Our very own Dr. Anthony Carter recently traveled with One World Surgery to provide life-changing hip and knee replacements to patients in Honduras. Dr. Carter and his surgery team along with three other surgeons from around the United States performed 44 procedures in just 4 days—changing the lives of the patients, their families and the community at large. We sat down with Dr. Carter to talk more about his trip, fellowship and the people he had the opportunity to serve. 

Mission Trip

Dr. Carter and the One World Surgery team outside of the surgery center. 

Question: Can you tell us a little bit about how One World Surgery operates in Honduras? 

Dr. Carter: This medical mission trip was with One World Surgery in Honduras, the same place that I visited in 2019. The surgery center is located on a 2,000-acre ranch about 20-25 minutes north of the capital, Tegucigalpa. There is a children’s home on the property, Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH), that houses 400 to 500 kids.

There’s a mobile surgery truck on the ranch that morphed into a surgery center called Holy Family Surgery Center. The center has 3 operating rooms and functions as a clinic year-round with a full-time medical director and orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. Antúnez. 

Though the surgery center is located on the ranch, it’s not exclusive to the children’s home, and other members of the community can also come for care. 

Mission trip

Dr. Carter, Steve Walters and the surgery team before entering the operating room 

Question: You were able to bring your own team to Honduras with you this year. What was that like?

Dr. Carter: I had the privilege of bringing my surgery team from Mary Immaculate Hospital. I couldn’t have picked a better group of people. They jumped right in and were willing to help the other surgeons as well. They all expressed their desire to go back again.

One of my favorite parts of the trip, besides the surgeries, is the fellowship with the other surgeons and the rest of the team. When we were not performing surgeries, we ate dinner together in a big open area each night and had the opportunity to bond over common interests and became close very quickly. 

Question: For how long have you been doing mission work?

Dr. Carter: I first went to Honduras with One World Surgery in 2019 with my wife, who is a physical therapist. It was a wonderful thing to experience together and bring home to our kids. Then COVID-19 hit, and we weren’t able to go again until this year. In 2023 we will be in Honduras again, and in 2024 we’ll be serving at a new center in the Dominican Republic.

I have done other overseas work in the past as well. In the early 1990s, during my time at the Langley Air Force Base, I served a tour of duty overseas as a staff orthopaedic surgeon for Operation Restore Hope in Somalia. 

Question: Why is it so important to you to help those in need to receive life-changing surgery?

Dr. Carter: In Honduras, access to healthcare is extremely limited. Most people live in poverty, and some people wait years to get surgery. If they need medical care, they need to pay for it first. For example, they would have to pay for implants first and then find a surgeon. 

We sometimes lose focus in the U.S. on what is most important. We take for granted the access we have to high-quality healthcare. In Honduras and other countries, organizations like One World Surgery are the only resources they have. It is rewarding and humbling to offer these people life-changing procedures.

Dr. Carter and the surgery team uses headlamps to perform surgery in the dark 

mission trip

The bus ride from Comayagua International Airport to the surgery center

Question: You have performed these procedures in less-than-ideal conditions, such as the time you completed a hip replacement after the electricity went out. Were there any memorable moments from this past trip that you remember? Any challenges you all needed to overcome?

Dr. Carter: While the surgery center is wonderful and clean, there are still infrastructure challenges. One of those challenges is consistent power. At one point, the electricity went out and the backup generator failed while all three operating rooms were in use. We continued with our procedures, using headlamps and iPhone flashlights to see in the dark. 

You need to be careful about things that we don’t have to worry about in the U.S. For example, you can’t drink the water there on its own. Travel is also tricky—we flew into the Comayagua Airport, and then took a 2-hour bus ride to the ranch through a crime-ridden area. It was a harrowing experience. 

Question: Your friend and colleague, Steve Walters, joined you in Honduras. What was Steve’s role in the trip?

Dr. Carter: Steve is a longtime friend of mine, owner of local Hampton Roads favorite Smoke BBQ and a distributor at Ortho Development, a company that manufactures orthopaedic implants and surgical equipment. Ortho Development sponsored the trip and provided us with all of the necessary equipment for the procedures in Honduras. It was a difficult job—he was responsible for providing everything we might possibly need to successfully complete the procedures. Steve was my right hand man, and he coordinated the transportation, maintenance and management of all these materials. 

Question: In your 30+ years of work in this field, you’ve seen techniques and technologies evolve, such as Anterior Hip Replacement, a procedure in which you specialize, that has changed the world of hip replacement surgery. Similarly, you have found success in utilizing a minimally-invasive approach to knee replacement surgery. What do you think is the future of these procedures? Where do you see the field going from here?

Dr. Carter: The field of orthopaedics is moving more and more toward AI and robotics. And while these technologies are great and allow surgeons to complete procedures with unparalleled accuracy, they cannot replace the quality a good surgeon must possess: compassion. In Honduras, we work with the bare minimum supplies—you need this compassion to build relationships with your patients and your fellow surgeons. Those relationships are so incredibly rewarding.

Question: What do you take with you when you come back to Hampton Roads? What sticks with you most when you see your stateside patients after helping people in underserved communities?

mission trip

Dr. Carter and Dr. Antunez with a 33-year-old patient who had not walked for 2.5 years prior to his procedure

Dr. Carter: In the United States, we often take for granted how easy it is to receive the medical care that we need. In Honduras, many patients who have suffered an injury are unable to receive care—whether that be due to the cost, geographic location or lack of medical professionals in their communities. Injuries to the hip and knee can be debilitating, limiting patients’ ability to work, care for their families and even walk. Many of the patients we served in Honduras had not been able to walk for years. It is incredibly rewarding and humbling to see how one procedure can instantly transform their life, and to feel their gratitude and joy reflect back to you.

To learn more about Dr. Carter’s medical mission trip or how you can support One World Surgery, call our office at (757) 873-1554 or visit www.oneworldsurgery.org.