COVER STORY “I have suffered a lot over those
pregnancies and the baby I lost. It has been so hard,” Desperot says. “I have really been longing to have this baby.” Desperot was admitted to the ante-
partum unit, the specialized unit for pregnant women at risk for compli- cations. After learning her history of complicated pregnancy, doctors and nurses monitored her closely as her due date approached. Then, at 33 weeks, Desperot began to show symp- toms of severe preeclampsia. Preeclampsia,
a sudden rise in
blood pressure during pregnancy, is a dangerous condition for both mother and baby. In Haiti, preeclampsia and eclampsia—seizures that follow pre- eclampsia—are the leading cause of maternal death. The only known solu- tion is to deliver the baby, often by cesarean section.
Counting on support from the neo- natal intensive care unit, Christophe Millien, MD, an obstetrician-gynecol- ogist at University Hospital, decided to deliver the baby via cesarean section. On Sept. 10, 2014, he performed a cesarean section to deliver a baby boy. Soon after Desperot was discharged
from University Hospital with a healthy baby boy, Samuel, she returned to have her stitches removed and receive follow-up care from her surgery. “I’m really so happy now,” Desperot says. “I feel so good to bring the baby home with me to our house. So many people have been praying for me, and they are happy as well. May the good Lord continue to give blessings to aid all the people who need help too.”
Make a Difference Surgical care plays an essential role in strengthening health systems in resource-poor settings in Haiti and around the world. Before a doctor can operate, however, the physician needs many other parts of a hospi- tal to be equipped and operational:
Dana Clutter, MD, admits a patient to Maforki Ebola Treatment Unit in Port Loko, Sierra Leone, on Jan. 15, 2015. (Photo by Rebecca E. Rollins / Partners In Health)
University Hospital Draws Surgeon Back Home
Go to
www.pih.org/blog/surgery-director to read an interview with Mac Lee Jean Louis, MD, the director of surgery at University Hospital in Mirebalais, Haiti. Partners In Health operates this facility in partnership with Haiti’s Ministry of Health.
the lab and radiology for diagno- sis; housekeeping to clean and cook for
inpatients; anesthesiology; and
a specially trained nursing staff. As ASCA members well know, it takes a whole team of people to make even one surgery possible. Together with our partners like ASCA, PIH is dedicated to providing surgery in the world’s poorest nations
where countless people go without care that could be lifesaving. Go to
www.ascassociation/
PIH.org to make a donation. PIH thanks you for your partnership in this vital work.
Amber Gaumnitz is the senior manager of Strategic Partnerships at Partners In Health in Boston, Massachusetts. Write her at
agaumnitz@pih.org
ASC FOCUS JUNE/JULY 2016 13
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