- Project Shunt started in 1997.
When we were approached by Healing the Children.
Which is an international aid organization
that provides medical care to children.
They really had a great need for
neurosurgeons, and neurosurgical care.
Particularly in Guatemala.
They had a very high instance of Spina bifida.
Working with the Pediatric Foundation,
and particularly with some of the physicians
that are associated with that.
We've been able to train
some of the general surgeons in techniques
regarding some very basic kinds of neurosurgery.
We operated in what I would consider,
really pretty harsh environment.
What we had was one closet size operating room.
And one slightly larger room.
We had operating tables that were essentially just gurneys.
We had a sink that had only cold running water.
And only that a couple hours a day.
And we had to bring everything else with us.
I think for me, as a neurosurgeon,
and particularly a pediatric neurosurgeon,
I wanted to make certain that the kids
that we took care of,
were gonna get the same quality of care
that they get at my children's hospital.
We tried to focus the kinds of operations that we would do.
And the kind of care that we would give,
both pre-operatively and post-operatively.
In the process of this, I think all of us have
learned just how wonderful it is to be a physician.
But more importantly,
have gotten back to the reasons why
we became a doctor to begin with.
I think the educational process has been two-way.
We've learned what we need to do as surgeons,
but they've also taught us to be able to understand
what is necessary in an operating room.
And it's really helped us,
hone some of our skills.
I think my patients that I take care of here,
in the United States,
that have Spina bifida get a better operation.
For the fact that I have such familiarity and experience,
improved upon because I've been down to Guatemala,
and operated so extensively on a variety of these things
when we do our medical mission.
- I definitely learned from this trip that
I can get something more out of volunteer work
than I could during my prescribed daily activities
as a neurosurgery resident.
And I think it opened the door
to doing more medical missions in the future.
There's definitely a lack of neurosurgical care,
both in this country and globally.
And I think missions like this can close that gap.
Going to a third world country
is certainly a unique experience.
You get to see abject poverty
that you wouldn't see on a normal daily basis here.
It looks like the place is crumbling.
At the same time it's a very vibrant environment.
The population is very active,
and young, and out, and walking places.
I was involved in about
14 surgical cases
when I was down there.
And they included some of the most
complex Spina bifida repairs that I'll do
as a neurosurgery resident.
And, in addition, we did a number of shunts.
Which are routine operations for us.
That we can do as residents,
with minimal staff supervision,
without too much difficulty.
But they'll change the course of a patients life.
Those kids will have a chance at normal
neurological development they wouldn't have otherwise had.
Going on a medical mission like this is
an experience that can broaden your horizons
in a way that they can't be
from any work that you do domestically, in house.
You're gonna see things that you would never see
in this country on a daily basis down there.
I feel like every opportunity I have to go down there,
I learn something.
And it's very meaningful for me
to have the opportunity to take care of Guatemalan children.
- We're trying now,
to be able to look at other ways
in which the University of Michigan
can integrate itself into the basic
health care delivery system that is there within Guatemala.
Not only making use of the Pediatric Foundation,
but of governmental structures as well.
The most important thing we can do
is recognize that the solutions for a given country
are perhaps not the same solutions as we would have
in the United States.
And so it's very important
to have strong partners at the other end.