Samoa
Trip - 2005
12/11/2005
– 26/11/2005
Friday
came and Wayne and Robyn went to American Samoa to visit the local orthopod
there, to see if there was anything Outreach could offer them. We continued
in the clinic and OR. The weekend saw us visiting the other island and
enjoying a pleasant night in a beachside ‘fale’ (Samoan open
sided shelter). We touristed around and relaxed into the Samoan pace of
life.
The following Monday saw us settling into a routine, with Danny in the clinic and the rest of us in theatre we started to get stuck into some cases. Rod performed admirably when the oxygen ran out, Richard I. worked tirelessly scrubbing, preparing equipment and teaching the local staff. Kathy helped endlessly around the theatre. 28 cases in total were performed. These included plating and grafting of humeral and forearm non-unions, MUA and plasters, arthroscopies, removal of infected metalware, some hand trauma, a SUFE and an amputation. Memorable cases including a chronic dislocation of the elbow in a 12 year old girl that we openly reduced, and a posttraumatic radio-ulnar synostosis in a 30 year old man that we took down and osteotomised.
Danny worked tirelessly in the clinic, screening patients, treating some conservatively with limited resources (and some intra-articular steroid) and organising some for operation. Unfortunately there were some that were we could not help, given the resources available. Overall over 90 patients were seen in the clinic. Follow up was an issue as there was no end in sight to the doctors’ dispute, but we organised a post op plan for all patients using the resources we had.
The nursing staff of the ward and especially the operating room worked tirelessly to assist us in doing the most we could. There are only 6 OR nurses (recovery and scrub/scout) in all of Samoa, working a 1 in 2 on call permanently. Still, they had time for us. There resources were highly stretched with person-power, equipment and money all lacking. By the time of our departure, the carpentry department, whom individually made crutches for the patients, had ran out wood and nails and had no funds to buy any more. The ward had no bandages to redress the wounds, except with the supplies we gave them.
Overall, Samoa was an amazing place to visit and both the learning and teaching opportunities were endless. I learnt a great deal of orthopaedics, medicine and how to working difficult and trying circumstances and limited resources. I hope to return in the near future with an Outreach team to continue our work there.
Many
thanks to Stryker for providing me with financial assistance.
PROJECTS
Bali Training
Program
Cook Islands
East Timor Project
West Timor Report
Fiji
- Labasa
Fiji
- Lautoka
Fiji
- Suva
Fiji
- Suva and Lautoka
Kiribati
Papua New Guinea
Samoa Trip—2005
Solomon Islands
Tongan Footclub Program - 2007
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
