Wednesday
We arrived at the clinic today planning to perform four surgeries: two ACL reconstructions, an osteochondroma removal, and a non-union sequestrum. We ended up having a walk-in patient scheduled for a tibial tubercle avulsion at the end of the day after being cleared by our anesthesia team, making for a total of 5 surgeries today.
Because we saw only two ACL patients today, we were able to run both ORs at the same time and knock out the first four surgeries by lunchtime. Dr. Kanora was able to perform most of the ACL reconstructions as the lead surgeon with Dr. Hsin’s supervision and guidance. Training Dr. Kanora on these techniques is a huge step toward advancement of medical care specifically relating to knee reconstructive operations in this country because there are currently no options for these types of surgeries in Cambodia. Dr. Kanora will be performing both of the ACL reconstruction surgeries tomorrow as well under Dr. Hsin’s supervision.
ACL reconstructions are time consuming operations, so while those were going on in OR1, the osteochondroma removal and the non-union sequestrum were performed in OR2. After lunch, the last patient on the schedule was prepped for surgery and the tibial tubercle avulsion began. Between surgeries, Dr. Cabrera taught lessons on anesthesia blocks and epidurals in a classroom full of eager nurses and CRNA students. He also demonstrated with the ultrasound machine how to identify nerves and nerve bundles for specific nerve blocks in the shoulder, neck, arm, and leg.
Once all operations were finished for the day, our team visited the Central Market and went to dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant. Tomorrow we will wrap up our final surgeries at the clinic before we head home this weekend!
