Moving Ahead to Relieve Joint Diseases
Operation Walk Virginia is a dedicated not-for-profit volunteer organization committed to providing life-changing orthopedic surgical treatments free of charge in developing countries and across the United States.
Our all-volunteer team is hard at work preparing for the 2025 trip to Panama, packing thousands of pounds of medical supplies into shipping containers ahead of the January mission trip.
Our all-volunteer team is hard at work preparing for the 2025 trip to Panama, packing thousands of pounds of medical supplies into shipping containers ahead of the January mission trip.
Transforming lives through orthopedic surgery
Cuba 2022
Havana, Cuba 2022
The Operation Walk team traveled to Havana, Cuba in 2022, replacing 52 joints to radically transform the lives of 41 patients.
Our extraordinary volunteer medical team transforms the lives of patients suffering from debilitating bone and joint conditions in developing countries through free, desperately needed knee and hip replacement surgeries.
Through donated surgical supplies and financial contributions, Operation Walk Virginia can provide a higher quality of life for patients living with bone and joint conditions through surgery, recovery and beyond.
From pain to possibility
Compassionate care, global impact
In addition to orthopedic surgeries, we empower local healthcare professionals by sharing advanced techniques and knowledge in orthopedic care.
Our volunteer healthcare professionals educate local surgeons, physical therapists and healthcare providers on the most advanced treatments and surgical techniques for diseases of the hip and knee joints.
From the Beginning
World-renowned orthopedic surgeon Lawrence D. Dorr established Operation Walk in Los Angeles in 1996. Soon, Operation Walk began receiving requests from around the world for help.
At the same time, volunteer surgeons offered to form additional teams to increase the number of patients Operation Walk could help each year. There are now 15 teams in the United States, two in Canada, one in Europe and one in Thailand.
In 2006, Dr. Gerard Engh of Anderson Orthopedic Clinic and Julie Warner of Inova Health System launched the Operation Walk Virginia chapter. Their first mission trip in 2006 alongside Operation Walk LA helped more than 40 patients in Nicaragua. Operation Walk Virginia’s inaugural mission trip returned to Nicaragua in 2007, completing 68 joint replacements.
Mission 2025: Panama
Operation Walk Virginia is busy organizing and planning its thirteenth mission trip to Panama City, Panama in January 2025.
Each trip is led by an all-volunteer staff of more than 50 medical professionals, who must also fundraise every penny required to complete upwards of 40 total joint replacement surgeries.
A typical trip costs upwards of $150,000 and each mission represents an immense logistical undertaking. Nearly 8,000 pounds of supplies (such as prosthetics, surgical equipment, medications, bandages, crutches, etc.) must be shipped and cleared through customs before the mission can even begin.
Your support allows us to provide life-changing mobility to those with the greatest need.
Since 2006, Operation Walk Virginia has provided life-changing joint replacement surgeries to 700 patients (and counting) in more than six countries.
Contribute to the gift of pain-free living
Restoring mobility renews hope. It allows people to return to work, to their favorite activities, and to the simple, yet precious, joy of pain-free living. For each trip, Operation Walk Virginia must raise its own funds. Your support of our life-changing work today makes a better tomorrow.