Kagera Regional Hospital Surgery
Today Thuy, Betty and I went to the Kagera Regional Hospital to observe surgeries. The surgery department was one of the cleanest departments that I observed at the hospital. There were 3 surgeries scheduled for Tuesday. The first two were hernias and the third was an appendectomy. This was the first surgery that I observed after coming to Tanzania. While in United States I had watched numerous surgeries, however, the surgery in Tanzania was different from what I expected.
As we entered the department, we checked in with the head nurse. She gave each of us a pair of scrubs, a surgical mask and a surgical cap. We noticed that many of the scrubs were donated from hospitals in the United States. The surgical masks were made of cloth and were washed after every use.
When we entered the operating theatre, we found that the anesthesiologist used ether as an anesthesia. We felt like we were back in o-chem lab. The theatre was cleaner than I expected it to be. The surgery was not performed using laproscopy but was done using incisions. The first two surgeries went as scheduled but the third scheduled surgery was cancelled because the patient had high blood pressure and had not been taking her medications before the operation.
At around 12:00, the staff offered us food and drinks. We had chai and matoke. Matoke are roasted plantains, a very common snack in Tanzania. At the end of the day at the hospital, we took some pictures with the surgical staff. During our stay in Tanzania, we found that everyone likes to have their picture taken. When we get back to America, we plan to print the photos and then mail them to the staff at Kagera Regional Hospital.
I still can't believe that this is our last week in Bukoba. It seemed like only yesterday that we boarded our plane in Minneapolis. Time goes fast in Tanzania. All of us wish to stay here for few more weeks.