complex brain surgeries.
“The Solomons is double the size of Canberra and there’s no neurological services available,” says Dr Narko Tutuo, Nepean Hospital Senior Anaesthetist.
Head of Neurosurgery at Nepean Hospital, Dr Matthew Tait says, “We’ve always said how wonderful it would be to go and do some cases in Solomon Islands.”
The chance to perform these lifesaving surgeries became a reality after the Solomon Islands government purchased the Island’s first CT scanner, a crucial piece of equipment in the diagnosis, guidance and follow up of neurosurgery.
In November, the team of specialist doctors, anaesthetists and nurses travelled to the south Pacific nation to treat cases identified as requiring surgical intervention.
The mission was the first time a medical team had delivered brain surgery in Solomon Islands and they completed a total of 13 complex procedures.
Dr Tutuo says, “The patients we’ve seen diagnosed with brain tumours were between the ages of two and 60.”
The volunteer team, known as the Aelan Neurosurgical Team, hope to continue their mission to help others in the Solomons by embarking on more surgical visits and by providing training to local surgeons, nurses and anaesthetists.
