Operation Open Heart – brief history

Operation Open Heart (OOH) is a program where volunteer medical teams visit developing countries to perform surgery which otherwise would not be available in those countries. A significant part of OOH work is to provide training, skills transfer and equipment so local medical teams can establish independent, sustainable, specialty surgical programs in their own countries.

The concept of OOH began more than 23 years ago when a Sydney-based intensive care nurse, Russell Lee, visited the Pacific islands of Tonga. Russell saw that many young people had rheumatic heart disease and were in urgent need of surgery which couldn’t be done in Tonga. When he shared this observation with colleagues back in Australia, doctors and nurses soon volunteered to form a mobile cardiac surgical team, supported by medical supply companies.

In 1985, Operation Open Heart was launched in collaboration with the Sydney Adventist Hospital and the Adventist Development Relief Agency. That year the first fully-equipped cardiac surgery team visited Tonga. Every year since, teams have visited up to 12 different countries including Fiji, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, China, Mongolia, Nepal, Vietnam, Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia and Rwanda.

Support for many OOH trips is provided by service organisations, medical companies and personal donors. Some sponsorship in the South Pacific countries is also provided by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons under the Pacific Island Project funded by AusAID.

Each OOH team is comprised of volunteer surgeons, cardiologists, anaesthetists, intensivists, perfusionists, nurses, biomedical engineers and allied-health personnel. Team members pay their own air fares and often use their annual leave allocation during these trips. Initially OOH volunteers came from Australia and New Zealand, but now that word has spread, people are volunteering around the world, including the USA, UK, Ireland, Israel and Belgium.

The operations performed are predominantly cardiac surgery for congenital heart defects in children. The incidence of congenital heart disease is, on average, eight per every 1000 babies born. This can translate to thousands of babies born each year with heart defects. Operation Open Heart is often the only chance for many of them to receive life-saving treatment, and to do so while remaining close to their own families and homes.

The objective of facilitating in-country specialty cardiac services is now becoming a reality. Papua New Guinea, for example, has established a level of independence from visiting teams, and provides high-quality, well-equipped, cardiac surgery services of their own.

In 1994, the Operation Open Heart program expanded to include plastic surgery, and a volunteer team began travelling to Nepal to repair cleft lip and palate deformities. Due to the overwhelming need expressed in many of developing countries, OOH has also been asked to expand further to include other specialties such as obstetrics and gynaecology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, and ear nose and throat surgery.

Taking a mobile, specialist surgery team to another country can be an enormous logistical challenge to transport tonnes of equipment and coordinate a team of up to 60 people drawn from different nations. However the rewards are enormous, with the experience of other cultures, lifelong bonds formed with patients and their families, and team camaraderie.

It is hoped that through this website you will share the journey of an OOH team to Rwanda in November 2008, and gain some insight into the wonderful, enriching experience that is volunteering for Operation Open Heart. How about joining one of the teams in 2009?