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The Ramsay Way - April 2017

The Ramsay Way 2017 | 01 9 HOSPITAL NEWS Here’s looking at you baby! There is no footprint too small that it can't leave an imprint on the world – and Tongan Obstetrician and Gynaecologist Dr Makameone Taumoepeau makes sure of it. The gentle giant, who spent four decades of his life working as a medic on the Polynesian Island Kingdom has delivered thousands of babies into the world. And despite 10 years of medical training; working often more than 60 hours a week, he did it all earning less than AUS$30,000 a year. Working in a highly traditional, devoutly Christian, developing country, is no easy task he recalls, with his caseload including a forceps delivery of triplets to a 17-year-old; children as young as 13 giving birth and women often delivering without professional help. The latter led to various severe traumatic complications, requiring gynaecological repair. Big babies are also common in Tonga (some up to 6kg) but the unflappable medic took every new obstetric crisis in his stride. Dr Makameone Taumoepeau met some new babies at St George Private Recently retired, in July of this year Dr Taumoepeau experienced severe, continuous and "disabling" hip pain which required an expensive operation not offered in his own country; and one he could not afford elsewhere. Thanks to the generosity of Ramsay Health Care, (which discounted his hospital fee); Stryker (who donated his hip prosthesis); and to Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr Geoffrey Rosenberg and Anaesthetist Dr Paul Ferris who waived their surgical fee for a total hip replacement, the burly Tongan is back on his feet again. "I will never be able to thank all these people enough for helping to reduce my hip pain. And it was also certainly a great opportunity to meet some beautiful Australian babies and experience the excellent and modern care provided in St George Private Hospital," he told The Ramsay Way.


The Ramsay Way - April 2017
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