“RTI Biologics Gives 35-Allograft Donation to CURE-International” from Becker’s ASC Review
“CURE to observe world clubfoot day” from Nagaland Post
“BEC Recordings and Air1 Celebrate Club Awesome Live Tour” from BreatheCast
patient at CURE Kenya
Good morning from the Great Rift Valley! Boy, does that sound great to me!!!!! I am here in Kijabe, Kenya, sipping a smooth, mellow cup of dark AA Kenyan coffee. Although I cannot see the valley from where I am staying, I have enjoyed many short walks to take in the views. The valley floor is covered with green vegetation. Trees and shrubs planted just a few years ago break the winds forces and give shade from the sun. Kijabe, Kenya — a great place to be. Read the rest of this entry »
Patients at AIC-CURE International Children’s Hospital of Kenya’s mobile clinic. (Photo: Bryce Flurie, CURE International)
ALACHUA, Fla.–RTI Biologics Inc. (RTI), a leading provider of orthopedic and other biologic implants, recently donated 35 bone allograft implants to Lemoyne, Pa.-based CURE International. The demineralized bone matrix (DBM) powder, illium strip tricortical and hemi femoral shaft will be used at AIC-CURE International Children’s Hospital of Kenya in Kijabe, Kenya, to care for more than 30 children with severe spinal disorders.
According to Timothy Mead, M.D., global consultant for CURE International, the allografts will be used to treat physically disabled, economically-disadvantaged patients at CURE’s 30-bed orthopedic/pediatric teaching hospital. The hospital provides care for children suffering from conditions such as clubfoot, cleft lip and cleft palate, curvature of the spine and disabilities stemming from polio, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and other congenital abnormalities. The donated implants will be used as part of the treatment for patients suffering from tuberculosis, which often affects their spine and other joints.
“Typically, children with severe spinal disorders will arrive at our mobile clinic in an advanced state of the disease in which an entire vertebra or more may have been eaten away and the spine is collapsing into severe kyphosis,” said Mead. “The child may be unable to walk independently, they may have difficulty controlling their bladder and bowels and all will have constant back pain. The worst affected children are unable to move or feel their lower limbs, which puts them at risk of developing pressure sores, infection and death.”
CURE International surgeons working in Kenya have limited access to metal or synthetic implants and, with small children in particular, there may be little autograft available for the surgery. Allograft implants, such as those donated by RTI, can be used to restore spinal alignment and fill the defect after surgery.
“Recovery following the surgery is a slow process, but often, within a few days, we see improvement,” said Mead. “Patients find that their back pain disappears and smiles return to their faces.”
According to Mead, RTI’s donated implants will help more than 30 children in Kenya—the total amount of children who undergo spinal reconstruction surgery in one year at the hospital.
“As a global biologics company, RTI is honored to support the work of surgeons like Dr. Mead through this donation to CURE International,” said Brian K. Hutchison, RTI president and CEO. “We are grateful to be a part of the process — from the generous gift of tissue donation to the hard work of the surgeon at implantation — of providing these safe, biologic implants that will help restore life for these children in Kenya.”
Allografts are used as an alternative to synthetic and metal implants. However, unlike synthetic or metal implants, allografts are a natural and biocompatible scaffold, allowing the recipient’s body to remodel it into his or her own tissue over time. Using allograft tissue rather than an autograft eliminates a second surgical site, allowing the recipient to avoid additional pain, risk and a possibly longer hospital stay. In addition, in some cases, it is not possible to obtain an autograft, so allografts are a natural solution.
RTI uses stringent donor screening, laboratory testing and proprietary, validated sterilization processes to ensure patients’ safety. These redundant safeguards provide the highest level of confidence that patients will receive safe, high quality tissue. RTI honors the gift of tissue donation by treating the tissue with respect, by finding new ways to use the tissue to help patients and by helping as many patients as possible from each donation.
About CURE International
CURE International is the largest provider of reconstructive surgery to disabled children in the developing world and operates hospitals and programs in 29 nations. Since opening the doors of its first surgical teaching hospital in Kijabe, Kenya in 1998, CURE’s focus on bringing healing to developing nations has resulted in more than 2 million patient visits and over 147,000 surgeries to correct physically disabling conditions. CURE has also trained more than 6,600 medical professionals, raising the standard of care in the countries where it operates.
The AIC-CURE International Children’s Hospital in Kijabe serves approximately 8,000 children and performs approximately 2,500 surgeries each year. The hospital also operates mobile clinics that travel to remote regions to provide follow-up care and identify children who can be treated at the hospital. To learn more, visit www.cure.org.
About RTI Biologics Inc.
RTI Biologics Inc. is a leading provider of sterile biologic implants for surgeries around the world with a commitment to advancing science, safety and innovation. RTI prepares human donated tissue and animal tissue for transplantation through extensive testing and screening, precision shaping and using proprietary, validated processes. These allograft and xenograft implants are used in orthopedic, dental and other specialty surgeries.
RTI’s innovations continuously raise the bar of science and safety for biologics – from being the first company to offer precision-tooled bone implants and assembled technology to maximize each gift of donation, to inventing validated sterilization processes that include viral inactivation steps. These processes — BioCleanse®, Tutoplast® and Cancelle® SP DBM — have a combined record of more than five million implants sterilized with zero incidence of implant-associated infection. These processes have been validated by tissue type to inactivate or remove viruses, bacteria, fungi and spores from the tissue while maintaining biocompatibility and functionality.
RTI’s worldwide corporate headquarters are located in Alachua, Fla., with international locations in Germany and France. The company is accredited by the American Association of Tissue Banks in the United States and is a member of AdvaMed.
Updated to correct photo credit, June 6, 2013.
I was done with my work for the day. As was my habit before leaving the hospital, I tidied my desk and office, walked through the patient ward and spoke the nurse in charge, said “good night” to the receptionist, and then spoke with the security guard on my way out of the building. This time the guard asked me a question I did not expect.
“What should I do with the cow?” he asked me.
“What should you do with the cow,” I repeated with a confused look.
“Yes – what should I do with the cow that is tied up out back?”
“What should you do with the cow that is tied up out back?”
“Yes – the cow for the celebration that is tied up out back.”
“… the cow for the celebration that is tied up out back …?” Read the rest of this entry »
We received an update from CURE Kenya Executive Director, Peter Kyalo, today on the situation in Kijabe, Kenya.
The last two days have been dry and we are thankful that no further damage has been caused by the landslide. We are thankful that patients are coming to the hospital and continuing to receive care.
We are in urgent need of water as works to repair the damaged pipes is still on going. The government delivered water two days ago and we are still waiting for more. If we are not able to have water re connected by the end of the week we will need to evaluate our admissions for next week as we will not be able to continue with regular operations.
The road is still very unstable and risky at the moment. We pray that no further damage is done and that we can continue to transport patients back and forth. Unfortunately we are not able to bring any major supplies to the station. We are only allowing small passenger cars on the road as heavy vehicle will compromise the road further.
Keep us in prayers that we can soon have running water and have the road fixed.
Kyalo
Shortly after Kyalo’s first email, we received word that a generous CURE donor and partner had provided a gift to obtain two water tanks to begin to help to alleviate the water storage issues at our hospital.
Please pray that we continue to find favor with government officials and private donors, continue to pray for our staff in Kijabe, and pray for the patients trying to reach CURE for their life-changing surgeries.
See additional impacts of the storms and landslide on the road system in the photos below.
We received the following report from our Executive Director of CURE Kenya, Peter Kyalo:
The road was opened and cars begun to pass today. The government officials came this morning for a meeting and a tour to see the damage. They were very supportive and promised government support.
A few of our staff members and their families were affected by the flooding. One house was completely flattened but they managed to get out before the damage (non-CURE housing). There are no reported casualties in Kijabe and everyone is safe. However some people did not sleep at home because their houses were flooded and could not be accessed due to the mud. It is still raining and therefore difficult to clear all the mud, but work is still on going.
The biggest problem at the moment is water. Most of the pipes bringing water from the mountain were washed away. At the hospital we still have some reservoir, and we are closely monitoring the situation.
Continue to pray for Kijabe as we go through this.
Regards,
Kyalo
We’ve uploaded new pictures from Kijabe of the impact of the landslide.
Around midnight Eastern Standard Time, CURE received word from our Executive Director of CURE Kenya, Peter Kyalo, that a landslide had occurred in Kijabe, Kenya (the location of the CURE Kenya hospital).
Kijabe is now completely cut off and one cannot access it from the upper road. The railway tunnel has been buried and the railway tracks washed away. The RVA gate was completely washed away and the petrol station flooded. Trees were uprooted from the forest by the rain and washed to Kijabe.
News is still coming in regarding any structural impacts to the mission station or the CURE hospital. Early reports are that the CURE hospital appears to be structurally unharmed.
We are thankful to report that CURE patients and staff are safe.
CURE Kenya (AIC-CURE International Children’s Hospital of Kenya) is part of the larger Kijabe Mission Station. The station is located on the edge of the Great Rift Valley, down the slope from the town of Kijabe.
Kenyan media is reporting that there were fatalities further up the hill where the landslide was more devastating. CURE Kenya as well as the rest of the mission station have been cut off from transportation due to effects of the landslide on the primary road leading in an out of Kijabe. There is also serious concern regarding the rail lines that run through Kijabe.
We will report back with more information as it becomes available.
From October 12-26, 2012, the CURE Kenya hospital was all smiles. Although all CURE hospitals are usually happy places, the smiles were especially bright thanks to our friends at Smile Network International.
Smile Network is a Minnesota-based non-profit which funds surgical missions and provides necessary supplies and surgical teams to repair birth defects such as cleft lips and palates. Read the rest of this entry »
Good Morning from the Great Rift Valley in Kenya!! Boy, does that sound a little strange. I awoke early and wandered out of our guest room to make my coffee. The back porch looks out through the trees onto the Rift. The view is not quite as stellar as the lowest station but still not bad at all. I love the cool, moist air of the early morning. All around are hills of green with islands of colorful flowers. Familiar birds darts from the branches, chasing each other in friendly fashion. Even with a sweatshirt on, clasping a warm mug, I notice the chill. Life on the Rift is very different from life in the desert. Read the rest of this entry »
Recently on Kenyan television, this report was filed regarding the story of 3-year-old Milan Ochieng, a boy from Kenya whose father works for a telecommunications company in that country. Today, Milan is healthy and happy, but as an infant, his life was threatened by hydrocephalus.
His family crossed the border into Uganda to pursue the specialized treatment that CURE Uganda and the CURE Hydrocephalus program provide. For those who have never seen African television or who are interested in this issue, it’s a real treat to have this available on YouTube.
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