This is a humanitarian volunteer mission trip to Tanzania, offering free surgeries to local people who may not otherwise be able to afford them. Surgeries include thyroidectomies, hernias, lumpectomies, mastectomies, parotidectomies, and lipoma removals. I am joining the team as a certified registered nurse anesthetist.
The population being served covers the life span- pediatrics, adults, and geriatric patients. The mission will be conducted in the community of Mayara, Tanzania.
As with previous missions under Operation International, the expected impact will be to make a difference in the lives of the people of Mayara through life-changing surgeries. The learnings will be carried forward through knowledge exchange with Tanzanian nurse anesthetists and other members of the medical team. We will also be improving the health of the community as well.
We impacted both the pediatric and adult populations. We completed about 75 surgeries in 4 operating days. These surgeries included: thyroids, parotids, hernias, lipoma removals, etc. We were also able to teach the local staff some of our practice methods and also learned theirs.
