MSF extends surgical programs to second Gaza hospital

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Médecins Sans Frontières has extended its reconstructive plastic surgery program to al-Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip, the second project of its kind in the coastal territory.

In July 2010, the international aid and humanitarian organization opened a plastic surgery unit at the Nasser hospital in collaboration with local Gaza health authorities.

"We hope that our work at Al-Shifa Hospital will increase the number of patients receiving treatment and reduce the Ministry of Health's waiting list", said Tommaso Fabbri, MSF Head of Mission in Jerusalem.

The program provides treatment to victims of trauma, domestic accidents, burns and other injuries and aims to help patients regain optimum use of their limbs, a statement said.

Al-Shifa and Nasser hospitals are the only facilities providing this kind of treatment in the Gaza Strip, together with a few private clinics and surgeons.

MSF staff travel to the Gaza Strip several times a year to work with the teams at both hospitals, which specialize in plastic surgery and specialist hand surgery. more

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