January 25, 2017 – Thursday’s News

Case Volume Update:

Operation Medical continues to exceed projections, completing 46 surgical cases and 14 dental clinic procedures on Wednesday. The team left the hotel at 7:00 a.m. and returned at 7:30 p.m.

Breast Services Update:

Breast cancer screening and diagnostic services continued, with biopsy patients returning for results and discussion prior to surgery with Drs. Barton and Carmichael. In addition, Drs. Barton and Tanna are still mentoring their clinician counterparts from Valsad.

Wednesday was a somber workday for Drs. Barton and Tanna, for whom a patient presented with the most advanced breast cancer either physician had ever witnessed; diagnostic imaging revealed extensive metastasis, limiting therapeutic options for the patient and presenting a poor prognosis for the inoperable 62-year-old patient. According to Dr. Barton, this individual would have had an excellent prognosis had she been properly diagnosed and treated at an earlier stage.

Breast cancers diagnosed in India typically present at a much later stage than they do in the United States due to of lack of breast cancer education for patients, inadequate diagnostic training for physicians and staff and more prevalent noncompliance among patients.

In-service Training:

Before cases started on Wednesday, Op Med volunteers Jennifer Tran and Karmae Amsbaugh conducted an in-service training for the local surgical techs and OR nursing staff. Techniques covered included proper gloving and gowning as well as sterile field maintenance and sharps disposal (there are no sharps containers at Kasturba Hospital).