Teaching and Eating

On the second day in the operating room, I mostly advised while Dr. Wong who is the local plastic surgeon did the surgery.  We had some lively discussion through or interpreter, Joy who is a dental student in San Francisco.  She also happens to be of Taiwanese decent.   

On the left I am assisting Dr. Wong.  On the right I am showing the other surgeon who is also Dr. Wong how to redo a palate repair that had come apart.  This was challenging as there was a lot of scar tissue.  Hopefully after this surgery her speech will be much improved.

The Chinese love to have banquets.  We have had 3 so far, with many interesting and beautifully presented dishes.

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The butterfly was made up of pigs ears, lotus, beef, mushroom and cucumber.  Even more dihes were added to the table.  The center revolves and you pick what you want.  Many are very spicy, so one chooses carfully.

Trip Details

I have been asked to give some more detail about what this trip is like.  The goal is to support the local hospital in establishing a center for the care of children with cleft lip and palate and to encourage team care.  Thus we met with the plastic surgeons, ear nose and throat, orthodontics, and speech at the hospital.

The sign on the right is over the entrance to the main building and announces our presence. 

The group I am traveling with is an orthodontist, two speech pathologists and a dental student who is Chinese and is our main interpreter.  In fact she spent the day with me in the OR while I showed the local surgeons how I do lip and palate repair.  The others spent the morning working with their local counterparts.

The whole program is supported by the local, provincial and country government to some extent.  We also have our lodging and meals supported by the China Population Welfare Foundation, which is an NGO that helps primarily the rural population.

Unlike other trips, this one has me using only local supplies and local personnel.  The anesthesiologist was great and the technician helping with the surgery was one step ahead of me. The challenge was finding suture that would work among a very limited selection.  

The first patient.