Bhutan is a landlocked nation in South Asia, located on the eastern end of the Himalaya Mountains. The country has limited health care services and physicians to meet the medical and surgical needs of its population. Surgicorps medical and non-medical volunteers work with the Bhutanese medical professionals to provide surgical services and share knowledge to help improve medical services in this mountain kingdom.
The unique geography and difficulty for travel within this country prevent many Bhutanese from obtaining much needed health care. Patients and their families will often walk for days to see the medical team. We evaluate patients with a wide range of medical conditions that are common in developing countries, including cleft lips and palates, severe burns from open fires, and a variety of other problems resulting from trauma, including animal mauling.
This is Surgicorps’ third trip to Bhutan – we’ve gained the respect and trust of the Bhutanese people and medical community, and we once again look forward to improving the delivery of health care services in a unique surgical setting.