The Ear-Nose-Throat (ENT) section at Vaiola Hospital will benefit from a Zeiss Microscope that was donated by Brisbane members of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) under their Pacific Islands Project program.

The microscope will be used for Otorhynolaryngology (Ear, Nose, Throat) surgery.

Dr Leiukamea Saafi from the ENT Unit at Vaiola Hospital told Matangi Tonga the donation was an important one for Vaiola Hospital and the country as a whole.

“There are a lot of operations needing microscopic views,” he said. These included operations in the ear drum, middle ear surgeries, mastoid surgeries, and laryngeal surgeries. “Especially for excision of tiny lesions of the entry of the airway in the larynx and those of the vocal cords and of course when there's a need for microsurgery to fixing a cut nerve or cut blood vessel or a leaking vessel.”

He said he will use the donated microscope when it arrives, which will replace an older one.

“I do have an old Zeiss Microscope which is about over 30 years old now. It is still in good working order now and I think I would probably send it to Vava’u Prince Ngu Hospital so that I can use it when I visit Vava’u,” he said.

The Brisbane Tongan Community (BTC) organised the donation and logistics with Logan Hospital and Associate Professor Bernard Whitfield from Queensland Health’s Department of Otolaryngology.

BTC President, Reverend Maile Molitika said they were grateful to Professor Whitfield and the RACS for their generosity and willingness to assist Vaiola Hospital.

“The microscope comes as a huge benefit for the Tongan people to help improve health services offered by Tonga’s Department of Health.”

The Zeiss Microscope, which weighs approximately 180kgs and is 180cm tall, is being transported by container ship to Tonga courtesy of the RACS.

Specific training for the microscope is scheduled to be conducted by Associate Professor Whitfield at Vaiola Hospital in June 2019.

Tonga is one of eleven Pacific nations included in the RACS Pacific Islands Project. The project is supported by the Australian Government and works in partnership with national counterparts, including health professionals and hospitals to assist Pacific Ministries of Health to improve the health of their populations.