Saturday September 8

     We did another 10 cases today including a colonoscopy, a thyroid, a couple of breast lumps, and several hernias. The OT staff was amazing; we were running 3 rooms, and it was a Saturday ! At one point, Dan Slack and Albertha Clark were in one room repairing a hernia, Jonathan was in another room doing a hernia assisted by a medical student, and I was in the third room doing a hernia alone. With yesterday, Ama tells us that we have performed 63 cases since starting on Tuesday; that is a huge volume, far surpassing any previous trip. With 4.5 days of operating left, we could approach 100 cases! There are many reasons for our increased productivity on this trip including Ama organizing and inspiring the OT staff, having 2 anesthesiologists with us, and a great team of surgeons supplemented by Drs. Gbozee and Cassell as well as Liberian postgraduate trainees. I think another big factor is that One Day Surgery has finally arrived at JFK. We have talked about it for years, but there was always resistance. This time it is being encouraged, and the result is that we can do a lot more since many patients don't need to be admitted the day before. We aren't as dependent on the availability of inpatient beds, and the cost to the hospital is less.
       Last night we went to the home of former President Sirleaf for dinner and a wonderful evening of conversation. It was quite an honor for us to sit in the palava hut enjoying Fufu and other dishes while we chatted about a variety of topics. Listening to Madame talk about the Ebola epidemic still fills with me admiration for her decisiveness in dealing with this unseen enemy.