Published: December 8, 2014

Honduras: Torticollis Repair and More

I attended a weeklong mission trip to the Baptist Hospital in Guaimaca, Honduras, with the Baptist Medical and Dental Mission International. The rural town of Guaimaca has a population of around 25,000, with another 300,000 living in the surrounding mountains.

Matthew Connor, MD
Humanitarian Travel Grant Awardee

The ENT team removing a branchial cleft cyst.The ENT team removing a branchial cleft cyst.

I attended a weeklong mission trip to the Baptist Hospital in Guaimaca, Honduras, with the Baptist Medical and Dental Mission International. The rural town of Guaimaca has a population of around 25,000, with another 300,000 living in the surrounding mountains. The mission runs a clinic all year long with surgical teams visiting about once a month. Our group included ENT, dental, gynecology, orthopedics, and general surgery services. The week began with a long day of clinic. We started seeing patients at 7 am, and did not finish until 9 pm. We quickly booked up our operating room schedule and even booked cases for the next month’s mission trip. People came from as far as seven hours away and arrived by car, bus, or even by foot. Some came without any means to pay for lodging, and the mission afforded them an allowance to stay in hotel until their surgery. Patients repeatedly indicated that the mission hospital provided much better care than they could get anywhere else in the country, and they were willing to do whatever it took to get there.

The ENT team included two residents and two staff surgeons. From left to right: Jon Dautremont, MD, Matthew Connor, MD, David Parsons, MD, and John Blumer, MD.The ENT team included two residents and two staff surgeons. From left to right: Jon Dautremont, MD, Matthew Connor, MD, David Parsons, MD, and John Blumer, MD.

We performed a variety of pediatric and adult surgery, including endoscopic sinus surgery for allergic fungal sinusitis and chronic sinusitis with polyposis, branchial cleft excision, thyroidectomy, cleft lips and palates, supraglottoplasty, and torticollis repair. The child with congenital torticollis was born and lived in the mountains. She was 7, and had never received any treatment. Her neck was practically affixed to her right shoulder, and she had developed scoliosis as a result of her attempts to compensate. We worked with a pediatric orthopedic surgeon to release her sternocleidomastoid muscle from the mastoid and the sternum and clavicle, and instructed her grandmother on postoperative physical therapy. The girl was elated after surgery and recovered well.

Overall, my trip was challenging, but rewarding. I worked with talented and generous people, and was inspired by the patients who were so grateful and kind toward us. It was a privilege to participate, and I hope that the influence we had on the patients was as positive and enduring as the influence they had on me. I sincerely thank the AAO-HNS Foundation for the opportunity to attend this life-changing trip.

More from December 2014/January 2015 - Vol. 33 No.12
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Mission Trip to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Earlier this year, I traveled to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, with a group of surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, and staff under the auspices of Medical Aid for the Children of Latin America (MACLA).
CPT Changes for 2015: What ENTs Need to Know
As the medical community has come to expect, part of the annual rulemaking process conducted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) includes the new and modified CPT codes, developed by the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) Editorial Panel.
Orlando Recap: a Resident’s Perspective – ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
This year, more than 1,000 residents and fellows-in-training attended the AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting & OTO EXPOSM in Orlando. Through the generosity of the AAO-HNS, 127 of these residents received Resident Leadership Grants (RLG) to defer the cost of attending the meeting.
Modeling How Committees Influence the Specialty
Four AAO-HNS/F committees have been named Model Committees based on their accomplishments since the 2013 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPOSM. The Model Committee Award recognizes committees that contribute in ways that lead to the overall success of the AAO-HNS/F vision: empowering otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeons to deliver the best patient care.
Figure 1: Geography of Ebola Virus (Filoviridae family). Written permission was secured from the Viralzone, Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (11/19/2014) for the use of the above figure in illustrating the special features of the Ebola Virus.
The Manifestations of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Ear, Nose, And Throat, Head And Neck
Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak is a public health emergency of significant international concern. The World Health Organization estimates we will see more than 10,000 new Ebola cases each week in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia by the end of the year.
The Three A’s Revisited
As the holidays pass so quickly signaling the completion of yet another year, we pause and reflect.
David R. Nielsen, MD AAO-HNS/F EVP/CEO
Saying “Thank You”
As I depart the Academy and say, “thank you,” I feel the need to recognize others whose influences on my life have been profound. First, my parents and siblings. I am one of 11 children—five older and five younger—eight of whom are still living, and they bless my life in indescribable ways.
Gayle E. Woodson, MD, AAO-HNS/F President
We Are United in Our Diverse Field
With our new Bulletin publication schedule, the December and January issues are consolidated so we can simultaneously say goodbye to 2014 and move on to 2015. More importantly, this expanded issue can accommodate information that will be valuable to Members throughout the coming year, as we continue “Transforming, Thriving, Together.”