A 13 year old boy, who years before had a bowel resection for an intestinal obstruction, was admitted to our hospital several times with abdominal pain. The pain was intermittent but severe. After conservative treatment, he got better, but only for about a week. He then returned with pain, vomiting and inability to pass stool […]
Appendicitis
It’s been a busy week! In five consecutive days, I did five procedures for five patients with appendicitis. For each patient, I used the ultrasound to guide my approach. This week really helped me to fine tune my skills of finding the appendix with ultrasound! Two patients came in fairly early and I was able […]
A New Leg to Walk Proudly
Last spring, I met a 15 year old girl with a sweet smile and a large fungating tumor on her left foot. She had been to other doctors who did not offer any help or the cost was too high. The tumor appeared to be cancerous, but she was otherwise strong and healthy. Cancer care […]
Gun-Related Injuries in Mamprugu
The Mamprusi sure do love their guns. Unfortunately, this sends some to our hospital with traumatic injuries. With the Fire Festival coming up this weekend, here’s a cautionary tale of the wounds inflicted by guns that Heidi deals with.
Concerning Ovarian Masses
Lately, I have seen a fair amount of Gynecologic pathology. I have treated pelvic abscesses (pus in the pelvis) related to pelvic inflammatory disease or complications of pregnancy and delivery. The number of ovarian cysts, tumors and cancers has also increased in the last 9 months. Sometimes, the ovary produces benign cysts (fluid-filled mass) that […]
Recovering from a Facial Nerve Palsy
After heavy rains last year, a wall of a local primary school building fell on top of children who were in the classroom. The most severely injured patient was a young girl who sustained a closed head injury with a basilar skull fracture. She was treated with medicine to reduce the swelling of the brain […]
Rectal Prolapse – Before & After
I recently posted about a boy with a rectal prolapse caused by his attempt to manage the pain of a large bladder stone. I realize many of our readers don’t know what a rectal prolapse is. It’s not pretty, that’s for sure, but I deal with them fairly often at our hospital. Here’s a good […]
Magic & Modernity
Magic, divination and the belief in spirits imbuing material objects and ancestors, is hardly ‘a hangover from the past’ but rather an attempt to locate meaning and prosperity in a modern, postcolonial world characterized by monetary forms and global market economies.
Bladder Stone
When a mother came to our hospital with her two-year-old boy suffering from a rectal prolapse it seemed like a standard case. In children, the main treatment is to improve the child’s nutritional state and the rectal prolapse will fix itself. In the meantime, buttock strapping can protect the rectum and provide relief. However, this […]