Medical Center Team Makes Mission of Mercy in Peru

For most of us, roughing it on vacation means staying at a hotel without room service. But for an increasing number of UCSF Medical Center physicians and nurses, taking a no-frills vacation means much more. They pack up medical equipment and supplies that have been begged, borrowed or bought, lay out money for airfare and accommodations, and spend 10 days in remote areas of South America and other far-flung parts of the world to give some of the poorest people on the planet quick fixes to lingering health problems. For the beneficiaries, the surgeries, however simple, mean a world of difference in self-esteem, dexterity and quality of life. Most recently, a group of UCSF physicians and nurses took an all-night flight to Peru's capital city, Lima. Then, with boxes upon boxes of equipment and supplies, they boarded a bus for a five-hour ride to Ica, a small desert town in the southern part of the country. Their mission there was to see children with orthopedic problems that could be fixed with one surgery and little follow-up. Most of the UCSF physicians were anesthesiologists, with one emergency room physician; the orthopedic surgeons came from other hospitals, including a large contingency from the University of Texas Medical Center.

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"We bring everything," said Philip Bickler, UCSF professor of anesthesia and perioperative care. "All bandages, surgical supplies, monitors, gowns, scrubs - everything. The only thing we require is an autoclave (for sterilizing instruments) and an OR." In Ica, as in other places the teams have visited, patients normally need to supply everything for their own hospital visits, from IV solutions to sutures, but the visiting team supplies everything, including medications. This latest journey to Ica was Bickler's sixth trip with Operation Rainbow, a Bay Area nonprofit organization that organizes teams of physicians and nurses who perform orthopedic and plastic surgery, as well as provide medical education to local health care personnel in medically underserved countries. UCSF staff also volunteer with other similar organizations. "In places like Peru, the wealthy get taken care of, but very little trickles down to the vast majority of the population, who can't afford medical care," Bickler said. "Without groups like Operation Rainbow, these children would have no hope for normal lives." Making a Difference
On this trip, surgical cases such as repairs of clubfoot and removal of extra digits - usually thumbs - were performed. In addition, there were some people who had contracted polio in the 1980s who were helped. But most of those had conditions that would have required multiple surgeries and extensive follow-up, so the team unfortunately could not perform surgery on them. In the time they were there, the team saw around 200 children in the clinic and performed surgery on 50. "The OR was in operation 12 to 14 hours a day," said Sandra Wienholz, RN, patient care manager in the OR at UCSF Medical Center, who has gone on these missions of mercy once a year for the past seven or eight years. "And our duties there are quite different than they are back at home." Wienholz explained that everyone does what needs to be done, from mopping floors to preparing surgical instruments. "There is no hierarchy," she said. "Everyone takes on new roles and pitches in." Wienholz has taken several UCSF nurses with her on these trips, and while she admits this type of "vacation" isn't for some people, she thinks the experience would be invaluable for almost everyone. "I think it should be a part of medical and nursing education," she said. "It teaches flexibility and teamwork - things you actually have to do to learn." The team also spends time teaching local medical professionals techniques and how to use new tools. The medical staff from Ica worked as part of the surgical team, so they had the opportunity to practice new skills. On this trip, they left behind arthroscopy equipment for the local physicians. While there is no question that the people they serve are grateful, Wienholz and Bickler agree that it is the volunteers who really reap the most benefit. "We get back so much, it seems like a privilege," Wienholz said. "Most people aren't as lucky as we are to change lives for the better." She adds that the experiences change the way she looks at her work when she returns to San Francisco. "Everything I do on these trips is focused on the patient, and I am reminded that everything I do at UCSF needs to be focused on the patient, as well," she said. "It brings you back to your fundamentals." "I get so much more than I give," Bickler said. "There is nothing better than the satisfaction of knowing you've made a difference." Source: Carol Hyman Links: Slideshow: Medical Center Team Makes Mission of Mercy in Peru