MISSION SUMMARY:

 BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE

For ISHI's first-ever mission, we decided to collaborate with Partners for Surgery (PFS), a nonprofit organization based in the US, dedicated to helping population in rural Guatemala. PFS, who has a longstanding relationship with the indigenous populations, has developed several healthcare teams, and this new facility in San Juan Sacateqpequez to ensure that high quality healthcare is accessible to these communities.

PFS triaged the patients for the ISHI surgical team, so prior to our arrival in Guatemala, we had clinical information about the 50 to 60 patients who would be coming to see us for surgical care, including diagnoses, test results and even some photos. Some of the diseases seen included groin and abdominal hernias, chronic infection of the gallbladder with stones, and soft tissue masses.

 MEDICAL SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT

We packed 20 boxes of surgical supplies and arrived in Guatemala without any difficulty at the customs. We were met at the airport by PFS representatives, who arranged for our supplies to be delivered to the facility. We had arranged for the purchase of IV fluids, anesthesia medications and narcotics locally, as these items could not be transported by our team on an international missions.

Since we had an idea of the case-types we would see, we were able to collect donations of surgical supplies, instruments and medications for the mission. We were pleased that the facility we worked at- Centro de Salud Clinic Barbara had two operating rooms, with functioning anesthesia machines and equipment to sterilize our surgical instruments. The laparoscopy equipment at the facility was not yet functional. Additionally, laparoscopic instruments and supplies were not available, so all procedures were performed using "open" surgery.

 OUR PATIENTS

We were informed that the majority of our patients are from the K'iche' indigenous community.
K'iche' peoples represent approx. 7% of the total Guatemalan population. Because of language barriers, fear of traveling to urban areas and mistrust of local hospital systems, the K'iche' peoples do not commonly seek out healthcare locally. Our triage day was quite an exciting experience, as we quickly learned that the K'iche' patients spoke their language (K'iche) with very little Spanish. Our patients were all smiles, as we talked to them about their condition, and then proposed operations to help.

We used both English to Spanish translators, and then Spanish to K'iche translators, so that we could effectively communicate with our patients. Many of the patients signed the consent forms with a thumbprint instead of a signature. Patients were brought to Centro de Salud from as far as 10 and 14 hours away by van via unpaved mountain roads. Most had a family member accompany them. Patients had accommodations in a hostel-type building, which was behind the Clinic. PFS provided all of the patients meals while on site, and transportation back to their villages after their surgeries.