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Gyn
Laparoscopy in the Caribbean
First St. Lucia, now Barbados----and with Fanfare!
CariGES Launch
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Page 2)
The Morning After
Photo
(Left to right): Nurse Ramsay from Bayview hospital
and Dr. Bennett share smiles with the patient, center
and mother, right and Dr. George. The patient had traveled
to St. Lucia for laparoscopic surgery. |
Dr. Bennett and her colleague Dr. Geoffrey La Fond
had formed the company CariGES in order to make this possible. Dr.
Bennett had made comprehensive preparations that included Bayview
hospital management and staff, the Government sector, the Insurance
industry, medical supply houses, professional colleagues, friends and
the media. And what better place to launch her project than the opulent
setting at the Sandy Lane Hotel!
I had sought the services of Karl Williams, a
multitalented individual, skilled in all aspects of procurement,
maintenance and use of laparoscopic equipment and instruments. His
charge was to have all items in place and functional for the session,
and that he did.
With the exception of a few minor glitches, the
entire week went as planned. Notwithstanding the fact that the operating
staff has had some prior experience with laparoscopic cholecystectomy,
(removal of the gall bladder by laparoscopy) their enthusiasm towards
and dedication to this new venture were outstanding.
Operating and turnover times were criticized as being
excessive. However there are many reasons to be
optimistic. Operating time is directly
influenced by the skill of the surgeon and
assistant, the availability of equipment and
instruments and the cohesiveness of the “team”.
Rapid strides are anticipated as the assisting
physicians gain skill and experience
and the team becomes more cohesive as the
participants learn the intricacies of the new
equipment and procedures.
During the four day session, we
operated on 11 patients while performing 25
procedures. The most common procedure was
hysterectomy, 6 evenly distributed between
supracervical, (3) and total, (3). There were 5
myomectomies (removal of fibroids) 5 excision of
endometriosis, 5 lysis of adhesions, 3
salpingo-oophorectomies (removal of tubes and
ovaries) and 1 ovarian cystectomy. Most common
diagnoses were fibroids 11, endometriosis 5, and
adhesions, 5. There were no conversions to
laparotomy and no major complications. Patient
origin was as follows – Barbados, 8; Trinidad, 2;
and Antigua, 1.
Back To: Barbados Endoscopy
Launch
Barbados - CariGES Launch
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