Wednesday September 5

    This was another excellent and satisfying day at JFK ! Special credit goes to Ama, the nurse manager who really keeps things moving. We had 12 cases booked for the day, which is a lot by our standards. At 9AM she came down to the area where we meet for morning Surgical Rounds and hauled Jonathan and I out, telling us it was time to get started! So we went up and got started doing a variety of cases including a burn contracture, a thyroid, some hernias, and some other cases which I can't remember right now. My particular enjoyment came form doing a pediatric hernia with Dan Slack, then an adult hernia with Albertha Clark, and finally having Albertha and Dan do an adult hernia together with minimal supervision. For me it was the ideal teaching set-up, and I think they both really enjoyed it also.
    It turned out that a couple of patients didn't show, including a prisoner with a large lipoma on his shoulder. We think he decided not to have the surgery when he learned it would be day surgery and he wouldn't be admitted to the hospital !! So we had 8 of the 12 scheduled show up, and then in the afternoon a guy who works at the hospital came with a lipoma on his back, so Dan and I did him under local to make 9 cases. During the day I had a conversation with Prof. Ikpi, who thinks we should really go for it...so tomorrow we have 19 cases scheduled lol. If we do them all, or even 15 of them, that will be a milestone for us as well as JFK. I think the fact that we are able to even consider scheduling that many cases is a testament to the dedication and professionalism of the OT staff, the Liberian residents, the anesthesia personnel both Liberian and American, and Professor Ikpi who has made it clear that these trips are a significant initiative.
      Speaking of which, today I learned that JFK Hospital announced that the surgery done by us during these 2 weeks would essentially be free to patients. In the past there was no surgeon's fee, but the patients were charged a bed fee as well as being charged for drugs used. This trip it appears that the hospital is taking on all comers regardless of their ability to pay.  This is a good move by the hospital!!
      After we finished today, we were waiting on the steps of the Administration Building for our ride. A young woman came out, and said hi. We started talking about the new CT scan coming by the end of the year, and then I realized that I was talking to Marie, the woman standing in front of me in line to board the flight from Brussels to Monrovia.                                                            
       This evening we went to a bar/restaurant for dinner; the establishment is owned by Charles Sirleaf, another son of Madame Sirleaf. The former President joined us, and we had a very interesting time. Then back to sleep for a big day tomorrow .