Mr David Morgan travels to Tonga as part of a volunteer surgical team for Interplast
Interplast is an Australian organisation working to provide valuable volunteer surgical services and care to communities throughout the Asia Pacific region that would not otherwise be able to afford or have access to these. 
Interplast sends teams of highly qualified plastic and reconstructive surgeons, nurses, anaesthetists, and other specialists to treat conditions, which under access to appropriate health care are totally repairable. Their mission is to ’repair bodies and rebuild lives’.
Interplast not only sends out medical teams to provide surgical services, but they also work in partnership with local organisations, such as hospitals and universities, to help train local doctors and surgeons to be self-sufficient in the future.
Most of the cases treated are related to child birth defects of the hands and feet, cleft lip and palate, and release of burns scar contractures.
Mr David Morgan and his surgical team’s work in Tonga
As the nominated Interplast country coordinator for Tonga, this was Mr David Morgan’s third trip to the country in the past few years. His highly experienced team was made up of two anaesthetists (including one of his regular anaesthetists, Dr Paul Goggin), two theatre nurses, and fellow plastic surgeon
Graham Sellars from Sydney. This year the team also included a physiotherapist/hand therapist.
These trips generally last for nine days, with a full day set aside at the beginning for patient consulting. During this consulting day around 100 patients are seen, including both children and adults, and over the following days around 40 operations will be successfully completed.
Mr Morgan has noticed a great improvement in both the facilities and abilities of the local teams since his first trip, stating “The local medical facilities are currently quite good, and with funding from both Interplast and other organisations, they are constantly improving.”
What does this mean for the local community?
There are currently no plastic surgeons in Tonga, so many of the conditions which could be prevented or are repairable will often go completely untreated. With the visit from Mr David Morgan, his team, and the funding from Interplast, an abundance of knowledge and skill is imparted to the two general surgeons currently in Tonga and their trainees.
A visit from the Australian High Commissioner to the hospital also highlighted Australia’s contribution and support of the ongoing work which Interplast carries out in the Asia Pacific region.
Mr David Morgan’s support of Interplast in Tonga
Mr David Morgan is committed to providing support of Interplast and their surgical programs. In Australia and New Zealand, we often take high quality healthcare for granted. Whenever care is needed, we can be treated quickly and
effectively by highly qualified doctors, nurses, surgeons, and other specialists.
By providing support and training for local medical professionals in underdeveloped areas, Interplast empowers lasting change within these communities.
For more information about the amazing work of Interplast, click here; or for information about any of the procedures offered by Mr David Morgan, click here!