Fadipe clinic

Some seriously medical business happens here.


The clinic is gorgeous! It was opened in February 2006.


This is the view from the front door.


There are only two floors, but the building sits on a hill. This is the side view from the road.




Yesterday, I visited the Fadipe surgery clinic with AMSA. It was simply a-mazing! The way procedures are run are completely different from the States and I enjoyed the bigger role I am permitted to play.

For instance, the first case was a ten year old with a growth on his penis. He was also circumcised to prevent future incidences. The poor guy was in such agony! A local anesthestic was used for the surrounding tissue, but he had feeling in the penis itself. To exacerbate the situation, Dr. F was teasing the patient to no end: with the foreskin was removed, he said the the penis was chopped in half. That boy cried with such passion!

I held his hand the entire time. There were three volunteers: Chris, Megan, and me. Megan stood far, far away in the corner the entire time. However, as soon as all of three of us walked into the room, the patient was prepped, the staff was ready, and the crying had already begun. Poor guy. I went straight to the table to hold his hand and didn't let go until after it finished.

The next cases were removal of abcesses on a man's face and another on the back of the neck. There was a six year old girl that was actually put asleep for the umbilical hernia removal. The last case was buckshot sprayed allover a man's body.

All in all, in was an excellent opportunity to see, learn, and visit. I'll be back.