Operation Walk Ireland

Operation Walk Ireland

Operation Walk Ireland provides hip and knee replacements for people with advanced arthritis in Vietnam. 

Operation Walk Ireland is at ground level, working to educate Vietnamese surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and physiotherapists about hip and knee joint replacement surgery.

About Us

Operation Walk Ireland has travelled to Hanoi, Vietnam, since 2016.  Our 2023 trip to Hanoi was our fifth mission and our first since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In 2016, when Operation Walk Ireland first travelled to Hospital 108, the hospital performed approximately 150-200 joint replacements per year. 

Last year, 108 Hospital carried out approximately 1300 joint replacement surgeries.

In 108 Hospital Hanoi, joint replacement surgeries are considered to be a luxury for both patients and surgeons, and only patients with good life conditions can afford these surgeries.

The charity trip in November 2024 consisted of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Anaesthetists, medical doctors, scrub nurses, anaesthetic nurses, recovery nurses, ward nurses, physiotherapists, CSSD staff, administrators, general helpers and translators were all part of the travelling team. 

The team represented forty-one medical organisations from all over Ireland to  Saint Vincent’s Private Hospital in Melbourne. 

Our History

Operation Walk was set up in 1996 by Dr Larry Dorr, Los Angeles, and has expanded to form 15 separate chapters in North America. The next stage in the organisation’s development was to establish an international group, and to this end, Operation Walk Ireland was set up in 2016. 

The Irish team partnered with Operation Walk Chicago in 2016, under the direction of Dr David Stulberg and performed Operation Walk’s first international joint mission in Hanoi, Vietnam. 

Operation Walk Ireland returned to Hanoi in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023 and 2024. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, no mission in 2020, 2021 or 2022 took place. 

In 2019, Operation Walk Ireland carried out the organisation’s first-ever back-to-back mission, where two full teams travelled to Hanoi and carried out surgeries for ten days.  

Fundraising & Donations

Operation Walk Ireland is a self-funded orginsation. Each Operation Walk member pays a minimum of €2250 to travel on our mission. We are extreamly grateful to all our corporate sponsors over the past number of years.

Operation Walk Ireland is delighted to announce that we are now a registered charity.

Charity Number: 20206875

If you are interested in making a donation to Operation Walk Ireland, please follow the link below.

Our History

Operation Walk was set up in 1996 by Dr Larry Dorr, Los Angeles, and has expanded to form 15 separate chapters in North America. The next stage in the organisation’s development was to establish an international group, and to this end, Operation Walk Ireland was set up in 2016. 

The Irish team partnered with Operation Walk Chicago in 2016, under the direction of Dr David Stulberg and performed Operation Walk’s first international joint mission in Hanoi, Vietnam. 

Operation Walk Ireland returned to Hanoi in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023 and 2024. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, no mission in 2020, 2021 or 2022 took place. 

In 2019, Operation Walk Ireland carried out the organisation’s first-ever back-to-back mission, where two full teams travelled to Hanoi and carried out surgeries for ten days.