Plastic and reconstructive organisation Interplast CEO Prue Ingram Photo: © Kit Haselden Photography - www.kithaselden.com
A team of surgeons from Interplast Australia will be volunteering their services at Tonga's Vaiola hospital at the end of the month from the 22-28 Feb.
Prue Ingram said an average of 70 to 90 cases are consulted on, but around 35 to 50 surgeries take place in the one week the team are there.
Ms Ingram says currently there is only one plastic surgeon in the region, based in Fiji, and that means patients tend to wait for this trip.
She said in most cases the surgeons in Tonga do not have the specialist skills to operate on certain injuries and this is where her team can help.
"If it's a baby with a cleft lip and palate, they might not be quite well enough for the surgery or they might not have quite enough conditions, so we try and do an annual visit," she said.
"What people have to do generally is wait in the meantime. In rare circumstances they may travel to another country, but usually they are waiting for the team to come."
