THANKS TO ÖSSUR: An Update On Our 2024 Work In Burma

Resistance fighter Whin lost both his legs to a mortar strike. 

Thank you to Össur for their generous donation of an OHP3 Knee, which supported our recent relief mission in Kayah State, Burma. One soldier, Whin, received this prosthetic after suffering a severe injury while defending his community. A member of the Karenni National Defense Force (KNDF), he was struck by a 120mm mortar that resulted in the loss of both his legs— a below-knee amputation on the right and an above-knee amputation on the left. After a long recovery, his commanding officer reached out for help in finding a suitable prosthetic. Össur’s donation met this critical need, giving Whin the opportunity to regain mobility and hope in the face of unimaginable hardship. 

Burma has endured over six decades of oppression, with the military regime attacking ethnic communities and destroying villages since seizing power in 1962. The 2021 coup exacerbated the violence, displacing over 3 million people and leading to relentless attacks on churches, schools, and hospitals. Against this backdrop, a small group of doctors and medical students have made a quiet but significant stand. They built “The Last Hospital,” a hidden clinic in the jungle where they continue to treat war victims. Every day, these doctors face enormous challenges —limited supplies, the constant threat of airstrikes, and the daunting task of saving lives in a one-room operating theater carved into the side of a mountain. 

Cornerstone Foundation’s Coby Hsin brings donated knee prosthesis to the KNDF commander.

Last February, I joined the Free Burma Rangers (FBR) team in Kayah State. We spent a week at The Last Hospital, working alongside these dedicated doctors and students. We delivered desperately needed orthopedic supplies, including a donated drill and saw that proved invaluable during surgeries. Despite their remarkable skill, the doctors are forced to improvise with household tools—drills wrapped in linen and hacksaws sterilized for surgery. Basic supplies like plates, screws, and external fixators are running dangerously low, yet the team presses on, treating injuries from gunfire, artillery, mortars, and landmines. As the only hospital treating combat injuries in the area, The Last Hospital’s needs cannot be overstated.

Whin is able to walk again! 

This mission wasn’t just about treating wounds. FBR medics also transported families to safety, often under the constant threat of airstrikes. At a nearby Casualty Collection Point, we worked with a German surgeon to stabilize the wounded before transferring them to the hospital. The highlight of our time was the Good Life Club, where FBR staff sang, danced, and performed skits for children, sharing messages of love and hope. Seeing the children smile and laugh, even for a moment, brought a sense of hope—both for them and for us—that a better future is possible. 

Össur’s generosity has directly impacted lives here. I encourage you to watch SkyNews’ coverage of The Last Hospital in Kayah State to see what your support has made possible. The story of these brave and resourceful doctors was featured by SkyNews and documented in this short video.

Please watch this video and share their story. The world needs to know. 

To learn more about the ministry of FBR or to support their cause, please visit their website: Free Burma Rangers. 

Thank you, Joe Hsin, MD

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Cambodia 2024 - Day 6 Thursday

Hello all, 

Firstly, thank you so much for your support and prayers as we have been working here. The Cornerstone Foundation could not exist without your continued support and encouragement. 

Today was the team’s last day at Jeremiah’s Hope Hospital all together, and we had a packed day! Two total knee surgeries, and another ACL repair. Because we are only at the hospital for a week, we try to jam pack our days with surgeries. 

During our lunch break we also got a chance to celebrate and party with the local staff and had a classic pizza party with fancy cakes! It was great to spend more time with the Khmer doctors and nurses and just enjoy and celebrate the hard work we have put in this week!

Story of the Day 

Today we had two total knee replacement surgeries on the schedule, which is one of the most invasive surgeries our team will do this trip. These are major procedures, but ones that are life altering! 

Dr. Hsin worked with the Khmer doctors and trained them on the total knee repairs while encouraging them to do a lot of the work. We are constantly impressed and humbled by how much these Cambodian surgeons can do with so little, especially compared to what we are used to having access to in the US. 

During the first total knee, we realized that we didn’t have a cement gun, mixing bowl, or spoon for the bone cement that is used during the surgery. The Khmer doctors were quick to find a solution and found a bowl and a syringe, and used the back of a scalpel as a spoon to mix the cement! They joked that it was a “Khmer spoon”! 

In the US we can often take for granted having access to the latest tools and equipment for medical procedures. But our Khmer doctors and nurses remind us that great medicine is about the quality of care, not just how nice your equipment is.

Today’s Stats

• Did 2 total knee replacements

• Did 1 ACL repair

• Had 1 big pizza party with the whole staff at the hospital!

Cambodia 2024 - Day 5 Wednesday

Hello friends and family!

It’s been a busy week here in Phnom Penh and our team is having a great time in the OR and in the city. Today we did post-op checks with many of the patients from yesterday and performed more ACL repairs. This is a surprisingly common surgical need, and the Khmer doctors and surgeons are getting great practice under Dr. Hsin’s guidance. 

A highlight today was getting to see how the local Khmer doctors have learned from Dr. Hsin over the years of the Cornerstone Foundation’s involvement here and now are able to invite the students on our teams to get in the field. Our teams are learning from the staff here but our teams learn just as much from them too.

Stories of the Day

One of our team members is a med surge nurse named Adilynn. She’s been a med surge nurse for five years but is interested in moving into OR nursing. Today she got the opportunity to scrub into two of the ACL repair surgeries and get hands-on experience with the OR nurses on the team. She is a natural!

One of the local doctor’s here at Jeremiah’s Hope, Dr. Kanora is beginning to take over more of the tasks involved in conducting an ACL surgery. With three ACLs today he is learning more and more and getting faster with each procedure. This experience working under Dr. Hsin’s guidance is invaluable. Because of this experience the local team here will be able to provide more access to ACL care.

Today’s Stats

• 3 ACLs performed 

• 3 bracings completed

• 5 intakes conducted

Cambodia 2024 - Day 4 Tuesday

Good evening friends and family,

Today we performed a variety of procedures from spine, to hip, to knee. Dr. Ray performed a laminectomy (spinal surgery) today while training local doctors. Dr. Hsin conducted the hip core decompression on Jessica who we highlighted on Sunday. We got to check in with her post-op and she was in good spirits. She told us she was awake during the procedure which she said was a relief to her because she was able to understand what was happening. Dr. Hsin was in the room but more hands off on today’s ACL procedures as the local doctors began to take over. 

Story of the Day

Today’s final procedure of the day was an arthrolysis quadriceps Z-plasty (knee surgery). The young man that received this procedure was in a motorcycle accident 8 years ago. He received surgery immediately following the accident on his knee but it healed improperly resulting in almost complete loss of mobility.

When we did intake with him on Sunday his range of motion for his left knee was limited to 5 degrees. After today’s procedure he now has over 90 degrees of mobility in his left knee. It will take time for this to heal and for him to regain this mobility after 8 years of not having it, but this is a huge improvement! This procedure is life changing for this man as he is a farmer and has been severely limited in his occupation without use of his left knee.

Our team is excited to check in with him tomorrow to see how post-op recovery is going.

Today’s Stats

• 1 laminectomy and decompression (spine) performed 

• 1 Hip CORE decompression and bone marrow aspiration performed 

• 1 ACL performed 

• 1 Arthrolysis Quadriceps Z-plasty performed 

• 5 intakes conducted

Thank you as always for supporting our work. We appreciate all your thoughts and prayers!

Cambodia 2024 - Day 3 Monday

Good Evening!

Today our team filled up the schedule with surgeries! We started the week easy with three ACL repairs - a very common injury here. 

The ACL repair is a very neat procedure that involves taking a piece of tendon from another part of the body (often times the patella) and using it to graft a new tendon to replace the ACL. The Khmer patients play lots of sports (especially basketball and soccer) so these repairs allow them to enjoy the activities they enjoy most!

Story of the Day

One of our mission team members is a young man named Jonathan, who just graduated from CU Boulder in May and is currently studying for his MCAT. He dreams of one day being an Orthopedic surgeon, like Dr. Hsin. 

Today, Jonathan got the opportunity to scrub into one of the ACL repair surgeries, under the supervision of Dr. Hsin. This once in a lifetime experience (getting up close and personal during an actual orthopedic surgery) is something that other med students wouldn’t have a chance to experience until late into their residency. Jonathan even got the opportunity to help suture up the patient at the end of the procedure! 

One of the Khmer doctors, Dr. Heng, taught Jonathan how to do sutures and lent him a suture kit and model to practice on. It’s so amazing to see how our team gets the opportunity to learn from the Khmer doctors just as much as they learn from us. This trip has been such a humbling experience for all of us.

These education opportunities are part of why the Cornerstone Foundation does what it does! We get the chance to introduce up-and-coming physicians to practical work and experience, which helps frame the importance of why they study so hard. Education and exposure are part of the core tenants of what the Cornerstone Foundation is all about - providing the local and global community with orthopedic care and medical education.

Today’s Stats

• Performed 3 ACL surgeries 

• 3 knee bracings done

• 2 intakes conducted by Dr. Hsin

• 5 intakes conducted by Dr. Ray

Cambodia 2024 - Day 2 Sunday

Good evening from Cambodia,

Today our team did intake for more than 30 patients who were experiencing anything from a torn ACL to a full fused knee. While our surgeons did intake with patients, the rest of the team helped unpack the 14 duffel bags of medical supplies and equipment that were donated to the hospital that we brought with us from the US. 

These gear and equipment donations allow us to perform surgeries and procedures that otherwise the hospital doesn’t have the resources for! 

Story of The Day

Today we did an intake with a teenage patient named Jessica, who is the niece of the presiding neurosurgeon here at Jeremiah’s Hope hospital. Jessica has lupus and the steroids she was taking to manage her symptoms caused avascular necrosis in her hips (bone tissue death). She received surgery in Thailand for her hip pain in August, but the pain has continued and she needs further surgery (called a core decompression) to help her regain a normal quality of life. Thanks to the donation of bone putty from our partner, LifeNet, we are able to perform this vital surgery on Wednesday!

We will give you updates later on her surgery - but please be praying! Oftentimes superstition or fear prevents people from receiving these life changing procedures. 

Today’s Stats

• Conducted 30+ intakes

• Unpacked 14 bags of donated equipment

Thanks for reading - we’ll check back in tomorrow with another update!

Cambodia 2024 - Day 1 Saturday

Hello from the Cornerstone Cambodia 2024 team!

We have arrived safely in Phnom Penh. Thank you to all our supporters for all of your thoughts and prayers along the way!

Today we got to unload at the hotel and then all of the medical equipment was taken by a local hospital administrator to the CCMC Jeremiah’s Hope hospital. We are so grateful for their support and partnership.

After settling in at the hotel we went to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. This was an important historical and cultural experience for those of us who have not been to Cambodia before. The experience walking through the museum and death camp is sobering and provides significant context for why we are here to support the continued recovery of the medical industry after the genocide which occurred through rule of the Khmer Rouge. Tomorrow we will unpacking equipment and doing inventory and intakes at the hospital.

Thanks for your continued prayers and support! Please share this newsletter with those you know. We will be sending out a blog update once a day. Follow our social media linked on the home page of our website for more regular updates.

Burma 2024 Trip Recap - Dr. Hsin

Air strikes on Hpasawng Town

Recently I (Dr. Hsin) and Coby Hsin had the privilege of joining the Free Burma Rangers (FBR) on a Humanitarian Relief mission in Kayah State, Burma. The country of Burma, also known as Myanmar, has been in turmoil for over 60 years ever since the military regime took control of the country in 1962. Since then, war has raged throughout the region with the Burma army attacking ethnic communities, burning villages and killing its people. Though there was a short period of relative peace when Aung Sun Suu Kyi held the presidency from 2016 to 2021, a coup d’etat ousted the democratically elected government in early 2021. Since then, the military dictatorship, led by Min Aung Hlaing, redoubled its efforts to subjugate and oppress the ethnic minorities.

Dr. Tom treating wounded soldier at casualty collection point

With assistance from Russia and China, the Junta leads a violent genocidal campaign against its own people. Indiscriminately, they bomb churches, schools and hospitals, slaughtering protestors, and displacing over 3 million IDPs (internally displaced peoples).

Today the war rages on, but fort he first time, there is unity among the many different ethnic resistance forces as they battle the atrocities committed by the Burma army.

Two years ago, a small group of doctors and medical students who protested against the oppressive regime joined the growing civil disobedience movement and fled into the countryside where they opened up a clinic to treat the victims of the persecution. Their clinic was promptly destroyed in an airstrike, as were all other medical facilities supporting the resistance. However, this did not deter the small band of doctors from building a secret hospital hidden beneath the canopy of the jungle. For the past two years, this “Last Hospital” in Kayah State has treated countless victims of war-causalities among which are the result of gun shots, mortars, bombs, and artillery fire.

Dr. Sue and Dr. Hsin using household drill to fix arm

With few resources and even less medical equipment, they have remarkably saved many lives and limbs in their small one room operating theater carved into the side of a mountain. They have no address. They have no website. They are an ad hoc hospital hidden deep in the Burma jungle. The Burmese Army reconnaissance planes and drones fly overhead daily, hunting for the “Last Hospital” of the resistance in Kayah State.

This past February, I traveled to Burma, joining Coby and the rest of the FBR team in Kayah State. We spent one week at their hospital working alongside the doctors and students. We were able to bring some orthopedic and medical equipment which they desperately needed, and which were almost completely used up by the end of our time there. We found that the doctors and students were well trained, and had good fundamentals, but lacked proper equipment.

Femur fracture shattered by artillery

For example, for orthopedic surgeries, they used a household drill and wrapped it in a sterile linen. For a saw, they used a household hack saw and sterilized it. We were able to bring them a donated orthopedic drill and an orthopedic saw. They also lacked basic implants such as plates, screws, intramedullary devices and basic bone fixation devices and tools. While there, we treated mostly injuries caused by gunfire, artillery, mortars and landmines. We applied so many external fixators to open fractures, that we ran out of pins and fixators. As the only remaining hospital treating combat injuries, their needs can hardly be overstated. As you can see, the “Last Hospital” is not your typical hospital. They are in desperate need of orthopedic equipment, and they need it yesterday. The war rages on, and the resistance army has no one else to care for their casualties.

The story of these brave and resourceful doctors was featured by Sky News and documented in this short video. Please watch this video and share their story. The world needs to know.

Joining the Free Burma Rangers and Coby for the latter part of their mission, I witnessed hope and healing on the frontlines and to the IDPs in the countryside. As airstrikes and bombings were a daily occurrence, the FBR medics would help IDPs escape the villages and towns where the fighting was fierce, transporting thousands in trucks to nearby safety. The wounded were brought to a casualty collection point (CCP) for medical treatment. We worked alongside another surgeon from Germany as well as the FBR medics to stabilize the wounded at the CCP before being transferred to the hospital for definitive care. However the most encouraging part of the mission is the Good Life Club, a program featuring FBR staff singing and dancing and doing skits for the kids; and providing a message of love and forgiveness. It was joy to see the children dance and laugh amidst the war. For a moment, if only for a short time, they have hope. Hope for a better future and a hope for peace.

To learn more about the ministry of FBR, or to support their cause, please visit their website at Free Burma Rangers.

JoeHsin, MD

Cambodia 2023 Trip Recap

After a month of processing the immense impact of our Cambodia 2023 Medical Mission here are some thoughts from Dr. Joseph Hsin who led this mission. We are excited to share the impact of this year’s trip to Cambodia and how that ties into the impact of our longterm relationship with our friends in Cambodia over the past 23 years.

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When the Cornerstone Foundation first arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in 2000, things were dismal at best. Having gone through years of political turmoil since their holocaust in 1974, the people of Cambodia finally arrived at some semblance of peace following the last coup d’etat of 1998. However, the tragedy that befell this small country the size of Colorado, exacted a large price on its people. Over 30% of its 7 million people were killed over the four years of terror known as the Killing Fields. 

A medical school had been established in Phnom Penh in 1950 and by 1975, there were about 950 well-trained physicians in Cambodia caring for its 7 million people. During Pol Pot’s reign of terror, all but 38 physicians were killed; and only 20 of these remained in 1980 to try to reestablish medical care. The medical school was re-opened in 1980 and anyone with medical training was given 6 months in the classroom followed by 1 year of on-the-job training and then sent out to the cities and provinces as a “physician”. 

It is estimated that approximately 1,000 of these “physicians” were sent out in the last 20 years. The medical school has since reopened, and students now are able to gain better training there, as well as with studying abroad in France; these young doctors hope to bring their country out of the medical dark ages. However, the medical infrastructure is lacking as are supplies and equipment. 

The Cornerstone Foundation has been sending surgical teams to Cambodia for 23 years. In October, 2023, the Cornerstone Foundation sent a team of 15 physicians, nurses, ancillary personnel and students to Phnom Penh, Cambodia to perform surgeries on patients and to support Dr. Sim Sokchan at the Christian Medical Ministry to Cambodia - Jeremiah’s HopeClinic. Dr. Sim Sokchan was born right after the Khmer Rouge were in power in 1979. His parents were forced into an arranged marriage by the Khmer Rouge regime along with 17 other couples. 

They hoped to find stability outside of Cambodia so they fled to Thailand, hoping to make it to a Thai refugee camp. Their travel was hampered and they were forced to walk back to the city from Preah Vihear province near the northern border through the jungle. “My mom said she had me in her womb when she had to walk back through the jungle. People step on land mines and exploded. They took many days to arrive in Phnom Penh,” recalled Dr. Sokchan. His dad, a factory worker and his mother, a primary school teacher made a life in the city and so Dr. Sokchan grew up in Phnom Penh. He decided to enter into the medical field and was able to attend medical school early in Phnom Penh at age 16. After spending 7 years in medical school, he met doctors from Colorado who sponsored him for a three month visit to do an externship rotation in Colorado in 2001. He completed his medical training and did 3 years of general surgery residency in Phnom Penh. He was accepted to do a fellowship in France in neurosurgery where he studied for two years.

Over the next 15 years, Dr. Sokchan has emerged as the leading neurosurgeon in his country. There are over 30 neurosurgeons in Cambodia, all in the city of Phnom Penh. Patients from rural provinces and even adjacent countries are referred to Phnom Penh for neurosurgery care. Dr. Sokchan became an international member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons in 2016, then international fellow of AANS in 2020. He teaches neurosurgery residents and will be appointed assistant professor soon. While Dr. Sokchan is able to purchase Chinese made spine equipment to perform his surgeries, he is continually plagued with breakage of screws and rods because of the poor quality of the materials. 

One of the volunteers on a Cornerstone Foundation trip connected us with Zimmer Biomet and in 2018, Zimmer Biomet donated $5.7 million dollars of surplus spine equipment to Jeremiah’s Hope. Over the past 5 years many Cambodian patients have been helped with those donations. Most of the smaller sizes of screws and interbody devices have been used. On this current trip, ZimVie donated additional inventory to Dr. Sokchan, making it possible for ongoing care of Cambodian spine patients who otherwise would not have options. 

On our most recent visit, we had the privilege of meeting one of the recipients of ZimVie’s recent donation, a 64 year old farmer from Kandal province with chronic low back pain and right radiculopathy for a year. He had increasing difficulty walking for 3 months and was unable to work. His X-rays showed multiple levels of degenerative disc disease and spondylolisthesis at L5-S1. He underwent a successful four level decompression and fusion which resolved his sciatic pain. 

For the past 23 years, various NGOs such as ours have striven to improve healthcare in Cambodia, and have been able to do so only by generous donations of time, money and medical equipment by companies such as Zimmer Biomet and ZimVie. One cannot understate the impact of such generosity, and the lives that are changed by the surgeries we perform in the short time we are there. 

-Dr. Joseph Hsin, Cambodia 2023 Medical Mission Team Lead and Cornerstone Foundation Board Member

Cambodia 2023, Day Six

Friday

Our last 2 days have been awesome! We performed 4 ACL repairs and one knee replacement! As we wrap up our time at the hospital we had say difficult goodbyes to all of the amazing staff! We truly had an amazing time and are so great full for this experience. We will head back to the hospital one more time this morning and then we are off to Siem Riep for the weekend! 

Cambodia 2023, Day Two

Sunday

Today was an amazing day! It was our first day at the hospital. We met all of the amazing staff, unpacked all of our supplies and talked with patients! After the hospital, we headed to a market where we did some shopping and explored more of the town in Cambodia! Tomorrow we will perform the first surgeries! 

Cambodia 2023, Day One

Saturday

After our almost 30 hour journey, with 27 bags of equipment, we have arrived in Cambodia! We started our day touring the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and then made our way to Khmer Surin for dinner. Tomorrow morning we are headed to the hospital to unpack and get all settled in! 

Day Four in Cambodia

Wednesday

We arrived at the clinic today planning to perform four surgeries: two ACL reconstructions, an osteochondroma removal, and a non-union sequestrum. We ended up having a walk-in patient scheduled for a tibial tubercle avulsion at the end of the day after being cleared by our anesthesia team, making for a total of 5 surgeries today. 

Because we saw only two ACL patients today, we were able to run both ORs at the same time and knock out the first four surgeries by lunchtime. Dr. Kanora was able to perform most of the ACL reconstructions as the lead surgeon with Dr. Hsin’s supervision and guidance. Training Dr. Kanora on these techniques is a huge step toward advancement of medical care specifically relating to knee reconstructive operations in this country because there are currently no options for these types of surgeries in Cambodia. Dr. Kanora will be performing both of the ACL reconstruction surgeries tomorrow as well under Dr. Hsin’s supervision.

ACL reconstructions are time consuming operations, so while those were going on in OR1, the osteochondroma removal and the non-union sequestrum were performed in OR2. After lunch, the last patient on the schedule was prepped for surgery and the tibial tubercle avulsion began. Between surgeries, Dr. Cabrera taught lessons on anesthesia blocks and epidurals in a classroom full of eager nurses and CRNA students. He also demonstrated with the ultrasound machine how to identify nerves and nerve bundles for specific nerve blocks in the shoulder, neck, arm, and leg.

Once all operations were finished for the day, our team visited the Central Market and went to dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant. Tomorrow we will wrap up our final surgeries at the clinic before we head home this weekend! 

Day Three in Cambodia

Tuesday

We arrived at the clinic bright and early this morning, ready to perform our ACL reconstructions. For training purposes, it’s best to have both Dr. Hsin and Dr. Bierbrauer in the OR teaching the local Ortho doc Dr. Kanora. Due to the lack of  a full size autoclave, there is over an hour and a half of turnover time for sanitizing equipment and prepping patients, so with two sets of usable equipment we were able to stagger all four surgeries throughout the day. Dr. Kanora is the orthopedic surgeon at Jeremiah’s Hope clinic and today was the first day he was able to scrub in and learn hands-on ACL techniques. 

Our last surgery of the day was on Yuth, a former professional soccer player for the Cambodia Junior National Team. He tore his ACL during a match against Australia about four years ago and has been unable to play since then. He is really hoping to get back into playing soccer, but in the meantime he started volunteering at youth soccer camps for underserved communities in the Phnom Penh area. He works for a church and has found a lot of faith in Jesus through his injury, which he thought would be career-ending. When he heard about our trip, he felt excited to have the opportunity to heal his knee and try out for the National Team again. We are looking forward to sharing more of his story with you, so stay tuned for updates on Yuth and his journey.

At the end of our long surgery day, our team headed back to the hotel and decompressed before going to dinner. We went to a pizza place recommended by Yuth and walked around the riverside near the Cambodian Palace. 

Tomorrow we will have two ORs operating at the same time with two ACL reconstructions, an ostechondroma removal from the left tibia of a missionary boy, and a non-union sequestrum of the left ulna of a young girl.

Day Two in Cambodia

Monday

Today we arrived at the clinic, prepared to perform two ACL reconstructive surgeries and see other patients in between. So far, we have seen around 33 patients and scheduled 10 surgeries. Most of the surgeries we will be focusing on during this trip are ACL related, and almost all of them are futbol related injuries. There is such an influx of ACL injuries here in Cambodia because there’s a lack of training surgeons in reconstructive ACL techniques here, so if a patient needs a surgery like this, they would need to travel to Thailand or Vietnam. When we arrived, there was a long list of patients with knee injuries hoping to see our docs while we are in town, so they can expect to be very busy during the next few days. 

We started the day off with the first ACL reconstruction with Dr. Cabrera utilizing a Butterfly ultrasound machine to place a nerve block, Dr. Hsin operating, and Dr. Bierbrauer refreshing his memory on ACL surgery and prepping the removed patellar tendon graft for placement in the patient’s knee. Next, Dr. Hsin reviewed scans of patients and provided prognosis for each. Some will need intensive surgeries, while others will require a few months of physical therapy or simply wearing a brace. 

During this time, Dr. Bierbrauer prepped for the next ACL reconstructive surgery. We have two available ORs, but with just two surgeries today we decided to use the same one. The second reconstruction was successful with a minor bump in the road at the very beginning: humidity and temperature changes in the OR caused the scope to become blurry! This issue was quickly solved with a new scope lens and temperature monitoring. Both patients were sent home at the end of the day with braces and plans for physical therapy as they begin their healing journey over the next year. 

Lastly, our Anesthesia team interviewed patients that were previously cleared for surgery by the docs. Tomorrow, we will perform four more ACL reconstructions and potentially see more patients if necessary. We’re looking forward to sharing more stories about our patients here, so check back tomorrow for more photos and a recap of Tuesday! 

Day One in Cambodia

Sunday

Today was our team’s first full day in Cambodia! Dr. Hsin and Dr. Bierbrauer saw patients in the clinic and decided which were fit for surgery. We are planning to perform as many surgeries as we can while we are here and are planning to be in the OR from Monday to Thursday. They cleared two patients for surgery tomorrow. In the meantime, the rest of the team got acclimated with the local medical staff and unpacked all of the medical supplies we brought. Our circulating nurses also prepped OR equipment and supplies for tomorrow’s surgeries.

Once our work at the clinic was complete, we went out for lunch at a nearby beer garden. We are really looking forward to starting our surgeries tomorrow! 

Zimmer Donates Spine Supplies to Cambodia Clinic

Zimmer Biomet donated $5.7 million in spine medical equipment to the The Cornerstone Foundation and our team delivered it to Dr. Sim Sokchan, Neurosurgeon and Country Director for CMMC Jeremiah’s Hope Hospital in Phnom Penh, in January of 2020. The only conditions of the donation were the implants would not be sold and patients would not be charged. We are thrilled to be a part of this incredible donation and very thankful to Zimmer and their generosity.

"I am so fortunate to have this equipment and am probably the busiest surgeon using the equipment,” says Dr. Sokchan, He points out not many facilities exist in the country that can do spine surgeries – only three national hospitals and Jeremiah’s Hope.

And the timing of receiving this donation could not have been better. “I was about to order spinal screws, but they are very expensive. My wish was to order them from Korea, but they are still very expensive. So, I was about to buy some more affordable spinal screws from China, but they are not top quality,” he explains. Then, this donation came through. Not only did it contain screws but also, rods, everything for deformity, fractures, fusions, cervical, thoracic, and lumbar products.

He is encouraged that his team will no longer be limited by lack of equipment and that this donation will cover five years of lumbar spine, thoracic spine and cervical spine instrumentation surgeries. He estimates that in an average year, he completes about 90 procedures using spinal implants. With the Zimmer Spine equipment, he expects to double this number to 180 per year.

This is a story of “if you ask, you shall receive,” a total hip replacement.

This is a story of “if you ask, you shall receive,” and how we all received some extra joy from this young woman’s turnaround in her quality of life.  

It started with a simple conversation and a lucky coincidence.  In the last week of January, Ed Correia told his physical therapy patient Stacy that she would have to work with another therapist while he was away on a trip.  When Stacy asked where Ed was going, he told her about the medical mission trip to Cambodia. Stacy took a great interest in this because her in-laws have been missionaries in Phnom Penh for over 20 years. Bit of an understatement:  Sou and Ted Olbrich, are the founders of , which cares for 2,400+ separated or orphaned children in Cambodia. Through Sou and Ted’s initiative, thousands of orphans have been cared for, loved and educated through the FCOP International’s ministry.

Stacy mentioned that she had recently been on a mission trip to Cambodia with her family, working with FCOP International.  She brought to our attention that a young girl named Dany was in need of hip surgery. “This is a long shot,” she said and asked if there was any way that the Cornerstone Foundation team could provide care for her during our visit. The answer was yes!

About 7 years ago, representatives of FCOP International helped to get Dany out of a house with an abusive stepfather.  In Cambodian culture, stepchildren can be treated very poorly, frequently like a servant instead of a son or daughter. When she was only 11 years old, her stepfather got angry with her, and pushed her off the roof of their house on stilts, which meant that she fell down two stories to the ground suffering multiple injuries including a broken hip.

Someone in her local village took her out of her home at her mother’s request, because her mother feared for her safety in the presence of the stepfather, but the mother stayed at the home.  At this young age, Dany had a broken hip, infections at the injury site and tuberculosis of the bones. The free children’s hospital completed a surgery to clean the hip joint, but the hardware failed and she has walked with a painful limp for the 7 years since.  She also walked with a bent leg, stepping on only her toe, instead of using her whole leg and foot.   

Despite her pain and difficulty in walking, Dany goes to school now.  Even though she is 18 years old, she is in the 8th grade because she is catching up on the school she missed during the difficult years in her step-father’s home.  

Dany loves to perform traditional Cambodian dances, but she can do only certain dances and then only in pain.  Once she gets through her hip repair, she dreams of playing sports and dancing all of the dances that she cannot perform right now with her hip injury.  Her goal is to be a lead dancer and even a singer in the worship team at her church.  

Her treatment with the Cornerstone Foundation team started with Ed Correia (whom we have to thank for this entire experience).  Prior to surgery, he gave her physical therapy instructions so that she can go into the surgery prepared and come out of it stronger.

Dr. Ian Weber performed a total hip replacement on Dany.  Later that same day, he assisted and coached her as she walked her first even steps in seven years using her new hip, evened-out legs and both feet flat on the ground!  

The team rejoiced in Dany’s successful outcome and cheered her as she walked.  Dany lives with a loving foster family thanks to FCOP International. This family, a local physician and a pastor are providing her post-surgical care and facilitating her physical therapy.

What makes her different from any other girl her age? She is a double below-the-knee amputee who walks on her knees.

Chantrey means “shining star at night.”  Little Chantrey loves to go to school on her island of Koh Dach, because there is a large playground where she likes to play on the swings and the slide.  She also likes the subjects of math and reading in school, plus she says she is learning karate and judo.  

What makes her different from any other girl her age?  She is a double below-the-knee amputee who walks on her knees.  

Chantrey lives with her mom, two sisters and three brothers in a house on stilts on their home island.  She is the youngest of the six of the six children. Her father drowned in an accident years ago. To help the family get by, her mother collects recycling to make money, and four of the other children are already working.  In addition, neighbors on Koh Dach help their family by finding work for the children. Koh Dach is an island in the middle of the Mekong River, so the family takes a ferry to access the “national road” to get to Phnom Penh.

Chantrey’s mom drives her to school on a motorbike, because at 100 meters away, the school is too far for her to walk to on her knees. Her mother explains that her little girl Chantrey is growing quickly and getting heavier.  The entire family lives in a house on stilts, because in the rainy season, the house on this island in the middle of the river would otherwise flood. Right now, family members are still able to carry her up the steps to the house, but her mother emphasizes with a smile that they carry her up a long set of 17 steps to get her into the house. Her mother really emphasized the 17 steps.

Her mother told us about Chantrey’s early childhood.  She was born in 2012 after a full-term pregnancy, with her two full legs but with feet that were not fully developed.  Shortly after she was born, she underwent four surgeries on each foot. Chantrey’s feet became very infected. Following these multiple surgeries, the infant girl was getting weaker and weaker in the hospital, according to her mother, and was being nourished by tube-feeding.  The doctors wanted to do one more surgery on Chantrey’s feet, but her mother refused. She said she was feeling “hopeless” and just wanted to bring her baby daughter home and breastfeed her. She brought Chantrey home, continued with the breastfeeding and cared for her daughter as she healed.  Her mother said that she grew up healthy in every other way after she was able to bring her home from the hospital. 

Chantrey could stand on her below the knee amputated legs at the age of one.  At the age of 1 ½ she started walking on her knees. Her mother says that Chantrey never had any serious illnesses after the many surgeries and that she is an easy child. Even when she gets a little bit sick, she never complains, she is very patient and she never cries.  

About a year ago, when Chantrey was 7 years-old, a charitable organization provided her with prosthetic legs.  She received training to help her walk with the prosthetic legs, but it hurt her to walk with them and she gave up after a few months. The consult with Dr. Daniel Ocel revealed that her bones are growing out through the bottom of the amputation sites, resulting in a very painful base and connection point for prosthetic legs.  She is a growing girl with a growing skeleton! Right now, she cleverly fits the portions of her legs that are below her knees into a set of rubber sandals and walks on her knees. We heard she even runs on her knees!

Another memorable aspect of Chantrey is that she has an extra intra phalangeal crease in her finger, which means that one of her fingers has four segments instead of three.  According to palmistry, an extra crease provides a heightened ability to communicate. She sure charmed us!  

Dr. Ocel’s summarized the surgery as, “It could not have gone any better. We were very lucky.”  The repair of the flaps on the bottom of her legs went perfectly. When Dr. Ocel showed her the mom the pictures of the new revised legs, her mom started to cry.  Then, when he told her mother “no more surgeries,” that’s when she really felt the emotional relief.  

She and her mother were brought to Mercy Medical Center in the south of Phnom Penh when Dr. Ocel and Ed Correia were there giving their presentations to the staff.  Her Scottish case worker was extremely helpful is making the introduction and doing the translations.

We are grateful that Dr. Ocel was able to take this case in a matter of days to manage the travel that this mother and daughter need to do back-and-forth between Mercy Medical Center in southern Phnom Penh, Jeremiah’s Hope in central Phnom Penh and their Koh Dach island home which is 2.5 hours travel each way. 

This young man is ten years old and has learned to live with this condition.

This young man had a congenital deformity known as pre-axial polydactyly, a condition in which he was born with two thumbs on each hand. It is actually not as uncommon as one would think. Here in the U.S. it is usually taken care of very early, even by the time the newborn goes home.  This young man is ten years old and has learned to live with this condition. In Cambodia, it does “take a village” to survive as most people are farmers and they survive together as a community. The young man and his family were slowly pushed aside by the community because they believed that the young man was cursed due to his extra thumbs. Being ostracized in Cambodia is a very serious issue. Without the communities support this young man and his family were in a very tight spot.

Dr. Ocel performed the operation to remove his extra thumbs. The surgery turned into quite the event. During surgery dozens of people gathered waiting to see the boy post-op. After the surgery the boy's family and the people who had gathered were overjoyed to see the boy with only ten fingers. The boy has gone on to become a well-known bike mechanic and a local celebrity for his physical transformation. The family is no longer on the “outside”, and is vital component of the interdependent community.