Waikato surgeon leads medical mission to Samoa

Dr Stephen Adams, Head of Paediatric Surgery at Waikato Hospital, led a Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) global health team on a one-week medical mission to Apia, Samoa.

The team of six clinicians, including surgeons, anaesthetists, and nurses, assessed over 50 children and performed 26 operations. These procedures addressed conditions that had often gone untreated for several years, including bowel reconstructions, tumour surgeries, and stoma closures. One notable success involved an 18-month-old boy treated for Hirschsprung disease.

Despite facing significant resource constraints, such as limited equipment and medication shortages, the mission provided critical care to local children. Two patients have been referred to New Zealand for further specialist treatment.