Arrival

2/14/12

Posted by Lisa Ryujin, MD (a fourth year Ob/Gyn resident from Kaiser Permanente Oakland in preparation for a global health elective in Daet, Philippines with Bay Area Surgical Mission).

It was a long 14 hours from San Francisco to Manila, and then one and a half hours to Legaspi and then 4 hours by bus to Daet. It took two full days to set up the operating room and today we had our first day in the operating room. There are two operating tables per operating room, only one anesthesia machine. We have been operating side by side and since we operate in the pelvis, we have been doing our hysterectomies under spinal anesthesia. It isn’t that hard to get used to, we operate on cesarean sections while they are still awake, but it’s just another layer that makes operating here a little foreign. But it’s been incredible what we are able to offer and how wonderful the staff has been. All our efforts revolve solely around patient care, what an amazing experience to share with the fantastic Kaiser team!