By Amy Williams of RNZ Lautaimi Faumuina, from American Samoa, underwent free surgery in Hamilton to reduce severe leg swelling. Surgeon Simon Chong used liposuction, as Faumuina’s lymphoedema was too advanced for microscopic surgery. Chong aims to bring advanced lymphoedema treatment to New Zealand’s public health system in the future.
It’s been years since Lautaimi Faumuina could lift his leg to walk, and more than a decade since he could fit a shoe on his right foot. His right leg had become so swollen it was the size of a torso, encased in folds of fat, and the skin had become hard and calloused, overlapping his foot until only the ends of his toes peeked out. The 55-year-old is here on a medical visa from American Samoa to have the life-changing surgery for free, which will give him back his mobility and allow him to once again wear shoes.
.