Royal Surrey surgeons head to Uganda

A TEAM of surgeons from Royal Surrey County Hospital have been experiencing an "eye-opening" stay at a Ugandan hospital.

The Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) experts travelled to Mulago Hospital, Kampala, on Sunday (February 17) to help provide better care for patients.

They will be demonstrating advanced techniques that avoid the need for more extensive, potentially disfiguring surgery.

The Royal Surrey team are using annual leave from their day jobs at the hospital to assist the Ugandans.

Writing on their blog, RSCH in Uganda 2013, the team said yesterday (Monday, February 18): "Our eyes have been well and truly opened - after our very late/early arrival and very little sleep, we headed off to Mulago Hospital. 

"We were greeted very warmly by the local staff, and they then gave us a guided tour of their hospital including the ENT ward and clinic. We also had a tour of the operating theatres. 

"We also had a tour of the operating theatres. We were then split into groups where Mr Sunkaraneni, Dr Hili and Dr Joshi went off to clinic to assess some patients that could require surgical intervention whilst the ENT team were in Uganda.

"Dr Patel and Mandy Vincent went off to the paediatric theatre to observe a laparotomy and bowel resection on a child of 6 days old,whilst Dr Saxena and Janet Maloney went to observe a depressed skull fracture. 

"We also went into the anaesthetic department and have arranged with the head of anaesthesia to participate in an educational day to run interactive workshops. To be continued."

In addition to working in Mulago Hospital - the main teaching hospital in Uganda - they will also be providing surgery in some of the more remote areas of the African country.

Consultant ENT surgeon, San Sunkaraneni, "We will be treating patients but the main emphasis is on training the local surgeons, anaesthetists and nursing staff in the most up to date techniques, bearing in mind the limited facilities they have.

"We often take for granted the great resources we have here in the UK, but in Uganda patients needing radiotherapy, for example, must come to Kampala to access the country's only radiotherapy machine."