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Eight teen patients receive scoliosis surgery during Duncan medical mission

Published:Tuesday | August 7, 2018 | 12:00 AM
Duncan Tree volunteers perform corrective scoliosis surgery on a patient alongside Kingston Public Hospital staff.

The Duncan Tree Foundation (DTF) did its 12th medical mission at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) last month. Eight adolescent patients who suffer from scoliosis benefited from corrective surgery during this mission.

DTF is a United States-based charitable organisation, which has been assisting KPH with providing surgical intervention for adolescent scoliosis patients since 2012. Surgical interventions allow for greater correction of scoliosis and improved spinal stability after surgery.

The foundation has contributed tremendously to KPH, not only with the provision of medical personnel to boost KPH's ability to perform more scoliosis surgeries, but they have been donating all the instruments required to do the surgeries since 2012.

The South East Regional Health Authority and KPH, by extension, have expressed gratitude to the Duncan Tree Foundation for their unrelenting support of KPH's efforts to successfully treat scoliosis patients and reduce the surgery list.

For the past six years, the foundation has assisted greatly with improving the quality of life of at least 130 young people. In total, the foundation has completed 20 missions to Jamaica, with eight taking place at the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay, St James.