February 17 - 24, 2010


Every day comes with its share of surprises, good or bad, but a lot gets accomplished. We’ve been able to organize the transfer of about 15 patients with fractures to obtain x-rays. Those transfers required meticulous organization, as the only facility equipped with a radiology unit was at a Canadian military hospital located at a 10-minute car ride. We have to carefully prepare our patients with tractions on their fractured limbs. Our physical therapist Manoli or myself were designated to accompany these patients. Once there, x-rays were taken and saved on a CD, it allowed us to make better decisions when it comes to the course of treatment of each of these patients.


















My colleagues in the Canadian army have also asked for my professional opinion on some of their patients. Even with the light competition going on between the NGOs present on the field, interactions amongst colleagues are filled with mutual respect. After all, we’re all working towards the same goal: to help the victims. The interactions with surgeons from other NGOs, most of them Americans, are numerous and constructive. These surgeons often put their knowledge at our disposition and even their supplies whenever we need them. We gladly do the same in return. Therefore, we’ve been able to recruit plastic surgeons, hand specialists, and even pediatric-orthopaedics. I would like to take this opportunity to thank these colleagues: Craig, Christina, Phil, Tim, Anthony and all the others....



































Benjamin couldn’t believe it. We’ve managed to organize a multidisciplinary grand round to discuss a few of our more difficult cases with our American colleagues. For a moment there, our small field hospital looked like a university center. It was a memorable event and a useful one too, as we were able to take important decisions, notably in organizing the transfer of patients needing internal fracture fixations. Ambitious plans to create such an infrastructure at the MSF St Louis hospital in Port-au-Prince was in the making at the time, and that facility was already overwhelmed with demands....


















The supplies at our disposition in Leogane were sufficient for the basic treatments we provided. However, they were highly insufficient in supporting what was often expected of us. We were severely lacking an infrastructure that would have allowed us to perform internal fixations with plates/screws or nails.

The interventions performed during the first few days that followed the earthquake had often had failed. These failures have been the result of poorly performed procedures due to the inadequate infrastructures. Sadly, many of these procedures have resulted in complications, notably infections needing a lot of extra surgical attention to be fixed. Unfortunately, that extra attention couldn’t allways be provided in Haiti, again because of the inadequate infrastructures in the country.

We’ve treated hundreds of cases, often in an appropriate manner, sometimes desperately, but always with the conviction that we were doing the best that we could for our patients.

No comments:

Post a Comment