The Babyheart team has performed 13 surgeries in Guayaquil, Ecuador, so far. All but two of those surgeries have been performed by local surgeon Dr. Montero with the assistance of ICHF surgeon Dr. Soto. All of the patients are doing well, and six of them are already home!
Eight more surgeries planned
The team has performed seven different types of surgeries, including ASD and VSD closures, PDA ligations, complete repair of Tetralogy of Fallot, and a Glenn shunt in a 5 year old girl with Tricuspid Atresia. Eight more children will be receiving their life-saving surgeries before the team departs on Saturday.
Education and Training
Local nurses in each country we visit will now receive a yearlong curriculum that has been developed to equip them with the training necessary to provide care to even more children beyond ICHF trips. The local ICU nurses in Guayaquil received their first lecture last week by volunteer nurse educator Pamela Mondaca, which was taught in Spanish. They will receive a second lecture in week two and will receive eight more throughout the year.
Be sure to check back for a trip recap next week, and please consider visiting our giving page to help us save even more lives on upcoming trips.
