Video message by Julie Choueiki | Director of Nursing and Education
Conversation with Ivon Martinez | Coordinator
MISSION STATEMENT
In the developing world, pediatric surgical caregivers are in short supply, and advanced surgical techniques to correct common pediatric congenital colorectal anomalies are often lacking. Colorectal Team Overseas (CTO) was founded to reach out and bring this education and training to the medical doctors, surgeons, and nurses all over the world so they might care for the patients who are in desperate need of this specialized care. CTO will have reached its goal when the local surgeons and hospital staff are able to provide this care as well.
This is accomplished by sending a surgical team that performs 5-10 operations per day on local patients over the course of the trip. These operations serve as teaching opportunities for the local surgeons and other allied healthcare professionals. The focus is on performing the types of cases that occur frequently to help them improve the quality of care they offer this unique group of pediatric surgical patients. CTO strives to both anatomically repair congenital malformations and to achieve the best possible functional outcome to help patients enjoy the highest possible quality of life. This requires long-term care and close follow-up from the time of the patient’s first contact, through childhood, and in some cases, into adulthood. The ability to help these countries with this type of educational plan is the only way to achieve sustainability long after the CTO members have left the country.
Conversation with Dr. Marc Levitt | CTO Founder & Pediatric Surgeon
Conversation with Dr. Marc Levitt | CTO Founder & Pediatric Surgeon
CTO logo, designed by Teagan Kondik
Another version of the Rainbow Fish
Art by Bianca Chyczy, Instagram @biancachyczy
Rainbow fish on a toenail
The Story of the Rainbow Fish
In Marcus Pfister’s children’s book, THE RAINBOW FISH, the main character is a fish whose scales incorporate all of the colors of the rainbow. He is bright and beautiful, admired by all of the other fish in the ocean whose scales have no color at all. One day, a fish approaches the Rainbow Fish and asks if he might have one of the Rainbow Fish’s colorful scales. Willingly, the Rainbow Fish gives one of his colorful scales away. It didn’t take long for word to spread through the ocean, and the Rainbow Fish was sharing his scales with everyone. Soon, the ocean was filled with glittering scales of all colors! The Rainbow Fish was very happy.
The Rainbow Fish well represents CTO and its team members. They are committed to educating others about colorectal problems and their treatment. Beyond educational sessions and traveling the world, the team welcomes, and even encourages, the physicians, nurses, and allied health care professionals from around the world to accompany their patients for care, or come alone, to shadow CTO President, Dr. Marc Levitt and his team at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC. There, they have the opportunity to gain experience about the care of these complex patients both in and out of the operating theater. They can assist in the patients’ care and become better equipped to manage these patients upon their return home. They receive education about how to diagnose and treat future children. Additionally, the Children’s National Colorectal Division supports a fellowship for surgeons interested in learning specifically about pediatric colorectal problems. Allied Health Care Professionals such as nurses, advanced practice providers and pelvic floor therapists have also made the journey to Washington, DC to learn.
The world of children with complex colorectal conditions, as well as their providers, have become a sea of rainbow fish, filled with knowledge generously provided by CTO. These fish provide the hope and skills necessary so children have a richer quality of life – for a lifetime! . Colorectal congenital defects are often distributed across a wide spectrum, similar to the rainbow. Thus, it takes an ocean of rainbow fish to care for these children.
Coincidentally, the most complex of colorectal conditions is a cloacal malformation, occurring in girls. It is also the anatomy in all fish!
PRESS
CTO mission to São Paulo, Brazil | Children’s National Hospital
Keynote speech by Dr. Marc Levitt (2022) | British Association of Paediatric Surgeons
Time for some patient driven change, Dr Marc Levitt | TEDxColumbus
Dr Levitt speaking about CTO | European Colorectal Congress in Vienna
Dr Levitt discusses Hirschsprung Disease | YouTube Drbeen Medical Lectures
CTO mission to Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire during the Pan African Pediatric Surgical Association Congress | RTI.info
CTO mission to Pécs, Hungary | University of Pécs
