14. Revolutionizing Orthopedic Care in Low-Income Countries, Part 1 of 3
Hetal Baman
Subscribe and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or your favorite platform!
What happens when the breadwinner of a family living under the poverty line in a low or middle income country gets into an accident breaking bones and eliminating his or her ability to walk, eliminating their ability to go to work and make money for their family?
I interview Dr. Lewis Zirkle, the President and Founder of SIGN Fracture Care, a nonprofit organization that provides implants/instrumentation and surgical education to local surgeons in developing countries. We focuses on the lack of orthopedic care in low and middle-income countries, particularly in the context of traumatic accidents and fractures and Dr. Zirkle shares his experiences as a surgeon in Vietnam as well as the challenges of designing and manufacturing implants for use in low-resource settings. We also discuss the impact of untreated fractures on families and communities and the founding of SIGN Fracture Care.
In this Episode, We Cover:
The Lack of Orthopedic Care in Low and Middle-Income Countries: The episode discusses the issue of orthopedic care in low and middle-income countries, particularly in the context of traumatic accidents and fractures. It highlights the lack of orthopedic care in many parts of the world and the impact of untreated fractures on families and communities.
Dr. Zirkle's Epiphany: Dr. Zirkle shares his experience of realizing the need for sustainable orthopedic change during his time in Indonesia. He made a promise to find a way to equip local surgeons to treat the fractures of the injured poor in the developing world.
Impact of Untreated Fractures on Families and Communities: The episode discusses the impact of untreated fractures on families and communities, particularly when the breadwinner of a family is unable to work. It highlights how the family spirals into poverty for three generations if there's no breadwinner, and how it affects the education of children.
Challenges in developing orthopedic care: Dr. Zirkle discusses the challenges of providing orthopedic care in low and middle-income countries, including the lack of access to x-ray machines and the need to develop appropriate implants.
Founding of SIGN Fracture Care: Dr. Zirkle discusses the decision to found SIGN Fracture Care as a nonprofit medical device company, rather than a for-profit company, due to the inability of patients in developing countries to pay for surgeries.
Future goals of SIGN Fracture Care: Dr. Zirkle discusses the future goals of SIGN Fracture Care, including improving treatment of hip fractures, developing new techniques for treating fractures, and analyzing data to find the best ways to treat fractures.
Who is Dr. Lewis Zirkle?
After graduating from medical school and beginning his orthopaedic residency at Duke, Dr. Zirkle was drafted and served in the US Army as a commanding officer in Vietnam during which time he was awarded the Bronze Star. The Vietnam War had a profound impact on Dr. Zirkle, and after establishing a thriving orthopaedic practice, Zirkle was drawn back to Vietnam and Southeast Asia to donate his time to teach orthopaedics to local surgeons. In 1986, at the bedside of a patient in Indonesia who had needlessly lain in traction for 3 years, he had an epiphany that caused him to realize that to create sustainable orthopaedic change, education must be combined with appropriate implants. He made a promise to find a way to equip the local surgeons to treat the fractures of the injured poor in the developing world. Since that day, Dr. Zirkle has dedicated his life to the development and manufacture of orthopaedic implants and instruments that can be used in austere operating theaters. Since being founded in 1999, SIGN Fracture Care International has equipped surgeons with education and innovative implants enabling them to give nearly 400,000 patients the ability to walk again. SIGN has had an incredible impact around the globe, and deservedly, Dr. Zirkle has received the highest praise and recognition for his service to the poor, including the Kiwanis World Service Medal, Duke Humanitarian Award, American Red Cross Real Heroes Award, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Humanitarian Award, Orthopaedic Trauma Association Lifetime Achievement Award, Jefferson Award, and the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service. He believes patients around the world deserve equal care and the chance to live productive, healthy lives and he has dedicated his life to making this dream a reality.
