Third Trip Advances Laparoscopy at ICO
Written by Jodi Grahl (Director of General, Gynecologic, and Heart Surgery Programs)
Over the past few years, Solidarity Bridge surgical programs have increasingly responded to the need for expanded access to cancer care in Bolivia. This past March, I led a mission team to the country’s first and oldest public cancer hospital, Instituto Oncológico del Oriente Boliviano in Santa Cruz. There we worked to advance surgical training in the treatment of advanced liver, gallbladder, and other abdominal cancers.
This week, I’m leading a separate US team to Bolivia’s other public cancer hospital, the Instituto Chuquisaqueño de Oncología (ICO) in Sucre. This is our third trip to the ICO. Our first visit in 2018 served to identify key infrastructure and equipment needs, many of which have since been filled by the ICO including through targeted Solidarity Bridge/Puente de Solidaridad contributions. During our second visit in 2022, Dr. Erin Stevens (gynecologic surgeon at St. Vincent’s Hospital of Green Bay, Wisconsin) and Jessica Waldo (RN at St. Alphonsus Medical Center of Ontario, Oregon), operated alongside ICO gynecologists to advance their skills in laparoscopy. Erin and Jessica will continue that work this week, with the goal to leave the ICO team prepared to independently perform laparoscopic hysterectomies going forward.
Our 2023 team upon their arrival in Sucre.
The ICO also requested that this year’s team include a breast cancer surgeon and an anesthesiologist. Joining us in those roles are Dr. Gay Garrett (Chief of General Surgery at Veterans Affairs Hospital, Washington, DC.) and Dr. Richard Stern (anesthesiologist at Vail Valley Medical Center in Colorado). Gay will partner with ICO general surgeon Dr. Wilfredo Campos in the surgical treatment of breast cancer. The ICO sees approximately 80-90 new breast cancer patients each year, many of whom arrive with very advanced tumors. This is the first Solidarity Bridge mission trip with a specific focus on breast cancer, and we look forward to learning more about the reality of the disease in Bolivia and how we might make an impact for providers and their patients. We are also grateful to Richard who will support the ICO anesthesiologists throughout the week, mentoring them in anesthesia protocols for laparoscopic surgery, pain control, and other areas.
Filling out our team, Dr. Kim Grahl (Internal Medicine physician at Northshore Hospital in Evanston, Illinois, and my sister!) will provide spiritual and professional accompaniment to patients, partners, and our mission team itself. Isabel Sánchez-Tembleque Wood (certified medical interpreter from Washington D.C.) will facilitate communication between our physicians and their partners and patients.
As always, our US team will work under the leadership and direction of our partners at Puente de Solidaridad. Patricia Vargas and Marizol Mamani will travel with us from their Cochabamba office to continue providing the vision for this partnership along with high-level coordination and support.
We have a busy week ahead. Please keep us in your prayers, and watch for updates from Sucre.