By IANS,
New Delhi : A charity programme that brings women plastic surgeons from around the world to perform surgeries on economically backward women in developing countries, free of charge, would be held in India soon.
The programme, called Women for Women is an initiative of the International Confederation for Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery (IPRAS).
While the details of the Indian-leg of the programme is not yet announced, it is expected to be done during a five-day international conference of plastic surgeons in the capital from Nov 29.
Marita Eisenmann-Klein, secretary general of IPRAS, said: “In various parts of the world, female patients suffer from disfiguring and socially excluding incidents of trauma that often occur out of ethnic or social traditions or typical environmental conditions.”
“For reasons such as local traditions, these patients are often not in a position to go to a doctor for treatment or can’t afford to get one despite it being available in the nearby clinic. The intent of this programme is, therefore, to treat such patients in their own countries by international women surgeons in local hospitals,” she said.
These surgeries are done in association with the local medical staff and in close interaction with the national plastic surgical societies. The humanitarian programme is functional in the Middle East countries, among others.
Besides announcing the initiative in India, the five-day conference will see hundreds of plastic surgeons and others coming together to deliberate on a range of topics and release a study on burn injuries in India based on a 14-year research.