This re-occurring surgical educational trip to Guatemala City to work at The Moore Center has been ongoing for around a decade and my first time as a cleft surgeon to participate. The surgeries consist of mostly microtia reconstruction as well as cleft lip/palate repair. During the trip, as one of the lead surgeons I would be
responsible for patient care in surgery but more importantly be involved with with training/teaching of the Guatemalan medical students, pediatricians, and nursing staff that are full-time employees of the Moore Center Hospital in Guatemala City. We are hoping and planning on a research project involving the local Guatemalan medical students and staff to increase the academic production and highlight their work.
The Guatemalan patients and local medical stuff are the expected beneficiaries of this trip. Repairing a cleft lip and palate is life-changing for these children, especially for those that can not afford to have this performed. There are numerous studies showing how this improves their quality of life, their ultimate financial impact to society and their ability to eat/drink. While the patients are going to be impacted for the rest of their life, so will the local staff and educators. There will be lectures, educational sessions, and active involvement from the local staff to learn about the care of these children and make it so one day we don't ever have to come back as the surgical interventions and educational impact is self-sustaining. Guatemala is included as a low- and middle-income country (LMIC) so many of the basic surgical needs are unmet by their medical system. The Moore Surgical Center is a hospital in Guatemala that hosts surgical mission teams and allows surgical teams to help meet the surgical needs of children of the country. They have a strong relationship with our non-profit and have had recurring trips the past decade.
The expected impact is enormous. First the clinical outcomes of repairing their congenital defects (cleft lip/palate and microbic ears) will have huge implications for the lives of the children and their families. That can not be understated. But the learning will carry forward as we educate Guatemalan medical students and local surgeons, pediatricians, and nurses on the surgical and medical management of these patients. There will be lectures, in-services, and ongoing research projects to strengthen their medical practices and hopefully train ourselves out of coming to this location as they become self sustaining.
The trip encompasses everything you hope for in a global surgery trip. Education, Relationships, and improve others’ lives. The Moore Center in Guatemala is an exceptional host and hospital that allows for lives to be healed. During our surgery trip we had 3 operating rooms running full capacity for 3 days. We performed over 30 surgeries with half of those being cleft lip and palate repairs, and the other half being microtia (ear deformity) repairs. We had over 6 surgeons working from early mornings until late in the evenings with just the Guatemala children as the primary goal. We taught surgical concepts and post-operative manage to local nursing staff and medical students throughout the week. These global surgery trips help keep me grounded and re-invigorate passion for the job that I have back home. I am called to continue pursuing these global surgery opportunities and hopefully we teach enough staff and surgeons (around the world) that we can teach ourselves out of that job. But until then, we will continue to push to make sure as many children as possible are taken care of around the world.
The highlights of the trip for me including seeing the mom’s light up each time they got to see their children after surgery. The families make many sacrifices to be at these surgeries. They travel from far distances (4+ hours) and sleep at family members’ houses just to get their children taken care of. I can’t say enough about the Moore Center in Guatemala City in how well they take care of these families and provide assistance for them as well. The pediatricians and nursing staffs are excellent and we couldn’t do our job without them. I look forward to many more trips as a Doximity Foundation recipient.
