If you happen onto this ship any day during working hours, and even after, you can find surgeons being trained in each operating room on the ship. Currently we have local surgeons who have been here most of this outreach learning from Dr. Gary how to do max-fax and cleft lip surgeries and others with Dr. Glenn learning new quicker and safer ways of fixing cataracts. We also have surgeons and nurses from Rawanda and nearby countries learning better ways to do VVF surgery and care for them.
Dr. Cristoph and Dr. Amaglo from Togo have been living and working on the ship for quite a while now. When Dr. Cristoph first came he had never done a cleft lip surgery in his practice. A couple weeks ago before Dr. Gary left for vacation Dr. Cristoph and Dr. Amaglo were doing them on their own! I had the privilege of going in and watching some of these surgeries. I just think that is such an encouragement to watch and see. Now, even though we are leaving, more people from Togo can receive this surgery.
(Dr. Mark (left) and Dr. Gary (right) helping/watching one of the locals do an operation. And yes that is a 400 gram lipoma they took out of a genteman's neck.)It is fun to build relationships with them and see them in the hallways. Some of them even take call and get the honor of getting called in the middle of the night for their patients. A couple of the surgeons from Togo only spoke french so when I would call them for questions I always had to have a translator nearby but it worked:)
Dr. Amaglo even honored us by having the nursing and OR staff to his house in town for dinner one night. It was so fun to hang out with some of the local surgeons and their families outside of work...and even dancing with them to the little live local band that was there!
(Dr. Chrisoph with Karin and I and Dr. Ameglo and his wife who hosted us for dinner)
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