Sue’s Story

Dr Sue Chapman FRACS Urology

Sue first approached Dr Graham Forward about the opportunity to volunteer in Madagascar in 2008 and visited the country for the first time after the military coup in 2009.  Her vision was to provide endourology services such as TURP* and stricture treatment to the men of Tulear and the surrounding villages.  After some initial hurdles around safe irrigation fluid, diathermy equivalence and electrical connections, we managed to perform TURP for the first time in Tulear on that first visit.

Since that time we have expanded to three visits per year with the support of Dr Lydia Johns Putra and Dr Richard McMullin, both of Ballarat in Victoria.  Each visit aims to provide service delivery to men in Tulear and the surrounding areas, many of whom have had to wear catheters for several years. The operation restores dignity, relieves chronic pain and infection, and allows the men to return to work.

We have also been involved with the main teaching Unit in Antananarivo with Prof Yoel Rantomalala, providing vital equipment and training Urology in Madagascar.

Ultimately Sue hopes her skills will be obsolete as the local surgeons become adept at TURP and then have the equipment and skills to pass on their knowledge to future generations.

Without the support of ADFA and its donors over the years, this program would never have begun and Sue is incredibly grateful to have been given this opportunity. She is also very thankful for the generosity of Storz who have provided extraordinary support with equipment and donations, SJOG Foundation for their fantastic support with donating disposables for every trip and the Rotary Clubs of Australind, South Bunbury and Bunbury who have tirelessly fundraised on her behalf.

*  TURP (Transurethral resection of the prostate) is a surgery used to treat urinary problems caused by an enlarged prostate.