April 11

Thursday April 11, 2013

Today the urologists and I went to Black Lion Hospital.  There were two patients that they knew about and one other that was scheduled.  The second one was a complex patient who had had several previous surgeries and needed a complex revision.  There were numerous surgical and anesthesia providers present.  There were also three other US anesthesia resident volunteers who were there working with CRNA students.  I had talked to one from Boston before coming and I talked to another one yesterday on the phone.  Our first two cases went fine.  By the time we were ready for the third, they decided they didn’t have any solution left to sterilize the instruments, so we didn’t do the third case.  They often do not want to work past about 3 pm because most people have second jobs – most at private clinics or hospitals, and they don’t want to stay late at the government hospital.  There have definitely been improvements in Black Lion since I started going there, but it is still a difficult place to work and is unpredictable.  The availability of monitors, drugs, equipment and expertise is quite different from Cure.  The urologists and I walked back to the Sheraton and I had time for a swim and to start packing.

The ENT team was at Cure with about seven cases, many with complicated airway or medical issues.  T

here was one orthopedic case also.  The audiologists saw patients as well.

I had dinner with Dr. Mary, anesthesiologist from Cure and her family.  It was great to be able to talk in a more leisurely fashion and see her husband and children for a few minutes.  Some went to a restaurant with traditional Ethiopian dancing and others stayed at the hotel.