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VVF Program
Vesico-Vaginal Fistula’s result from a pregnant woman being in obstructed labour (ie, there is a problem with the delivery of the baby) for a prolonged period of time. This happens in areas with poor access to surgical care and they are unable to undergo the caesarian section they need to deliver the baby. As a result of this scenario the baby dies (and eventually delivers) and the mother ends up with a pathological passage (fistula) between the bladder and birth passage. As a result the woman is persistently incontinent of urine. In severe cases there can also be incontinence of stool. As a result these women are not able to undertake normal social activities and are usually outcast from society. There are also beliefs that they have been cursed by witch doctors, which exacerbates their rejection. These patients are often teenagers when they sustain this injury (their young bodies were too small to deliver the baby) and as such they are vulnerable members of their society and often go on suffering for many years before seeking help. For most of them there was no surgical service they could access until Mercy Flyers brought this service to them. It is clear these women would find a public transport journey to a referral hospital where they might be able to see a gynaecologist impossible for social and financial reasons.
Thus far in 2009 we have undertaken 48 VVF repairs around the country, along with numerous other gynaecology operations. Many of these patients do not present for help because they believe their condition to be incurable. We hope that the first wave of brave patients will demonstrate to their similarly affected friends that cure is possible. We have started to see signs of this as each outreach is attracting more and more patients. We are gradually expanding the service and have included two more hospitals in our outreach programme. There are few things more rewarding than seeing these young women with beaming smiles after they have been cured and can go back to their home villages again with their lives restored.
