A small team consisting of a senior resident physician, a regional anesthesia fellow, and an attending anesthesiologist from the University of California San Diego will return to a district hospital to continue cultivating our collaborative relationship with the on-site anesthesiologist and general surgeon. During this visit, we will donate a Butterfly handheld ultrasound to the hospital and provide hands-on training in basic peripheral nerve block techniques. In addition, we will assist with perioperative care and support the anesthesia needs of the surgical service during our time on site.
In this resource-limited setting in the heart of the Amazon, access to ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia has the potential to significantly expand safe surgical and emergency care. Peripheral nerve blocks can provide effective surgical anesthesia while improving patient safety through reduced physiologic stress, decreased opioid requirements, improved postoperative pain control, and faster recovery. These techniques also offer a critical alternative for patients who may be too medically fragile to safely undergo general anesthesia.
We will be serving at a district hospital in Pucallpa, which functions as the primary referral center for the surrounding region. The hospital provides comprehensive care for the local population, including a large catchment area that encompasses remote communities and unconnected Indigenous populations.
Importantly, our goal is not only to provide clinical support during our visit, but also to share practical skills and training with the medical team.
By combining equipment donation with practical training and ongoing collaboration, this effort aims to build local capacity and support sustainable improvements in anesthesia and surgical care delivery that will continue to benefit the local medical team long after our departure. It is our hope that this visit represents the continuation of an ongoing partnership, with the goal of returning annually to build upon the training, collaboration, and clinical work initiated during this trip.
We had the opportunity to help teach regional anesthesia techniques to an outstanding group of anesthesiologists in Pucallpa. In addition, we built strong connections with surgeons rotating through the hospital and delivered a hospital-wide morning conference for surgeons, anesthesiologists, and other staff involved in perioperative care. We learned as much from them as we were able to teach, making the experience truly collaborative and enriching.
