Rockford orthopedic surgeon to aid Haitian victims

ROCKFORD — Dr. Anthony Sorkin and certified physician’s assistant Michael Karg, both of Rockford Orthopedic Associates, left Rockford today to join a team of orthopedic surgeons going to the Dominican Republic to aid Haitian earthquake victims.

Sorkin, who specializes in traumatic injuries and pelvic and limb reconstruction, was recruited for the effort by Stryker Orthopedics, a manufacturer of medical devices and equipment that he has assisted with product development and done speaking engagements for. Stryker organized the medical mission in response to a request from the Dominican Republic’s Secretary of State Carlos Morales Troncoso.

All members of the surgical team are donating their time and paying their own travel expenses.
“It’s just absolutely overwhelming, if you look at the list of patients they have waiting for us,” said Sorkin, who will be one of eight orthopedic surgeons on the mission. He said Dario Contreras Hospital in Santo Domingo, where the team will be working, has between 300 and 400 patients with multiple fractures in one or more limbs waiting for treatment.

Many of those patients, Sorkin said, are children.

“This is a hospital of roughly the size of OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center,” he said, “but, of course, with that many critically injured victims, they’re overwhelmed.”

Sorkin said he anticipates difficult procedures with limbs that have not received full treatment for a fracture so long after injury “because fractures start to get sticky and begin setting after about two weeks.”

He said some victims may be permanently deformed because, without the support of the bones, the muscles will contract like rubber bands and shorten the limbs.

“Essentially, this is a preliminary trip,” Sorkin said. “I agreed to go on this expedition only if we were able to commit to care on a go-forward basis. It’s one thing to go and fix 30 or 40 fractured femurs, but there will be risks of infection and many of these patients will need to be followed for years. So I expect to go back.”

Karg has worked with Sorkin for nine years and is the only physician’s assistant going on the trip. Sorkin said Karg will be a facilitator in the operating room and will be in charge of post-operative care for the patients.

Sorkin and Karg are expected to be in Santo Domingo until Saturday, and Sorkin plans to write a daily blog about their experiences which will be posted at haitianhelp.typepad.com.