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Anesthesiologist Monica Sa Rego, MD, cares for a patient in Haiti. Inset: Patients recovered in tents like this one at University Hospital in Port-au-Prince.
Two BWH anesthesiologists were able to take away patients’ pain while they underwent otherwise painful wound dressing changes and surgical procedures after the earthquake in Haiti.
“Just seeing the patients’ faces when we helped them, they were so grateful,” said Monica Sa Rego, MD, who traveled to Haiti with fellow anesthesiologist Emily Maher, MD. “They expressed gratitude in the midst of so much suffering.”
Prior to their arrival at University Hospital in Port-au-Prince Jan. 22, many patients were undergoing procedures and excruciating dressing changes without pain medication because there wasn’t enough.
One patient, a woman who was nervous about conscious sedation, was so relieved to not feel pain that she told Maher she loved her. “Being able to provide some comfort in a scene of chaos and terror was very rewarding,” Maher said.
The two spent a week there with a Partners In Health-organized team that included BWH’s Jonathan Gates, MD, Bill Peranteau, MD, Joaquim Havens, MD, Liz Sampson, RN, and Trish Powers, RN. The operating room was indoors, but after surgery, patients recovered in tents outside.
“That’s where everyone preferred to be anyway because they were afraid of aftershocks from the earthquake,” Maher said.
When the team first arrived, there were not enough pulse oximeters, oxygen, EKGs, working ventilators or reliable electricity. Still, Maher and Sa Rego took care of about 60 patients during the week, most of whom needed anesthesia while undergoing amputation revisions or conscious sedation for painful dressing changes.
Anesthesiologist Emily Maher, MD, cares for a patient in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Administering anesthesia in Haiti was quite different from what anesthesiologists are used to at BWH. “We didn’t have a reliable source of oxygen or reliable ventilators,” Maher said. “We used a lot of ketamine—a very safe medication—to put people to sleep and protect their airways.”
Maher and Sa Rego were grateful to their colleagues back at BWH who covered their shifts and donated days off. “They were incredibly supportive, and I was so grateful for that,” Maher said. “A lot of people also spent days organizing supplies for us to take with us.”
Maher and Sa Rego, who attended the Haitian Relief Gala organized by BWH and MGH residents last Friday, both called for people to continue to help Haiti in the years to come.
“There’s a huge need in Haiti, and there will be for a long time,” said Maher, who hopes to return at some point. “I hope everyone keeps Haiti in their minds for more than just the next few months.”