MISSION: PARAGUAY

14 Days: An Impact for a Lifetime

Doctors from the International College of Surgeons (ICS) held fourteen successful days of free medical care for villagers in Villa del Rosario, San Pedro, and María Auxiliadora, Itapúa. About sixteen specialists from different countries together with health professionals of the Faculty of Medicine of the National University of Asunción (UNA) attended the facilities of the Social Security Institute (IPS), in Villa del Rosario.

The doctors – several of them Taiwanese – brought their own equipment for x-rays, surgeries, electrocardiograms, ultrasound, and general consultations. In this town, surgeries were performed, and medications were delivered to patients in desperate need of medical attention. At the María Auxiliadora District Hospital, doctors developed fistula-making surgeries in dialyzed patients and received both children and adults for various consultations.

In total, 1,191 patients received treatment, while 77 specifically underwent surgery with the visiting doctors. The ICS delegation, which offered free care in the locations above, was made up of sixteen medical specialists in urology, neurology, cardiology, traditional Chinese medicine, gastroenterology. Doctors participated from Taiwan, China; Poland; Guatemala; Mexico; and Switzerland, as reported by the Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan, China).

Establishing Relationships A World Away

Dr. Profa. Aij-Lie Kwan, President-elect of ICS, of Taiwanese origin, received recognition by the First Lady of the Republic of Paraguay, Silvana Abdo, delivered by Ms. Luz Arguello de Afara, wife of Senator Juan Afara.

Distinctions also came for coordination, issued to Dr. Guido Parquet, Dr. Carlos Arce and Dr. Rosa Sánchez. As a guest of honor, the Minister of Public Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Julio Daniel Mazzoleni Insfrán was in attendance at the ceremony.

ICS is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing together surgeons and medical specialists from all countries without distinction of races or creeds, to promote surgical excellence for the benefit of all humanity. Missions, such as this one to Paraguay by the doctors of ICS, spread that philosophy across the globe.