Ram Roth, MD, a board certified anesthesiologist at Mount Sinai Queens, generally posts about anesthesiology, anesthesiologists’ advice to patients, and the surgical services offered at Mount Sinai Queens. This time, Dr. Roth is reporting from Liberia, the West African nation where a group from Mount Sinai recently provided much-needed medical care, surgical care, and education.
I’m sitting in the dark with two surgeons, a medical student, the director of events, and another anesthesiologist from within the Mount Sinai Health System. The lights in the compound just went out. We have no idea when they will come back on. Where are we and why are we sitting in the dark? Liberia. The country of about 4.3 million people was heavily hit by the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak.
Our inspired group has volunteered for a two-week surgical mission to Phebe Hospital in the country’s Bong County. Our purpose is to provide free surgical care to impoverished children and adults. We have donated our time and paid travel costs to teach local health care providers and perform surgery, focusing on hernia repairs, hemorrhoids, lipomas, and gynecologic cancers.
En route to Liberia, we carried needed medical supplies in our checked luggage. The country relies heavily on donations from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for these materials. One of our patients is a 13-year-old boy who has had an inguinal hernia since the age of three. As children grow, the inguinal hernia becomes more complicated. In New York, our patient would have gotten the corrective operation when diagnosed. In Liberia, this is not an option.
Our hard work is rewarded by eager questions from our students—the local nurse anesthesia students—and smiles from our 
patients. Additionally, we have gained an appreciation for how fortunate we are as New Yorkers and Americans with access to quality health care. Because of the poverty in Liberia, patients don’t know if they will be cared for by doctors, nurses, or students. Unlike many of our Liberian patients, we do not have to worry about bringing a donor to the hospital before blood is administered to us. We are assured that our physicians use clean, new, or disposable medical equipment and that we will receive medication from new, unopened vials. This is the level of care we bring with us and hope to impart to the health care workers. I’m so proud to be volunteering with a great group of people, and I’m proud to deliver excellent health care to my community at Mount Sinai Queens.
Please check back for more posts from Dr. Roth.