Most of our patients present with valvular disease from the effects of Rheumatic Fever, otherwise known as Rheumatic Heart Disease. The disease destroys the valve leaflets of the heart. Our first 4 cardiac procedures were mitral valve replacements this week. This is one of the prosthetic mitral valves as the stitches were being placed around the valve annulus prior to seating the valve into the mitral orifice and being tied down while the patient was on cardiopulmonary bypass.
The female kitchen staff at the guesthouse. This is why we all come home a few pounds heavier!
Sarah taking one of our mitral valve patients from the ICU to the ward.
The arterial cannula right after it has been inserted into the patient's ascending aorta. This is the tubing that will carry the blood from the heart-lung machine into the patient to keep them alive while their heart is stopped and opened up to replace their diseased mitral valve during the surgical repair.
Dr. Luke putting in the patient's arterial line before putting him to sleep for a pericardial stripping procedure. The arterial line is used to continuously monitor the patients arterial blood pressure before during and after cardiopulmonary bypass, as well as in the cardiac ICU in the post-op period.
Dr. Mary, Dr. Luke and Dr. Jenny in the OR observing the pericardial stripping.
Johnson, Dr. Ron and Dr. Malik during one of the lunches we were able to make this week.
Guess who? There is only one person at Tenwek who keeps notes by writing them not only on her hand... but all up and down her arm. It's Anna!
View from outside cardiac OR #2
1 comment:
Hello. And Bye. Thank you very much.
Post a Comment