The SOM Foundation travels to Senegal with the support of Juaneda Hospitals to perform surgeries for the population of Missirah
The Sanitaris Oberts al Món (SOM) Foundation, sponsored by Juaneda Hospitals, traveled to the town of Missirah, Senegal, from October 26 to November 3. In collaboration with the Mallorcan NGO Dentists on Wheels (DSR), they will complete the setup of a new operating room and perform surgeries for local patients over the course of a week.
Dr. Jaume Julià, vascular surgeon at Juaneda Hospitals and president of SOM, and Pep Ribas, director of nursing at Juaneda Miramar Hospital and secretary of the Foundation, coordinated with Alfons Jaume, president of Dentists on Wheels, to establish this partnership and equip and launch an operating room in the facility.
DSR already operates a dental clinic in the area for treatments such as extractions and fillings, a prosthetic laboratory, and an ophthalmology consultation. The new addition will be a general surgery operating room inaugurated by SOM.
"It is a fully equipped operating room," explained Pep Ribas, secretary of the SOM Foundation. "I visited it last April, during a trip in which I helped finalize the setup and assessed the types of conditions we would face. It is equipped with a ventilator, oxygen, dual monitors for vital signs, a surgical table, and an auxiliary stretcher."
"There is also," Ribas continued, "a recovery area, a cleaning and decontamination zone. In other words, it is a fully equipped operating room—unlike our missions to Sanyang (Gambia) in previous years, where we had to build an operating room practically from scratch each time."
Dentists on Wheels, according to Ribas, "wants us to be the ones to inaugurate the operating room during our November mission. Afterward, the facility will remain in service for other expeditions by NGOs or professionals visiting this Senegalese community."
Following initial contacts made by SOM with local health center nurses, cases suitable for surgery during this mission were identified and reported via modern communication technologies. The coordinating nurse from DSR compiled these cases into a database, which was analyzed and filtered prior to the trip.
This year's SOM expedition to Senegal includes Dr. Jaume Julià, vascular surgeon; Dr. Salvador Pascual, general and digestive system surgeon; and Dr. Pablo Partida, anesthesiologist, all from Juaneda Hospitals. Additionally, pediatrician Dr. Marta Redondo will support routine pediatric care and pediatric surgeries.
The healthcare team also highlights nurse Mar Alzaga and nursing assistant Daniel Iniesta. All healthcare volunteers in missions like this, working in underserved areas, focus on essential health care and disease prevention activities vital for improving local health and fostering a culture of prevention.
Albert Julià, who will once again oversee the audiovisual documentation of the mission, and Miguel Ángel Salvá, a SOM collaborator, complete the team. Juaneda Hospitals, the Foundation's primary sponsor since its inception, has enabled this Mallorcan healthcare initiative. This year's team consists of 12 SOM members and one DSR nurse.
Preparations for analyzing surgical cases have been ongoing for some time. An initial review identified 60 to 80 cases for surgery, though the final number is expected to be much higher as word of the mission spreads. The arrival of the team is anticipated to draw a larger-than-expected number of patients, likely surpassing all forecasts.
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