April 12-13

The week was full and flew by!

Our team of ENT physicians operated on 13 patients, and the Ethiopian ENT physicians joined in during the surgical care.  They saw at least 90 patients in clinics at Cure, a local government hospital and at the School for the Deaf.  They did an entire day of laboratory and simulation based training for the Ethiopian ENT residents.

The anesthesiologists participated in the care for all of the surgical patients at Cure including the ENT patients and orthopedic patients, at least 60 in total.  We gave lectures for three different groups of anesthesia providers at three different locations.

The audiology team cared for and evaluated patients at Cure and students at the School for the Deaf and did audiograms for 50 patients and fit hearing aids, including for an 11 month-old child who had never been able to hear before.

We were able to meet with leaders in ENT and Anesthesiology to discuss on-going relationships for education and clinical teaching for the future.

There was a trip to the local cultural restaurant for traditional food, music and dancing; there was shopping; there was coffee buying.

I left a day early to attend a meeting in London of the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA), of which I am a committee member as we continue to work towards ways to provide safe surgery and anesthesia around the world.

The Philadelphia based team-members traveled home together and we were greeted by a beautiful 80 degree spring day!  Sunday was cold, rainy and windy but it was a lovely welcome home greeting!

Now to start planning the next trip!