Nepal
Early diagnosis and treatment can change lives – we make them accessible.
The teams of the Children's Surgery Foundation regularly work worldwide on their projects. In March 2025, a mission took the team to Kathmandu, Nepal for the first time. Anesthesiologist Dietmar Craß traveled there together with Carmen Craß and Melli Graf, both pediatric nurses. After several missions in Africa, including Ethiopia and Guinea-Bissau, it was the team's first deployment in Asia.
The reason for such deployments is congenital malformations, for example in the gastrointestinal tract. Many of these diseases can be treated well with surgery. However, if left untreated, they can cause severe infections, pain, and permanent disabilities.
While such malformations are often detected in Germany before birth and operated on immediately after delivery, in many countries there is a lack of access to early diagnosis and specialized treatment. This is exactly where the work of Dietmar Craß and his team comes in:
During their foreign assignments, they are committed to providing medical help to affected children.
Special Encounters in Kathmandu
For one week, Dietmar Craß, along with other volunteer doctors, was in the operating room daily in Kathmandu to operate on a total of 16 children. Craß reports that in the country of approximately 30 million inhabitants, there is only one children's hospital with five pediatric surgeons.
The youngest patients were just two days old, the oldest a 14-year-old girl with an ovarian tumor. Most of the children suffered from malformations of the gastrointestinal tract. "The local colleagues often lack material or suitable equipment for diagnostics," Craß explains.
For example, the team from Germany was able to treat a child who had developed complications after a previous operation – a connection from the trachea to the esophagus caused discomfort. Thanks to the brought-along bronchoscopy monitor, precise diagnostics and treatment were possible.
The operations lasted up to six hours. "For example, we had a child with a large kidney tumor that was removed," reports Melli Graf. What was special this time was that many children had already undergone preliminary operations and now faced the main surgery. Fortunately, all procedures went without complications.
Despite the demanding missions, the calm of the team and families in Kathmandu was particularly striking. "The children learn English at school, and the parents mostly speak English too," says Melli Graf. "Even in stressful situations, a remarkable calm was always palpable," adds Carmen Craß.
Children from various social backgrounds underwent surgery. Since families only have to bear a small part of the treatment costs and the rest is covered by the state, care is also possible for poorer families, explains Dietmar Craß. However, some children showed signs of malnutrition. "One child had a strikingly empty gaze and completely dull hair," Melli Graf recalls.
The three are already planning their next mission for the autumn, this time back in Ethiopia. New operating theatres are currently being built there with donations from "Ein Herz für Kinder", which are expected to be completed by autumn, Craß announces.