TRAVELS AROUND THE WORLD
( continued from page13 ) and bought a Black + Decker drill . We sterilized the drill bit and put the motor inside a sterile pillow case and performed the operation without any problems . The patient did very well . Dr . Robert Sexton had donated some of his surgical instruments for me to use . Those days several hospitals saved gloves , needles and other instruments that they didn ’ t use ( after opening the packages , surgeons chose not to use those ) in a “ Banerjee box ” that I took with me to other countries . The late Dr . Norton Waterman , who also used to operate at Sts . Mary and Elizabeth , got a better idea from this . With the JCMS ( now GLMS ), he started Supplies Over Seas ( SOS ) to facilitate donations of all sorts of medical supplies .
The Brazilian neurosurgeon had a German shepherd who often barked at me so I had asked the dog to be quiet in English . The doctor told me that his dog only spoke Portuguese . He said , “ Cacherro Pasteur Alemone anda ca ,” and the dog came over . I realized then it does help to know the language . When opening a door it helps to know that English “ pull ” means “ puxar ” (“ push ” in Portuguese ), so watch your nose when opening a door !
Dr . Breno was another neurosurgeon who had asked me to assist at times . His mother owned a hospital , and his wife owned a bikini factory . On a couple of occasions he invited me to lunch , when his wife had some modeling shows . He had once offered to gift me a bikini for my wife , but his wife reminded him that most American women didn ’ t wear Brazilian bikinis ! We listened to Girl From Ipanema by Antonio Jobim on the jukebox .
From 1988 until 2013 I spent three weeks to three months every year volunteering in different countries from Mongolia to Zimbabwe . I have worked in 10 countries . Dr . Guarnaschelli or one of the Drs . Jelsma covered for me . I had paid my office staff their full salary ongoing , because they did the research for me that had helped me to write eight books . My first medical book was Syndromes , Signs and Eponyms : Our Legacy ( American Association of Neurosurgery , 1998 ) and Dr . Hiram Polk had written the introduction . Professor Tom Farmer of University of North Carolina , Chapel Hill , had written the preface . I remain so grateful . The book was dedicated to Dr . Hunt and my late grandfather , Dr . Chatterjee . We sent the galley proof to the Ohio State University ICU at my request , and my professor was able to see it before he died . I loved him very much .
This book was the result of an interesting serendipity . There was a young boy in our service who had a lesion in the cerebellum seen on a CT scan that I didn ’ t believe was a tumor but likely Lhermitte ’ s Duclos disease . We biopsied the lesion and in fact it was as we thought , a dysplastic gangliocytoma . I had suspected this because the boy had an extra finger . Dr . Alvaro needed a promotion , and so I suggested that we could write a book together , he could be the first author . I went to the library in London ( I was teaching at Cambridge during the Lent season then ), and I went to the Munich library . I had met three students from Germany while working at Nepal . In four years we had compiled 2,500 syndromes and the associated original articles from Alpers to Zellweger syndromes .
Dr . Alvaro requested a stereotactic equipment for his hospital . So I bought a stereotactic equipment for brain operation and had the technician from São Paulo set it up so the instructions could be in Portuguese . I worked back and forth for three years in Brazil , and one year , I visited the Falls of Iguazu ( the biggest waterfall of the world , Argentina and Brazil border ).
I found it interesting that during residency when other residents were using curved needles to close the back or scalp , Dr . Hunt often asked me to use straight Keith needles . I used the Hudson burr and Cushing perforator and the Gigi saw when others used the electric drills , but I was satisfied knowing that I was using something better than the TUMI used by the Incas . His foresight in my training was immensely helpful to me while working in other countries .
I had served on the board of FIENS ( Federation of International Education of Neurosurgeons - an arm of the Congress of Neurosurgeons ). I had informed Dr . Merwyn Bagan , Chairman , that I did not want to go to Chicago in February for board meetings , but that I was willing to work anywhere in the world . He was working in Nepal at that time . He asked me to follow him , and I did . I knew the importance of understanding the culture of other nations while working or visiting , and I wanted to serve being humble .
I went back and forth to Nepal for five years . We worked towards setting up a neurosurgical program with the help of other volunteers . I operated with Dr . Shilpakar and Dr . Sharma ( they now share the title as head of the department for six months each ). They have a full residency program with vascular , endoscopic and spine and skull base faculty .
We needed filtered water in the “ neuro ” ward , and I wanted locals to have ownership . I had requested an engineer patient to donate a water cooler , and he did . I had asked a grateful patient for a clock , and he donated a large clock for the entrance to the ward .
The currency in Nepal is kindness . We performed complicated operations on the brain and spine . Many people had broken vertebrae , after falling from trees while cutting wood for cooking , or having fallen on the mountain .
The American embassy found my visits to be convenient for them . Soon after I would register , they would take me to the hospital to check on young Americans who had hurt themselves after falling from roofs or such after smoking ganja . The embassy officials got their parents on the phone to converse with a doctor from Louisville to facilitate sending their loved ones home . I think many of these youngsters came to find themselves in this foreign land !
I stayed at the Kathmandu Guest House at Thamel . I ate Indian food and Nepali MOMO and drank Kingfisher beer . I usually walked the two miles back from the TUTH ( Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital ) at the end of the day . In the morning I took a
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