Orthopedic Trauma Surgery in Haiti

William Slikker

Orthopedic Fellow at BWH

PGY-6

Resources in Haiti are limited and this includes the supply of surgical instrumentation. During our trip we encountered many obstacles but the most difficult to overcome was the lack of appropriate surgical instrumentation and devices that we would typically use in the U.S. For instance, there was no intra-operative fluoroscopy, which we would have normally used for a majority of the procedures we completed on the trip. It took careful planning and a dose of ingenuity to overcome the lack of instrumentation. Adapting to a foreign operating room was difficult, but the local orthopedic surgeons had much to teach us in regards to tackling surgical cases using their set of instrumentation. With the help of the Haitian orthopedic surgeons, we were able to accomplish our goal of providing safe and impactful clinical care. But by collaborating with the Haitian surgeons in this way, we also built a partnership which we hope will continue long into the future.

            This trip served to open my eyes to the complexity of international outreach and the nuances of effectively collaborating with local surgeons and staff. It taught me many things about how to successfully provide clinical care in an international setting. It also demonstrated how the short term efforts of providing direct clinical care are not as important as building bridges for education and communication in a long term grassroots effort to bolster the local medical system in which we are only temporary visitors. Although we accomplished many successful surgeries, our efforts at partnering with the local orthopedic attendings and residents will hopefully build a connection that is even more impactful in the long term.