The Tonga joint replacement team hit its daily goal again on Wednesday, completing two more knee replacements at Vaiola Hospital. That brings the total to seven joint replacements in three days.
The first operation, in the morning, was a right knee replacement for a middle-aged woman whose knee was badly worn by arthritis. In the afternoon the team did a left total knee replacement. Both operations went well.
In the second theatre, Christchurch surgeon Dr Tom Sharp carried on with trauma surgery. In the morning he fixed a fractured tibia with an intramedullary rod, and in the afternoon he fixed an elbow fracture.
Dr John van Dalen also took time out to talk to three media outlets about the work so far. He told them the aim is to return once or twice next year and do up to 25 joint replacements.
"All in all, the day has gone extremely well," John said. "The team is incredibly supportive, as well as the local team."
In the evening, the New Zealand High Commission office took the team out to dinner, which the team greatly appreciated.
On Thursday the plan is to do two more joint replacements, one knee and one hip, with more trauma surgery alongside.
Help fund the next 25
Rotary Club of Whanganui North has set up a Givealittle page to fund 25 more joint replacements in 2027. Each replacement costs about NZ$8,000, around a quarter of the private price in New Zealand. The goal is NZ$200,000.