US medical team to perform 80 surgeries, dental services

– over $49M in medical supplies being donated to health facilities

The Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team (LAMAT) from the United States Southern Command is currently in Guyana providing surgical and dental assistance to citizens in need. The mission commenced on February 20 and will end on March 3 and is expected to perform 80 surgeries and dental services.
U.S. Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah Ann-Lynch during a ceremony to welcome the team, shared that the intent of the LAMAT mission is to assist medical professionals in Guyana to provide surgical and dental treatment to patients selected by the Ministry of Health.

“The team, composed of United States Army and Air Force medical professionals, are equipped to conduct surgeries and provide dental treatments…we expect that the team will perform something like 80 surgeries and 200 dental services, those figures may change as the weeks go on,” Lynch explained.
She further added that the United States has partnered with Guyana to provide a variety of relief to the country over the years.
“The U.S. has partnered with the Government of Guyana in a number of health areas, from fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic through the President’s Emerge Plan for Aids Relief…(PEPFAR) to the tune of about US $189 million of relief, to providing COVID assistance through donating equipment, supplies, and more than 350,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine,” Lynch highlighted.
According to the ambassador the United States has recently donated some self-generating oxygen tanks to Guyana, which she stated, will be of great benefit to the hinterland communities throughout the country.
“That’s really important for the hinterland communities so that they don’t have to send patients back to Georgetown so they can get some of their services out in rural Guyana,” she noted.
Additionally, Advisor to the Ministry of Health Dr. Leslie Ramsammy announced that healthcare facilities all across Guyana will soon see rapid upgrades, adding that soon hospitals in Guyana will not look any different from some of the best in the United States.
“The West Demerara Hospital is about to be replaced by a new hospital, the Linden Hospital, and the New Amsterdam Hospital will all be replaced by new hospitals. Some, construction work has begun, others, the design work will soon start, that includes GPHC,” Ramsammy Announced.
The LAMAT team has conducted an average of 60 procedures since their operations commenced. Within the next nine days, they are expected to complete over 150 additional procedures.
LAMAT is a medical team composed of approximately 29 U.S. Air Force and Army medical and dental professionals and support staff who will provide free general surgery, emergency room care, and dental care at Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation and West Demerara Regional Hospital.
LAMAT operations have been coordinated with the Ministry of Health and hospital medical directors to take advantage of additional operating room capacity without displacing medical providers. U.S. medical professionals will work in tandem with local doctors to ensure continuity of care following all surgical procedures.
The team brings with it the medicines and supplies necessary for the operations and will leave surplus supplies with the hospital. Overall, approximately US$225,000 of supplies are being donated to medical facilities.
Medical patients are selected in coordination with hospital medical directors, based on the types of surgeries and procedures the U.S. medical team is certified to perform; primarily GI surgeries such as hernias and cyst excisions. The U.S. dental team will focus on treating underserved populations, concentrating on cleaning, fillings, extractions, and preventative care.