Rotarians, Partners Conduct More Than 100 Paediatric Surgeries During Five-Day Camp

By Dr. Bindi Naik-Mathuria

A five-day medical camp at the Kenyan coast undertook 55 paediatric surgeries in Kilifi and another 48 in Mombasa. Of these, about 15 were very complex procedures that required some advanced equipment that had to be brought from Nairobi.

Several of the patients were new-borns with birth defects of the intestines. The team conducted pre-operative rounds on the first morning of the camp with the Chief paediatric surgeon from Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi.

The actual surgeries were carried out side-by-side with Kenyan surgeons and trainees in paediatric surgery, each learning from one another and helping the patients with complex operations. The team sponsored a Ugandan paediatric surgery trainee to join the camp, who was very grateful for the learning opportunity and the new friendships he made with our team.

To maximize space, the operating theatre had two beds with simultaneous surgeries going on at the same time. During the surgical camp, the medical practitioners also attended and participated in the first annual conference of the Kenya Association of Paediatric Surgeons which was a very valuable experience for all the surgeons to learn from each others’ experiences.

There were daily lectures with the surgery trainees at The Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital, Mombasa. There were trainers to teach how to do laparoscopic (minimally invasive) surgeries, which is rarely done in Kenya.

This year was the largest paediatric surgery camp yet by the Rotary Club of Mombasa. Partners included the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital in Mombasa, Kenyatta National Hospital, Mombasa Cement, the county governments of Mombasa and Kilifi.
The camp included teams of paediatric surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and trainees from all over Kenya. Every paediatric surgical centre was represented and worked together to take care of the children who needed surgery.

The team of volunteers from the USA included Dr. Bindi Naik-Mathuria -Chief of Paediatric Surgery at University of Texas Medical Branch, Dr. Keyan Mobli-General surgeon and now training to be a paediatric surgeon Dr. Laxmi Dongur and Dr. Jaclyn Dempsey-second year general surgery trainees.