Surgery and Healing in the Developing World - Dartmouth-Hitchcock

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356 Surgery and Healing in the Developing World
Table 1. The last 500 cases performed at the Lady Willingdon Hospital and
LWH-run surgical camps
Procedure Number of Cases Performed
General Surgery Cases
Cholecystectomy 77
Exploratory laparotomy 28
Appendectomy 22
Herniorraphy/hydrocele 20
Procedure on (P.O.) stomach 12
Hydatid cystectomy 10
P.O. common bile duct 7
P.O. colon 7
Mastectomy 4
Splenectomy 2
Other 7
Total
Obstetric and Gynecology Cases
196
Cesarean section 62
Hysterectomy 50
P.O. fallopian tubes 15
Oophrectomy 8
Other 7
Total
Urology Cases
142
Operation for stone 24
Orchiectomy/pexy 9
Prostatectomy 8
Nephrectomy 6
P.O. bladder 5
Hypospadias repair 5
Other 8
Total
Orthopedic Cases
65
ORIF 14
Debridement 12
Amputation 4
Hardware removal 3
Osteotomy 2
Other 11
Total 46
Table continued on next page
modified techniques. It also may serve as a guide for what cases a general surgeon
can be expected to perform in a typical community.
Conclusion
Modern surgical practice has adopted numerous rituals and dependence on advanced
technology and abundant resources. While ideal in a modern, well-funded
setting, this type of surgical practice is often impractical or impossible in other set-