I'm in Nairobi, Kenya in the hopes of performing 20 much needed spine deformity surgeries. While in Kenya we will be working along side the Kenyatta National Hospital surgeons to develop a sustainable spine treatment program through hands on training and education.
We'll be working with the National Spinal Injury Hospital (NSIH), which as the name suggests is a hospital who offers medical treatments to patients with spine injuries. NSIH is a national referral facility with a capacity of 32 beds. For this reason, it cannot accommodate more than 30 patients at any one time; 2 beds are to be spared for medical procedures. Statistics indicates that there are over 200 people waiting for treatment at any one single time.
Here's what the waiting room looks like:
After touring the National Spine Injury Hospital we visited Kenyatta National Hospital where we began a Spine Deformity Lecture Series to medical staff, students and nurses.
Here are a few additional pictures of the OR and some of our team handing out toys, bracelets and candy to the children in the pediatric orthopedic ward.
