I will be traveling with the pediatric surgical team from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) to Antigua, Guatemala. Here we will provide general surgery to pediatric patients from one year of age up to 18 years old.
The children of Guatemala requiring general surgery will benefit from this project. CHOP has been providing these services to Guatemala for almost 15 years.
Last year we provided 83 surgeries in 4 1/2 days to the children of Guatemala. These surgeries included hernia repairs, circumcision, lipoma removal, etc. Providing anesthesia to children in an underserved population can be very challenging. This will be my third time attending this trip and every year my skill set in knowledge of Anesthesia is challenged. We do not have our usual modern resources and equipment and have to be resourceful. It’s an invaluable experience.
