I started my placement at the hospital today. Boy was I in for a big surprise! My first day I was allowed to observe Dr. Allen, one of the CCS volunteers, operate on a woman with appendicitis. He removed her appendix in a surgery that lasted about 2 hours and I was fully scrubbed in, complete with white boots, a surgeon’s cap, and facemask.
The surgery was really interesting – a contrast in many ways from what I’ve “seen” in the United States. The resources are dramatically less and it was clear that Dr. Allen was the expert, even though he was “assisting” the head surgeon with the operation. I watched as first an incision was made across the oblique abdomen, then once through the layers of fatty tissue and weaved through muscle fibers, we were in the body! I saw the small intestine, an ovary, and the appendix, of course!
The removal took longer than I thought and there was less blood than I thought. Periodically dabbing, Dr. Allen had tied off all the ruptured blood vessels and you could see the organs reasonably clearly. Basically the appendix is tied off and the tube rerouted before the actual appendix is removed. I don’t understand a lot of the details, but this equaled a lot of staring at the appendix and watching Dr. Allen tie knots with medical thread. Once the appendix was out he tested the rest of the area just checking that everything looked normal. Then she was sewn back up and taken into recovery!
Only in Africa would I probably be allowed access to such procedures. I have no medical training or background, and I think the last science class I took was Astronomy my freshman year of college! Still there I was in the back, scrubbed in with 3 other volunteers (all going into medicine) and I asked questions. I was curious, and interested in the process.
Some of the policy issues that struck me were issues of knowledge and procedure. Everyone in medicine in the United States talks about how the field is never static; it’s always changing and there are always developments and improvements. It’s clear though that the basics are still lacking in Tanzania, let alone advanced improvements in surgery skill like Dr. Allen brought to the operating room.
It will be interesting to see what lies ahead in my future adventures at the hospital! In other news, I am recovering from the malaria really well and feeling much better. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.
The surgery was really interesting – a contrast in many ways from what I’ve “seen” in the United States. The resources are dramatically less and it was clear that Dr. Allen was the expert, even though he was “assisting” the head surgeon with the operation. I watched as first an incision was made across the oblique abdomen, then once through the layers of fatty tissue and weaved through muscle fibers, we were in the body! I saw the small intestine, an ovary, and the appendix, of course!
The removal took longer than I thought and there was less blood than I thought. Periodically dabbing, Dr. Allen had tied off all the ruptured blood vessels and you could see the organs reasonably clearly. Basically the appendix is tied off and the tube rerouted before the actual appendix is removed. I don’t understand a lot of the details, but this equaled a lot of staring at the appendix and watching Dr. Allen tie knots with medical thread. Once the appendix was out he tested the rest of the area just checking that everything looked normal. Then she was sewn back up and taken into recovery!
Only in Africa would I probably be allowed access to such procedures. I have no medical training or background, and I think the last science class I took was Astronomy my freshman year of college! Still there I was in the back, scrubbed in with 3 other volunteers (all going into medicine) and I asked questions. I was curious, and interested in the process.
Some of the policy issues that struck me were issues of knowledge and procedure. Everyone in medicine in the United States talks about how the field is never static; it’s always changing and there are always developments and improvements. It’s clear though that the basics are still lacking in Tanzania, let alone advanced improvements in surgery skill like Dr. Allen brought to the operating room.
It will be interesting to see what lies ahead in my future adventures at the hospital! In other news, I am recovering from the malaria really well and feeling much better. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.
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