Fundación HOMS holds a scoliosis mission for children
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- Fundación HOMS and the Pediatric Orthopedic Project held a scoliosis mission in which 23 patients with complex spinal deformities received treatment.
Santiago. Between 8 and 13 June 2025, Fundación HOMS of the Hospital Metropolitano de Santiago, in alliance with the Pediatric Orthopedic Project (POP) and various volunteer networks, carried out a new medical and surgical mission focused on the treatment of scoliosis. The mission combined paediatric and adult surgery, medical teaching and community strengthening, benefiting a total of 23 patients with complex spinal deformities.
The mission began with a moving get-together on Sunday 8 June, which brought around 100 people together: patients operated on in previous years, their families, the POP team and local partners. This space for coming together served to share testimonies, offer mutual support and create an atmosphere of trust ahead of the operations.
Over five consecutive days, eleven paediatric patients underwent surgery at HOMS, under the direction of Dr Miguel Ángel Luna and Dr Iohan Fernández, together with Dr Enrico Stazzone, visiting surgeon and leader of POP. In two of the cases the APIFIX system was used, a minimally invasive technique that allows correction with controlled growth, while in others customised rods and spinal fusions were employed, adapting the treatment to the specific condition of each child or adolescent.
An academic dinner was also held with orthopaedic residents from Hospital José María Cabral y Báez and specialists from HOMS, at which the POP team shared surgical advances and rehabilitation strategies. This activity was backed by Tech Medical Group, which also donated implants later used in two adult procedures.
At the same time, twelve operations were carried out at Hospital José María Cabral y Báez on adult patients with severe spinal deformities: ten of them by the POP team, with support from the Cabral volunteer group, and two by the local team, with implants donated by Tech Medical Group, the representative of Medtronic. Dr Cristina Martínez (Neurosurgery) and Dr Iván Beard (Spinal Surgery) collaborated actively in these procedures.
In total, the HOMS mission had a positive impact on 23 people: 11 paediatric and 12 adult patients, reaffirming the value of international and local medical cooperation.
“This result confirms that inter-institutional collaboration remains the most effective route to offering high-quality surgical solutions to those living with scoliosis in the Dominican Republic. At HOMS we recognise the value of working together on behalf of these vulnerable groups”, they said in an official statement.
The initiative was made possible thanks to the surgical and material leadership of POP, the coordination of Dr Maddy Stazzone and Dr Enrico Stazzone, and the backing of the Jesús con los Niños, HOMS and Cabral y Báez volunteer groups. The joint work of the medical and administrative areas of HOMS was also highlighted, from Orthopaedic Surgery, Anaesthesiology and Nursing to Maintenance, the Blood Bank and General Services.
The June 2025 POP Mission is establishing itself as a model of comprehensive care, medical education and inter-hospital solidarity in the service of those who need it most.
Fundación HOMS
Fundación HOMS arose as an initiative of Dr Rafael Sánchez Español, general director, and the leadership of José Clase, president of the foundation, with the purpose of helping to build a better and fairer society, bringing opportunities to the people who need them most and developing solutions for social progress, training, assistance and scientific research.