Medical staff at Vanderbilt University Medical Center volunteered their time for an event benefiting patients with no insurance.
About 30 employees helped treat nine patients with carpal tunnel, trigger finger, and other hand disorders.
It was all part of The Touching Hands Project, an initiative of the American Society for Hand Surgery. The volunteer services have helped people internationally.
"Everyone here is happy to be a part of something like this. It kind of takes away the bureaucracy aspect of health care and allows us to do what we really want to do, and that's to take care of patients," Dr. Mihir Desai told NewsChannel 5.
Free health care clinic, The Shade Tree Clinic, helped refer the patients. This was a first for the hospital.
Delmy Lemus is a patient who received the surgery free. She was in pain for the past four months because of a condition known as trigger finger. Her tendon in her right hand was inflamed and caused her finger to lock when bent.
"It hurts," she said. "When I try to close my fist, I can't."
The surgery to fix her trigger finger lasted for only fifteen minutes on Saturday. NewsChannel 5 was there as she was brought into the recovery room.
Instantly after the surgery she was able to close her fist without her finger locking.
Doctors have hoped to host the same type of event again in 2018 with more patients.
