Tuesday was yet another successful day here in Gitwe with this year’s MMFC team. The day proceeded much like yesterday, with a total of seven surgeries completed, making our current count twenty surgeries done with about fourteen more scheduled over the next two days. One particularly interesting case involved the doctors taking a very lateral approach to a particularly large goiter, exposing vital veins and arteries in the neck (pictured below). The surgeons’ skills were demonstrated, as despite the risk involved in the surgery, very little bleeding occurred and the procedure went smoothly. The afternoon ended with discharging post-operative patients from Sunday and Monday, which is always a highlight for whichever team members are there to complete it. Drs. Chandra and Sebelik were all smiles as they examined the healthy vocal chords and goiter-less necks of all the patients they had operated on just recently, even asking one patient to sing them a song to demonstrate vocal motility, which she complied with, albeit shyly. The day ended with more screenings of prospective patients, most of whom today were not surgery candidates but were simply seeking to be examined by the doctors. Despite the continuing line outside, out days left here at the hospital in Rwanda are dwindling, and it is clear that when the team returns again next, there will be no shortage of work to do.
Goiter removed from patient 
Removal of a particularly large and vascular goiter
