photos Dec 6

photos Dec 5

Home Sweet Home!

Most of us left Ethiopia late Friday night.  We had a layover in Frankfurt Germany Saturday morning, and several of us took the train to a nearby town where we walked around, had coffee, went to a local park, visited the Farmer's Market and bought treats to take home!  It was a nice way to pass the time and start to re-adjust to our life outside of Addis.

It was a successful trip with about 50 surgical procedures, lots of patients seen in clinic and hearing evaluations and hearing aids.  We are already planning our next trip.

On the way home!

Getting ready to leave for the airport.
We had a fabulous trip!

December 5

December 5, 2014

We are preparing to go to the airport for our flight home.  Today included 2 orthopaedic cases and 6 ENT cases, ENT and audiology clinic , and teaching sessions for ENT resident and anesthesia students.  Some people did a little shopping and relaxing for a few minutes before packing.

It was a very successful trip, and we are grateful for all of the kindnesses shown to us.

Most of us are leaving tonight, a few are staying longer.

We are already planning our next trip in a few months.

photos Dec 4

December 4

December 4, 2014

Today was a full and busy day.  The audiology team returned to the School for the Deaf where the audiologists evaluated all of the patients who needed adjustments to their hearing aids or new hearing evaluations or new hearing aids.  Two of the ENT doctors went along to examine the ears of the children who needed exams.

Dr. Hoda went with Dr. Mary to a local government hospital to help with some difficult pediatric cleft lip and palate surgeries and then Dr. Hoda and Dr. Jay went to another government hospital to take care of an adult patient with a complex sinus tumor.

At Cure we had 5 orthopaedic surgical cases and 3 ENT cases.  One was a relatively straight forward ear surgery, one was a 6 month old baby with a large mouth tumor that needed a biopsy to get a diagnosis, and one was a teenager with a large tumor in the sinus that needed to be removed.  The sinus tumor was a complex one that took all day and had many potential complications.  Fortunately everything went well.

Most of the team went to the local cultural restaurant that has traditional Ethiopian food, music and dance.  I spent the evening with Dr. Mary and her family.  Tomorrow we have some surgery at Cure, and a teaching session for the ENT residents and the anesthesia students.  Some people will go the Hamlin Fistula hospital to visit in the afternoon.  This is a well-known and well-regarded local hospital started to treat women who have serious and complex complications after childbirth.  These complications have devastating consequences for women in developing countries.  The issues are rarely seen in Western developed countries and are often relatively easy to treat in the right setting.

It is hard to believe that our week is almost at an end.  There has been a pilot’s strike by Lufthansa again, but so far it looks like our flights will be ok.

Time for sleep! 

Photos Dec 3

Wednesday Dec 3

Today was an OR and clinic day at Cure.  The ENT team saw about 60 patients in the clinic, some new patients, some follow up from previous visits, some pediatric, some adult.  The audiology team saw about 30 patients, did hearing screenings, and fit and did trouble shooting on hearing aids.  There were ten orthopaedic cases in the OR as well as 3 ear surgeries.

Dr. Glenn and I met with people who are looking to increase the ENT partnership at a local government hospital, and we also visited a guesthouse to have options for future teams and also other visitors and volunteers from the US. 

Many of us had dinner at an Italian restaurant in the hotel.  Some people have had local cuisine (Injera) at lunch at Cure.

Tomorrow the audiology team will return to the School for the Deaf and there are several OR cases at Cure including one big facial tumor.  Dr. Mary and Dr. Hoda will go to a local government hospital to help with two difficult pediatric cases, and Dr. Jay and Dr. Hoda may go to another hospital to help with an adult surgical case.  It might depend on whether the hospital sterilization equipment is working tomorrow.

Our team is a really good and cohesive one and everyone is working hard and enjoying working together.  There are still several other educational activities planned before the end of the week.

photos Dec 2

Dec 2 2014

Tuesday Dec 2, 2014

Our team was scattered today.  The audiologists and some of the ENT doctors went to the School for the Deaf where we go each time.  The students were evaluated, hearing aids fixed and some hearing tests done (limited by the lack of electricity).  They will go back on Thursday to finish their evaluations.

Two ENT doctors went to a local government hospital to work with one of the recently graduated Ethiopian ENT surgeons.  They saw patients in the outpatient area and scheduled some for surgery later in the week.

The anesthesia team and other ENT doctors were at Cure.  We had two orthopaedic cases and four ENT cases:  two ear surgeries, a tonsillectomy and the removal of a large facial tumor.  Tomorrow is clinic and OR at Cure.  One of the ENT doctors and his son are going to another city several hours away by plane tomorrow to work with another of the recently graduated Ethiopian ENT surgeons.

Later in the week we have more OR cases and clinics, a practice surgical skills lab for the ENT residents, and lectures for the anesthesia students.

We had a group dinner tonight at the local Korean restaurant where we have been many times before.

Photos Dec 1

Monday December 1, 2014

Today was our first full clinical day.  All of the team was based at Cure Hospital.

The ENT team had a big clinic of about 76 patients, and the audiologists did about 30 evaluations and fitted 17 hearing aids.  The OR had 12 orthopaedic cases which I took care of along with Dr. Hoda (anesthesia resident), Dr. Mary Bernard (Cure’s anesthesiologist) and the rest of the anesthesia department at Cure.  Dr. Hoda did a hands- on practice with the Ethiopian ENT residents on managing breathing with mannequins that we brought for teaching purposes.  We unpacked lots of supplies and equipment that we brought with us to use and leave at Cure.

Tonight we will have a team dinner at a very good local Italian restaurant.