1st days in Nepal

Have come to find out that my hotel, and Lumbini Eye Institute, are actually in Bhairahawa (I may have misspelled this in an earlier post), not Lumbini.  Lumbini is 22 Km away.  Dr. Byanju has graciously offered to take me to Lumbini this Saturday.  I'm looking forward to visiting the birthplace of Siddhartha (the Buddha).

Monday, my 1st day here, was VERY taxing, throwing myself into an environment with little in common with back home, other that the conditions I would see, and operate on, in people's eyes.  The volume of surgery patients is high, with many people with complete retinal detachment, others with vascular issues resulting in vitreous hemorrhage.

This is a picture of Lumbini Eye Hospital/Institute.  It was built ~5 yrs ago, and is where patients are seen in multiple subspecialty clinics and also have surgery.  It is bustling with activity, with patients showing up around 7 am for clinics not beginning until 8-9 am.

The picture to the left is one of the original buildings of Lumbini Eye Hospital, which was funded by Seva Foundation.  This building currently serves as a ward (their term) where patients stay overnight following eye surgery.  Patients are given a cot to sleep on, with up to 8 cots per room.  No food or drink is offered.  No air conditioning.  No amenities.  Just a cot.  And daytime temperatures around 100 F.  I will be there this morning to attend a resident's lecture at 7:30.

The above three pictures show where I spend most of my time - in the operating room (they refer to it as OT, or operating theatre).  The only anesthesia patients receive is a retrobulbar block prior to walking themselves into the OR.  There is no intravenous anesthesia, and no IV.  When the surgery is finished, the patient gets up from the table and, with assistance, walks to recovery.  What we refer to as operating room turnover in the US consists of the surgeon replacing gloves with new ones, while the next patient is escorted in.  While I don't have the stats on their postoperative infection rate, it is very low.

Time for me to get ready for the day ahead.  Stay tuned!