Read our powered by our community 🙌 Check out our 🙌
Meet another patient

Watsi logo blueWatsi

Rotha is a 50-year-old farmer and father of four from Cambodia who needs $673 to fund surgery to cover his exposed leg bone.

Rotha
26%
  • $175 raised, $498 to go
$175
raised
$498
to go
Dedicate my donation


We'll send your dedicatee an email
about your gift, along with updates
about Rotha's recovery.

November 21, 2022

Rotha is a 50-year-old farmer from Cambodia. He is married with three daughters and one son. His wife works in a local clothes factory. In his free time, he helps his wife with housework and enjoys fishing with his friends.

In 2018, Rotha was in a traffic accident and suffered an open fracture of his left tibia and a closed fracture of his left femur. He had surgery at a local hospital, with bone grafts and nails, but his tibia remained infected. After several surgeries and debridements, his infection has resolved, but his bone remains exposed from all the procedures. He cannot walk and is in great pain.

When Rotha learned about our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre, he traveled for two and a half hours seeking treatment. On November 21st, surgeons at CSC will perform reverse soleus muscle flap of the left tibia to close the open wound and help him walk again without pain. Now, he needs help to fund this $673 procedure.

Rotha shared: “I hope my left leg will finally heal, I will have no infection, and can return home to work for my family again.”

Rotha is a 50-year-old farmer from Cambodia. He is married with three daughters and one son. His wife works in a local clothes factory. In h...

Read more

Rotha's Timeline

  • November 21, 2022
    PROFILE SUBMITTED

    Rotha was submitted by Ellen Interlandi, Stakeholder Relations at Children's Surgical Centre.

  • November 21, 2022
    TREATMENT SCHEDULED

    Rotha was scheduled to receive treatment at Kien Khleang National Rehabilitation Centre in Cambodia. Medical partners often provide care to patients accepted by Watsi before those patients are fully funded, operating under the guarantee that the cost of care will be paid for by donors.

  • November 27, 2022
    PROFILE PUBLISHED

    Rotha's profile was published to start raising funds.

  • TODAY
    AWAITING FUNDING

    Rotha is currently raising funds for his treatment.

  • TBD
    AWAITING UPDATE

    Awaiting Rotha's treatment update from Children's Surgical Centre.

Funded by 9 donors

Funded by 9 donors

Treatment
Excision and Flap Surgery
  • Cost Breakdown
  • Diagnosis
  • Procedure
On average, it costs $673 for Rotha's treatment
Hospital Fees
$126
Medical Staff
$496
Medication
$0
Supplies
$43
Labs
$3
Radiology
$5
  • Symptoms
  • Impact on patient's life
  • Cultural or regional significance

​What kinds of symptoms do patients experience before receiving treatment?

Flap surgery is used for large or complex wound repair. The wound may be too large to be closed directly or may not be amenable to grafting due to poor vascularization. A flap may also be favorable to grafting due to function or aesthetics. Such a wound can be caused by trauma, cancer, or burns, which may bring about disfigurement, pain, and exposure to infection.

​What is the impact on patients’ lives of living with these conditions?

Large wounds are disfiguring, and patients may face stigmatization and social rejection. Wounds will be prone to recurrent infections, which may cause further damage to the underlying tissue. Depending on the site of the wound, there may be functional loss and the patient may lose the ability to perform tasks independently.

What cultural or regional factors affect the treatment of these conditions?

For many Cambodians, the primary mode of transport is the motorcycle. Coupled with unregulated traffic and dangerous driving practices, motorcycle accidents are very common. Soft tissue injuries arising from these accidents are often large and complex, with flap surgery being the best approach to avoid skin necrosis or infection.

  • Process
  • Impact on patient's life
  • Risks and side-effects
  • Accessibility
  • Alternatives

What does the treatment process look like?

Analysis of the wound location, vascularity of the wound bed, comorbidities, and cosmetic and functional significance must first be performed. Flaps can then be selected accordingly, with local and regional flaps being preferred over distant pedicled or free flaps. Prior to the skin transfer, debridement may be needed to remove dead or damaged skin. Local and regional flaps use adjacent tissue that is mobilized then advanced or pivoted into place. Distant flaps transfer tissue from a different part of the body and can be pedicled to preserve its original blood supply. The blood supply is cut off in free flaps and therefore will need to be joined to the local blood supply via microsurgery. Flap surgery can take anywhere from a short procedure for the most basic local flap, to many hours for the complex microsurgery associated with free flaps.

What is the impact of this treatment on the patient’s life?

Flap surgery allows the wound to heal much faster, avoiding infection risk and a long wait for the defect to develop scar tissue. In flap reconstructive surgery of an area of the body more aesthetically sensitive, such as the face, disfigurement is reduced and patients feel more confident.

What potential side effects or risks come with this treatment?

The most common cause of flap failure is vascular compromise. Loss of blood supply to the flap could lead to partial flap loss or even total flap necrosis. In the latter, the flap must be removed. Other complications include haematoma, seroma, surgical site infection, and complications specific to the donor site. However, all these complications can be avoided with regular post-op checks of the flap and acting quickly on any foreboding signs.

How accessible is treatment in the area? What is the typical journey like for a patient to receive care?

Flaps and other reconstructive surgical procedures are accessible at local clinics and hospitals at a cost, and patients also often turn to traditional healers. Inadequate treatment or poorly designed flaps can contribute to unnecessary complications and prolonged suffering. Patients travel as much as twelve hours to reach Children's Surgical Centre for free surgery, arriving by bus, motorbike, or taxi.

What are the alternatives to this treatment?

Regular dressings with gauze and bandages can take many months and has a significant risk of infection, which may result in cutting away more tissue to treat it. Traditional medicine is available, but with unsuccessful results.

Meet another patient you can support

100% of your donation funds life-changing surgery.

Meet another patient you can support

100% of your donation funds life-changing surgery.