Neo Horizon Surgery Solomon Islands

10/01/2026

Wounds and woundcare.

Wound care represents a substantial part of the clinical services delivered at our clinic, alongside other essential primary and specialist health services. A significant proportion of our patients are living with diabetes and present with severe, infected wounds that place them at high risk of prolonged illness, disability, and amputation if not managed appropriately. In addition, we care for patients with chronic wounds caused by tropical ulcers, venous disease, and lymphoedema, conditions that are common in our setting yet often overlooked and under-resourced.

One notable case involved a gentleman who had suffered from extensive venous ulcers on one leg since 2011. Despite years of repeated antibiotic treatments and various dressing regimens, his wounds failed to heal. The wound persisted for more than 13 years. When he presented to Neo Horizon Surgery in October 2024, a structured, wound-care management approach was introduced. Through consistent follow-up and dedicated dressing changes over a period of nearly 12 months, the wounds eventually healed completely. He has since returned to daily life free from chronic pain, infection, and disability.

This case illustrates both the complexity of chronic wound management and the profound impact that sustained, well-resourced care can have on patient outcomes. Investment in structured wound-care services reduces long-term healthcare costs, prevents avoidable amputations, and restores productivity and dignity to patients and their families.

Support from donors and partners will enable the expansion of these services, improve access to modern wound-care technologies, strengthen clinical capacity, and allow more patients with long-standing, neglected wounds to achieve healing. Such partnerships represent a high-impact opportunity to deliver measurable health, social, and economic benefits to communities.

23/12/2025

🎄 NEO HORIZON SURGERY – FESTIVE SEASON OPENING HOURS 🎄

📌 24 Dec (Wed): 9am – 4pm
📌 25 Dec (Thu): ❌ Closed
📌 26 Dec (Fri): 9am – 12 noon
📌 27 Dec (Sat): 9am – 12 noon

📌 29–31 Dec (Mon-Wed): 9am – 4pm
📌 1 Jan 2026 (Thu): ❌ Closed
📌 2 Jan 2026 (Fri): 9am – 4pm

🎉 Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

06/12/2025

It fills me with immense pride to see my son, Dr. Fred Alastair Ba’erodo, standing beside Professor Sir Isi Kevau on the eve of the new UPNG medical graduates taking their Oath. Moments like this are powerful reminders of the legacy of great teachers who have shaped generations of doctors in our region.

Professor Sir Isi Kevau was among the pioneering cohort of Medical Graduates of the University of Papua New Guinea in the early 1970s. As Papua New Guinea’s first Cardiologist, he helped lay the foundation for modern cardiovascular medicine in the country. But his contributions extend far beyond clinical practice. For over five decades, he has dedicated his life to Teaching, Mentoring, and Training Medical Doctors (both undergraduates and postgraduates), and other healthcare professionals who form the backbone of PNG’s health system.

Most Medical Practitioners in Papua New Guinea and UPNG Medical Graduates in Solomon Islands and even across the Pacific, have been touched by his wisdom, whether in the classroom, on the wards, or through the ripple effect of those he has trained. His influence is woven into the fabric of medical education at UPNG.

As someone who had the privilege of being his student in the 1980s, I hold a deep respect and admiration for this extraordinary man. To now witness my own son learning under the same great teacher is profoundly meaningful. It feels as though a circle has closed, a passing of knowledge, discipline, and professional values across generations.

What amazes me most is that despite the passing of time, Professor Sir Isi Kevau’s passion for teaching remains undiminished. While many of his former students have retired or moved on, he continues to stand at the forefront, guiding and shaping the next generation of doctors with unwavering dedication and energy. His commitment reflects not only professional excellence, but a lifelong calling to serve humanity through education.

I offer my humble respect and deepest gratitude to Professor Sir Isi Kevau, a true giant of medicine in our region, a Teacher of Teachers, and an inspiration to us.

05/12/2025

Five young Solomon Islanders proudly stood among the University of Papua New Guinea’s latest cohort of medical graduates, at the Apec Haus in Port Moresby, formally taking the Hippocratic Oath during the MBBS graduation ball. This moment marks the culmination of years of dedication, sacrifice, and perseverance, and the beginning of their journey as medical professionals committed to service and healing.

Warm congratulations to Mevilyn Zutu, Keren Kure, George Clyde, Abel De Niumaoma and Dwight Ope. Your achievement is a source of pride for your families, your communities, and the Solomon Islands. Welcome to the Medical Profession. May your careers be guided by compassion, integrity, and lifelong learning.

24/11/2025

Flashback to May 2025.

Family Photo with Dr Fred Alastair Ba'erodo and Dr Billy Aloga. UPNG Medical graduants, Port Moresby.

L to R : (Baby) Jedaiah, Dr Dudley Ba'erodo, Dr Fred Ba'erodo, Dr Billy Aloga, Mrs Lilian Ba'erodo. (Baby) Zireyah, and Dr Stephanie Ba'erodo.

15/11/2025

Health Tip:

Recently, a relative of one of my patients with diabetic foot ulcers remarked that he observed that I always personally attend to the patient and apply the dressings myself. I explained that diabetes and diabetic wounds have now become major causes of surgical admissions at NRH, leading to major limb amputations and even deaths. Because of this, I have developed a deep personal and professional interest in understanding the science and behaviour of wounds and wound healing.

I have spent years observing how diabetic wounds behave, recognising how different they are from wounds in non-diabetic individuals. I wanted to understand why healing is slow in diabetics, why infections progress rapidly, and how underlying comorbidities alter the biology of healing. Alongside extensive literature review, these experiences have shaped a slightly different method and approach that I now use when managing wounds, especially diabetic wounds.

Managing diabetic wound infections is a long, difficult, and often daunting journey. Just when you think you have gained control, a sudden and unexpected turn can set everything back. Many people assume that a wound is a simple matter, often thinking wound dressing is solely a nurse’s task. While this is true for many uncomplicated wounds, it is dangerous to underestimate diabetic wounds. If not taken seriously, and if infection sets in, the consequences can very quickly become limb-threatening and even life-threatening.

This is a reminder to everyone: be conscious of your health status. Get checked and know whether you are living with diabetes. If you are diabetic, adjust your lifestyle and keep your blood sugar within the acceptable range. And if you develop even a small blister or minor wound, seek medical attention immediately. Do not wait. Even a week of delay can be too late. In diabetic wounds, time can determine whether you keep your limb or your life.

02/11/2025

A Surgeon's Life is never dull.

This sunny Sunday afternoon, I was sitting under a frangipani tree outside the house, just relaxing and listening to music on the radio. Then a familiar song by Bryan Adams, “Please Forgive Me”, came on. It brought my mind instantly back to 1996.

At that time, I was a Trainer Surgical Registrar, working at Kilu‘ufi Hospital in Malaita Province, Solomon Islands. My Surgical Consultant then was Dr. Narayan Rao, from UK.

Kilu‘ufi Hospital, by definition, was a small rural hospital with very limited resources. Despite that, we performed many surgical procedures, including some life-saving ones where we often had to improvise because of the lack of equipment and support facilities.

Among the hundreds of cases we handled, a few extraordinary ones stood out in my memory, but one case, in particular, remains vivid to this day. It was that of a seven-year-old boy who was admitted with a head injury. We operated on him, opening one side of his skull to remove blood clots that was compressing his brain, a procedure known as a burr hole and craniotomy, under General Anaesthesia.

Kilu‘ufi Hospital did not have an Intensive Care Unit, as most hospitals in the Solomon Islands. Nevertheless, the boy recovered well in the general ward, regaining full consciousness and movement of all his limbs. However, about two days later, he began to show signs of reaccumulation of the blood clot compressing his brain.

So we took him back into the operating theatre. Under normal sterile technique and sterile draping, we removed the stitches from the scalp wound and reopened the skull into the outer covering of his brain. We performed the procedure with the boy fully awake under local analgesia only, rather than general anaesthesia.

It was our usual practice to play soft music in the theatre to create a calm atmosphere during surgery. On that particular day, we had Bryan Adams’ cassette playing softly in the background.

As we were evacuating blood clot from the boy’s brain (extra dural space), we heard sounds coming from beneath the sterile drapes. At first, we thought he might be in pain, so we asked him. The boy said he felt no pain, he was fine. He added, in a cheerful tone, that it was his favourite song by Bryan Adams playing, and he was simply singing along.

The boy made a complete recovery and was discharged from the hospital well and sound.

Now, as I sit under the frangipani tree listening to that same song again after all these years, I can’t help but wonder where that boy might be today. He would now be in his mid thirties.

Bryan Adams - Please Forgive Mehttps://www.instagram.com/bryanadams/The dog in the video belonged to the studio owner, but liked BA and followed him during h...

31/10/2025

Unexploded Ordnance: A Public Health Alert.

During the Second World War, from 1942 to 1945, one of the fiercest and bloodiest battles between Japanese and American forces in the Pacific was fought on the Island of Guadalcanal, in what was then the British Solomon Islands Protectorate.

Hill 84, as the Americans called it, is the area now known as Lengakiki Ridge.

In recent years, several unexploded bombs have detonated, killing or injuring innocent people. For me, these incidents bring back vivid memories. In the 1970s, as a kid growing up in Lengakiki and the Town Ground area, my siblings, friends, and I would spend our days playing and exploring those hills, completely unaware of the dangers buried beneath our feet.

I remember that whenever there was a grass fire, we would walk through the ashes, searching for whatever we might find, thinking we were discovering treasures. We never realized the deadly risks.

These unxploded bombs also provided opportunity for a few foolish individuals, risk-takers who tried to cut open unexploded bombs to extract the gunpowder for making dynamite used in illegal fishing. Some were badly or fatally injured.

Now, more than 80 years after the war, these unexploded ordnances (UXOs) have become unstable. They can easily detonate at the slightest disturbance.

Honiara, the capital of Solomon Islands, is literally sitting on a time bomb.

I cannot help asking a few questions:

Why did Japan and America have to fight their war so far away from their homes? Why bring their conflict to our peaceful islands, when we had no quarrel with them? They often claim that they fought to defend our freedom. But whose freedom did they defend? Certainly not ours. Today both of them are our friends.

All they did was leave behind tonnes of deadly explosives, rusting silently beneath our soil and sea, posing a public health risk for our people today.

If they could bring all their bombs here during the war, why could they not take them back when the war ended? Afterall, these bombs were not made in the Solomon Islands. They were brought here.

Today, as Honiara and parts of Guadalcanal, as well as many islands in the Western Province, remain contaminated with UXOs, it is time for decisive action.

There should be a law requiring all war-affected areas to undergo systematic UXO clearance. It should be a National priority to urgently push for the clearance of UXO. International partners, especially Japan and the United States, should be held accountable to assist in the cleanup of the remnants of their war.

Eighty years on, the people of Solomon Islands should not have to live under the shadow of a war that was never ours.

19/10/2025

A Growing and Silent Epidemic

SCLEROSING LIPOGRANULOMA of the P***S.

Over the years in my practice, I have treated many males presenting with a condition known as Sclerosing Lipogranuloma of the P***s, also referred to as Paraffinoma or Vaselinoma. This condition arises as a serious complication of pe**le augmentation following the injection of paraffin, baby oil, or similar substances into the pe**le tissue.

In sclerosing lipogranuloma, the body’s Immune system recognizes the injected substance as foreign and mounts a foreign body inflammatory reaction against it. This process leads to chronic inflammation, fibrosis, and hardening of the pe**le tissue.

Many patients SUFFER Silently and in Deep EMBARRASSMENT. What begins with high hopes for a more “glamorous” or “enhanced” life often ends in Pain, Deformity, and Disappointment. The stories are tragically similar: The Decision is often made under the influence of alcohol and peer pressure, and the injection is performed by untrained individuals.

It must be remembered that with just One WRONG Decision and One Pe**le INJECTION with foreign body, TWO of the most Fundamental Functions of Human LIFE, Urination and Reproduction, can be permanently damaged.

From my clinical experience, I can confidently declare that failed pe**le augmentation has reached endemic levels. If this trend continues, I predict that in the years ahead we will face an increasing number of long-term complications of sclerosing lipogranuloma, including scrotal lymphoedema and possibly Pe**le Cancer.

This is not just a medical issue, it is a Public Health Warning. Education, early intervention, and awareness are essential to prevent further suffering among men who fall victim to this dangerous and misguided practice.

10/09/2025

Interpreting the Dengue Test

The Dengue Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) is commonly misinterpreted, yet understanding it is crucial for accurate diagnosis and management.

The test detects three different markers:
NS1 antigen,
IgM antibody, and
IgG antibody,
each of which reflects a particular stage of the illness.

NS1 stands for Non-structural Protein 1, which is a viral protein produced by the dengue virus. When the RDT detects NS1, it means that the virus is circulating in the blood and that the patient has an active infection.

NS1 is usually present from the first day of illness until about the fifth day, a period known as the FEBRILE Phase. During this phase, the patient typically experiences high fever and headache, and the virus is at its peak activity.

As the illness progresses, the patient’s immune system begins to respond by producing antibodies.

The first antibody to appear is IgM, which begins to show up around day five, just as the levels of NS1 start to decline.

IgM is part of the body’s immediate defense system, and its appearance coincides with the CRITICAL Phase of dengue fever. This is the stage where the immune system fights the virus most aggressively.

While the antibodies are attacking the virus, the body may also suffer from collateral damage in the form of cytokine storm and capillary leakage, leading to a dangerous shift of fluids within the body. Platelet destruction can occur at this time, and the patient may develop bleeding tendencies.

Clinicians are trained to closely monitor for the cardinal signs of the critical phase, as this is the most dangerous part of the illness.

IgM can remain detectable in the bloodstream for up to three months after infection.

If the patient survives this immune battle, the disease moves into the RECOVERY Phase, which usually begins about 48 Hours after the critical phase and lasts from day seven to day ten of the illness, though recovery may extend for up to several weeks. During this period, the patient’s condition gradually improves.

Around day nine, another antibody known as IgG begins to appear in the blood. IgG provides long-term immunity against the specific dengue serotype that caused the infection, and unlike IgM, it remains in circulation for many years.

Understanding the meaning of RDT results therefore depends on recognizing which marker is positive.

If NS1 alone is positive, the result indicates an early active infection during the febrile phase.

If both NS1 and IgM are positive, the patient is in an acute phase of infection, likely transitioning into the critical period.

If IgM and IgG are both positive, the infection is somewhere between day nine and three months after onset, when the body is moving from acute illness into recovery but still shows evidence of recent exposure.

If only IgG is positive, this does not mean an active infection but rather reflects past infection and immunity, which can last for many years.

It is also important to understand that dengue fever does not have a specific antiviral treatment. Management is supportive, focusing on maintaining adequate hydration and controlling fever. Paracetamol (Panadol) may be used to reduce fever during the febrile phase, but it should be stopped once the patient enters the critical phase. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin and ibuprofen must be avoided altogether because of the increased risk of bleeding.

30/08/2025

What I think our Nation is lacking and needs is "Brain Empowerment", where the minds, skills, and talents of all our people are fully developed and used to build a better future.

I think the Barriers to Brain Empowerment are:

1. Many young people struggle with substance abuse and untreated mental illness. This destroys potential and creates what we can call "Brain Rot".

2. Our schools, research, and training systems are weak, causing many dropouts.

3. Graduates often leave school with skills that don’t fit the jobs available.

4. There are still big gaps between men and women, and between regions, in education and job opportunities.

5. We don’t involve our diaspora well, even though they have skills to share.

6. Poor pay and working conditions cause "Brain Drain", where skilled workers leave for other countries.

7. The private sector is too small, limiting jobs and industries.

8. Many people cannot train in fields they are passionate about.

9. National plans often don’t match the talents and interests of individuals.

To overcome these barriers and unlock our human potential, we need to set clear goals:

1. Stop "Brain Rot" by preventing drug abuse, providing rehabilitation, and promoting mental health.

2. Reduce "Brain Drain" by improving pay, working conditions, and career opportunities.

3. Activate our "Brain Reserve", the hidden potential of women, youth, the elderly, and returning citizens, so no one is left behind.

4. Promote "Brain Circulation" by working with our diaspora and building international partnerships so knowledge and skills flow both ways.

5. Build strong foundations for "Brain Empowerment" through fair education, research, and innovation systems.

6. Match training with people’s real passions and talents so every profession is covered.

7. Support jobs and businesses locally and globally, making the best use of our people’s skills.

My Slogan

"Fight Brain Rot" – protect young minds.

"Stop Brain Drain" – keep our best talents at home.

"Activate Brain Reserve – empower women, youth, elderly, and returnees.

"Promote Brain Circulation" – share skills with the world and our diaspora.

"Achieve Brain Empowerment" – unlock the full potential of our nation.

My thoughts for today

29/08/2025

Like Father, Like Son.
Father, performing surgery at PMGH in 1998, upper picture.
Son, assisting in surgery at PMGH in 2025, lower picture.