On June 26, 2026, a team of sixty-five Atlanta area medical professionals traveled to Antigua, Guatemala in conjunction with “Operation Walk,” a volunteer medical humanitarian organization that provides joint replacement surgeries to impoverished patients in the U.S. and developing countries. The team was led by doctors George N. Guild, III and Thomas L. Bradbury, Jr., orthopedic surgeons with Total Joint Specialists (TJS) and founders of the American Hip and Knee Arthritis Foundation, the nonprofit entity that funded the trip. Doctors Guild and Bradbury were inspired to create their foundation and “Operation Walk Georgia,” after participating in a similar effort in El Salvador. In El Salvador, they saw firsthand the tremendous need of patients in developing countries. They wanted to make a difference and were confident that their colleagues would welcome the chance to do so, too.
The Operation Walk Georgia team traveled to Guatemala with the goal of completing sixty-six joint replacement surgeries at Obras Sociales del Hermano Pedro Hospital (Obras Hospital), a charitable hospital that provides direct care to thousands of low-income Guatemalans who otherwise would not have access to the healthcare system. Nineteen pallets of surgical supplies, medications, walkers, canes, and other medical equipment were shipped ahead of the team’s arrival, along with the needed surgical implants, all of which were generously donated by Zimmer Biomet. Doctors Guild and Bradbury had pre-screened patients in March and alerted the team that there were a number of difficult cases on the schedule. The plan was to hit the ground running and serve as many patients as possible, no matter what challenges arose.
Over the course of the week-long trip, the Operation Walk Georgia team of doctors, physician assistants, nurses, scrub techs, nurse anesthetists, physical therapists, athletic trainers, a sterilization team, translators, and logistics staff worked nonstop. They unpacked the shipped goods and set up three operating rooms the first full day in Antigua. The following morning, all hands were on deck for clinic during which the pre-selected surgical candidates and a large number of hopeful walk-ins were seen for pre-operative evaluations. The first surgeries commenced that afternoon. Three additional full days of surgeries followed.
The team worked skillfully and efficiently – even when the power failed in the operating rooms and they briefly had to conduct surgery using phone flashlights. They easily surpassed the goal of sixty-six surgeries and a number of wait listed patients were added to the schedule. Ultimately, seventy-two joint replacement surgeries were completed: 22 hip and 50 knee. Several of the surgeries were quite complicated, including a girdle stone procedure on a patient with severe spastic cerebral palsy, a bilateral hip replacement, seven bilateral knee replacements, and one combination hip and knee replacement. The gratitude of the patients and their families made it all worthwhile. Each day when the surgeons conducted rounds, there was a great deal of laughter, smiling, and hugs.
“What this team pulled off last week was truly extraordinary,” Dr. Guild said at the conclusion of the trip. “Together, we completed 72 joint replacements in one week—but more importantly, we changed lives for many patients and their families who otherwise would not have had access to this care. It was one of the most impressive team efforts I’ve ever been a part of.”
And, as Dr. Guild reminded the team, this trip is just the beginning. Plans are already underway for next year’s Operation Walk Georgia trip to Obras Hospital.
In total, thirteen TJS orthopedic surgeons participated in the Operation Walk Georgia trip. As mentioned, doctors Guild and Bradbury led the group. Other participating surgeons were doctors Chase S. Dean, Charles A. DeCook, William S. Godfrey, Anuj Gupta, Jack Manfredi, Brandon H. Naylor, Nickolas B. Reimer, Brian E. Seng, Everett Young, Taylor James Den Hartog, and Kenneth J. Kress (retired). Dr. Vinai M. Vishwanath of Emory Healthcare served as the anesthesiologist for all surgeries, overseeing a team of CRNAs. Dr. Mario E. Ravry of Ravry Medical Group, who is fluent in Spanish, provided valuable Internal Medicine and translation services pre and post operatively as the team assessed, treated, and rehabbed patients. The doctors already are brainstorming next year’s trip with a new goal of completing 100 surgeries.
“I’ve always wanted to do this,” Dr. Dean said. “I’ve heard such good things about it. We’re doing what we love to do and we’re helping people who really, really need it. It’s an awesome opportunity. I know it’s only going to grow because of the experience we’ve had down here.”
More information on Operation Walk Georgia and the American Hip and Knee Arthritis Foundation is available at www.ahkaf.org.
