Outside the outpatient clinic in Tanzania
Dr . Verheyden with a young patient
“ The experience helped me appreciate the advantages of our healthcare system , in America in general and at Scott & White in particular ,” says Dr . Weber . He stresses that Estonian medical care in the major specialties is comparable to that found in the United States , but the country is still establishing subspecialties since the Iron Curtain opened . Also , patients in America are generally in a better position
“ The experience helped me appreciate the advantages of our healthcare system , in America in general and at Scott & White in particular .”
— Dr . Weber
Dr . Verheyden in the operating room
to take care of themselves post-surgery , especially because of the availability of physical therapy .
From Eastern Europe to Africa and Haiti
The differences between the United States and other countries also struck Charles N . Verheyden , MD , PhD , director , Division of Plastic Surgery at Scott & White Healthcare . With surgery arrangements coordinated by missionaries who also donate their time , Dr . Verheyden traveled twice to a hospital high in the mountains of Tanzania , on the continent of Africa , to repair patients with cleft lip and palate . “ In the United States , repairing cleft deformities may take multiple surgeries , but over there , you do as much as you can in one surgery because most likely you will never see that patient again .” Also , while such surgeries are typically done on very young children
here , Dr . Verheyden often sees much older patients , including one 37- year-old woman .
Another difference , he says , is the availability of good instruments , anesthesia and nursing support . “ The first time , there was no way to monitor patients in the operating room other than feeling their pulse and using a blood pressure cuff ,” says Dr . Verheyden . “ It certainly opens your eyes to what it is like in the rest of the world , and makes you so appreciative of the environment we live and function in here . You can ’ t do something like that and escape without having your horizons broadened .”
Last summer , he operated on a child whose clothes had caught fire , a fairly common occurrence in an area with many open fires . Scarring on the girl ’ s extremities pulled the back of her hand against her forearm . Dr . Verheyden spent an entire day releasing the contracted tissue and grafting skin to return her hand and the rest of her arm to a normal position .
Planning for a simple , but life-changing prosthesis
Spring 09 THE CATALYST 31