News A bright future for Eduardo thanks to our Patient Assistance Fund

Robert Eduardo from the Dominican Republic suffered from a severe and rare knee deformity on both sides. Eduardo’s condition was so severe that he could hardly walk, which meant he found himself excluded and increasingly socially isolated. He had no chance of living a normal life – let along going to work – without medical treatment.

Extremely rare and severe deformity

With support from the Wilhelm Schulthess Foundation’s Patient Assistance Fund, Eduardo was able to undergo surgery performed by a highly specialised team at Schulthess Klinik. This treatment was extremely complex due to the severity of the deformity, so it involved detailed analysis and planning. International experts in the clinic’s network were consulted but not one of them had any experience of a case with this level of complexity.

Led by Dr. med. Hannes Manner and Dr. med. Stefan Preiss, Head of Paediatric Orthopaedics and Head of Knee Surgery at Schulthess Klinik, two operations lasting several hours were performed on Eduardo. A hexapod external fixator was also part of the treatment as a state-of-the-art piece of equipment that can be used to correct severe deformities over time. There are only a few specialist centres in the world that can offer this level of correction requiring such precision.

Highly complex operations

The operations were extremely complex to plan and perform. The deformity on the left was so severe that it could not be corrected in a single operation. It was critical that the whole team worked together to achieve the best results. “This case was charged with so much emotion for the whole surgery team. It reminded us all why we’re so dedicated to our work at Schulthess Klinik,” said Dr. Manner.

This exceptional treatment has unlocked a brighter future with a much better quality of life for Eduardo. His life will be more or less normal now. He won’t be in pain anymore and he’ll be able to walk again and get a job.

The Wilhelm Schulthess Foundation’s Patient Assistance Fund gives patients like Eduardo access to highly specialised medical treatments so they have a chance to get their life back regardless of their financial situation. Children from crisis areas who need help urgently are prioritised.

It is our contribution to ensuring that even the poorest people can benefit from highly specialised, high-end medicine. You can help patients in Switzerland and from abroad who require complex operations or treatments by making a donation to our Patient Assistance Fund. 100% of the money you donate goes into the Patient Assistance Fund.