All the Right Moves
Operation Walk Virginia Provides Free Joint Replacement Surgeries to Those in Need

The Operation Walk Virginia team gathers for a photo.

With smoke softly puffing from nearby Fuego volcano,peace lilies gently waving in the late September breeze, and historic ruins lining cobblestone streets, team Operation Walk Virginia pressed on — barely noticing the sublime photo ops. Their destination was Las Obras Sociales Hospital, located in Antigua, a city in Guatemala, where more than 40 American volunteers, including orthopedic surgeons, physicians, anesthesiologists, operating room staff, internists, nurses and physical therapists would spend the next eight days providing free surgical hip and knee replacements.

“We help people who suffer debilitating hip and knee joint pain but could never afford this kind of care,” says Gerard Engh, MD, Operation Walk Virginia founder and joint replacement surgeon, Inova Mount Vernon Hospital. “Their crippling pain affects them physically, emotionally, financially and spiritually. Operation Walk is their only hope for a pain-free, productive life.”

When it was time to leave Antigua, Dr. Engh and his altruistic team tallied their numbers. They’d replaced 54 joints to help 45 previously crippled Guatemalan patients walk again. As for new Operation Walk Virginia friends, there were too many to count.

	Patrick Gaspar, MD, and Maria Schaart, MD, talk with a patient who is hoping to receive a new knee. The medical team has to be sure a patient can handle surgery.

Joint Ventures

Operation Walk Virginia is one of 14 chapters within the international nonprofit Operation Walk organization. The Virginia team makes one trip annually to a developing country where local hospitals are not equipped to perform joint replacements. For three consecutive years, Operation Walk Virginia has also partnered with Inova Mount Vernon Hospital to host an annual day dedicated to uninsured Virginia residents in need of joint replacements.

For every mission, manufacturers donate the joint replacements, and the medical and surgical members donate time. When traveling abroad, Operation Walk Virginia must raise approximately $150,000 to fund medical supplies, medications and patient equipment, as well as airfare, ground travel, meals and hotel accommodations for the volunteers. Surgeries performed stateside are made possible by Inova Mount Vernon Hospital.

	Anne Herbst, RN, receives a hug.

History Repeats Itself

Operation Walk America began in 1995 with a mission to provide free joint replacement surgery to patients residing in developing countries. Dr. Engh spearheaded the Operation Walk Virginia chapter in 2006 and has since led surgical teams on missions to Nicaragua, Ecuador and, most recently, Guatemala.

When it became clear that Americans needed help as well, Inova Mount Vernon Hospital partnered with Operation Walk Virginia and initiated an annual one-day mission to provide free joint replacement surgery to Northern Virginia area patients without health insurance or means to cover such procedures. Each year since 2010, Inova Mount Vernon Hospital has donated operating rooms and surgical equipment as well as each patient’s medication, room and board, and follow-up care. “On December 8, the hospital funded 10 free joint replacements,” says Julia Warner, PCD, Inova Joint Replacement Center, and Operation Walk Virginia’s clinical coordinator. “It’s hard to put a dollar figure on this kind of support — since we’re talking about giving people back their lives — but I can say that each procedure costs around $40,000. Without Inova Mount Vernon Hospital, our U.S. mission would not happen.”

	Rita Fields, operating room RN, helps Raphael, who received a new knee, make his way down the hallway. Raphael had both arms amputated after an electrical accident, so it took some time with Operation Walk’s physical therapists to learn how to use crutches.

As the largest center of its kind in the mid-Atlantic region and a nationally accredited program in Virginia with The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval™ for outstanding care in joint replacement procedures, the Inova Mount Vernon Hospital Joint Replacement Center represents a remarkable alliance of respected medical experts. “At Inova, we see this wealth of talent as a unique opportunity to help the communities we serve live healthier, more fulfilling lives,” says Barbara Doyle, CEO, Inova Mount Vernon Hospital.

Whether serving those in need at home or abroad, Warner most enjoys recalling the end of each mission. That is when patients take a step or two for the first time in a while and
they smile. “On our final day in Antigua, I walked with several recovering patients out to the hospital’s courtyard,” Warner says. “One week earlier, many of these patients couldn’t walk at all! It was a day for reaching goals.”

Next Steps
To find out how to give to Operation Walk Virginia, click here.

	See Us Online View more photos from the trip on Facebook
	Leader Among Leaders When discussing Operation Walk Virginia, its founder Gerard Engh, MD, joint replacement surgeon, Inova Mount Vernon Hospital, focuses on the team’s “passion for using their talents and skills to help those in need.” He humbly sidesteps any mention of his own renowned accomplishments. If, however, you Google the surgeon’s name, pages of achievements pop up, beginning with Becker’s Orthopedic & Spine Review listing Dr. Engh as one of the nation’s top 70 knee surgeons. The publication evaluated physicians based on their awards, leadership, published work and professional recommendations. Dr. Engh is also a 2013 nominee for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons’ (AAOS) Humanitarian Award. This honor, to be officially presented at the AAOS 2013 Annual Meeting, recognizes those distinguished by outstanding musculoskeletal-related humanitarian activities in the United States or abroad.