An eventful week.

Doing well after surgery.

One week later he is doing well after surgery.

The child as he presented in the operating room.

Sitting lower than the chief who actively works for peace in the region.

Lower resistance allowed a tooth infection to spread to the neck obstructing her breathing.

A congenital lymphatic malformation became infected resulting in septicemia. Prior to drainage.

***

“What exciting thing is going to happen today?” This statement was certainly proven true during the past week.
A young man, riding his five-year old brother to school on a motorcycle, ducked to avoid a long steel pipe protruding from the back of another vehicle as he tried to pass it. The pipe, however, struck the little boy sitting behind him, penetrating the forehead, and pushing the skull into his brain. Now, several days after removing the displaced skull fragments, the child is doing well. Another man presented in septic shock from an infected neck cyst. A liter of exudates was drained and he responded well to antibiotics. Surgery to remove this lymphatic malformation will be performed after the inflammation subsides. A woman came in with difficulty breathing from a swollen, infected neck (Ludwig’s angina), caused by an infected tooth. She has purple skin discolorations, Kaposi sarcoma, and has adult immune deficiency syndrome, AIDS. Her husband died two years ago and her prognosis is poor. Her mother sits besides her bed and she will leave a nine year old son.
Our 110 volt electrocautery machine, kindly donated through Project Cure and transported by the Rotarians, exploded and burned when it was incorrectly plugged into a 220 volt outlet by a member of the nursing staff. The loss of this machine is heartbreaking as it takes months to replace and the cost will be high. Hopefully, the one available backup will continue to function.
Karl Storz’s large donation of endoscopic equipment arrived today. These telescopic endoscopes and forceps will enable us to remove the foreign bodies which many one to five-year olds swallow and aspirate into their lungs.
Many corporations have been extremely generous in supplying the finely crafted tools which have saved the lives of the patients described above. I, and the poor people of Northern Ghana, sincerely thank each and every one of the persons responsible for such an important contribution. I met with the Tamale chief and his elders who work to keep peace in the region.