We’ve had so many challenges on this trip that is hard to remember them all. On Wednesday we had hoped to do the cleft palate surgery that was originally scheduled for Tuesday. This procedure requires good suction machine as well as a reliable cautery machine in order to control bleeding . Both were in question as of Wednesday morning. We went through several rounds of cautery machines on Tuesday and early Wednesday, including the one that we bought from the US and the one that eventually went up in smoke on Tuesday. We had almost given up hope when Dr. Ambrose somehow procured a functional cautery and borrowed it from the hospital in another town and drove it to us. We were overjoyed because we could finally perform Angel’s surgery. She is a delightful four year old girl who will now have the ability eat and speak more normally. 
Also on Wednesday we treated Hope, an eleven month old boy with a bilateral cleft lip and palate. We repaired his lip and will plan to repair the palate next trip. We leave stents in the nostrils for a couple of days until swelling resolves to ensure a good nasal airway. Absorbable sutures and tissue glue are used on all lip repairs so the children can breast or bottle feed immediately and do not have to return for suture removal. 
In addition, our team did other operations as well as anesthesia instruction, ultrasound training ( Mark brought an ultrasound machine to donate), pediatric consultations by Mishelle, and we had Ugandan physicians in the OR with us to learn about cleft surgery. Thank you so much for the outpouring of support! Your donations are making a difference in the world right now.
#globalmedsurge