Burundi 2019: 19 January – 10 February

Abū al-Khwārizmī, the first Arab mathematician, in the preface to his treatise entitled “Short book on the calculation of algebra and the almucabala”, composed between 813 and 833 AD, wrote: “…It was Ma’ Mun, the Prince of the Believers, who encouraged me, … he who encouraged people to make clear what is dark and simple what is complex …”. In the course of this last mission we found ourselves repeatedly having to make difficult and complex choices, dramatically painful for us and for our patients, not at all clear in their future evolution. In fact, in the last week of work, more precisely on the penultimate day, we had to amputate, among others, a foot in Amiella, a 10-year-old girl, and a leg above the knee in Mechack, a 19-year-old boy, both suffering from recurrent osteomyelitis with severe bone and soft tissue destruction, without any chance of recovery. Did we do the right thing? Could we have done something more before? What’s the future of these kids? So many questions, so many unanswered questions. The only certainty that emerges more and more clearly is the awareness that we must set up a workshop inside the hospital, in a short time, for the construction of prostheses for amputees, so as not to leave things halfway and to give Amiella, Mechack and the many people in their situation, one more chance to hope to live a dignified life. this mission, carried out from January 19 to February 10, was attended by Fabrizio Amato, orthopedist and Federico Bandiera, radiology technician, in addition to myself. As usual, we made use of the work of Doctors, local Nurses and Anaesthesia Technicians, with whom we have now reached an excellent harmony, and who were regularly paid by us at the end of the mission. In total, we performed over 150 outpatient services and 45 surgeries, including 4 hip prostheses, 6 amputations, 8 fractures, 9 malformations (knees and feet), 2 tendon transpositions for paralysis, 8 osteomyelitis, 2 pseudoarthrosis, 1 inveterate patella dislocation. At the end of the mission we settled the accounts for the payment of medical care (hospitalizations, surgeries) for indigent hospitalized patients (35 patients out of 45 operated on), as well as outpatient services (radiographic examinations, haematochemical examinations, medical therapies) for non-hospitalized patients who could not bear these costs. We have also paid the food expenses for the accompanying persons of the patients admitted by us; in fact, there is no canteen service in the hospital (this applies to all hospitals in Burundi), so the presence of a person who is in charge of preparing the food for the hospitalized patients is necessary.

Posted on February 18th, 2019                                                                                                                                                                 

Piero Petricca