August 19th, 1pm
Yesterdays surgery was on a 50+ year young paralyzed female with treated Tuberculosis of the spine with multilevel bone destruction. We treated her with a posterior segmental instrumentation from T4 to T12. We operated at Mulago and two of the local residents scrubbed in with Lori and I…they got to place their first pedicle screws. The case went well and she did fine overnight and is comfortable this morning.
The young man with the broken neck is finally sitting up in bed, his neck is stable, his chest is still congested and his scalp abscess is still oozing, but at least he now has a chance! The best news is this morning is he has recovered some biceps muscle function!
Yesterday evening we were accompanied by Dr Titus Beyeza to a local Ugandan entertainment center and enjoyed some local folklore and traditional dance. They even had us “Mizungos” dancing and it was clear that some of us had no rhythm.
In total, over 15 patients assessed, 9 operations in 8 patients, congenital scoliosis, idiopathic scoliosis, TB of the spine, and a broken neck, from 2 years to 53 years of age.
Today we are packing, rounding and saying our good byes.
Look to the Uganda Spine Mission website for our final report and pictures!
Thanks to all for following us along.
Izzy