Heartcare International ~ Mission in Lima, Peru

The mission of Heart Care International is to improve the health of children who suffer from congenital heart disease and live in economically challenged countries throughout the world.  We are able to achieve this goal through a two-pronged approach:

• Identify children who would benefit from high technology medical care, including diagnostic and interventional cardiac catheterization, as well as closed and open heart surgery, and administer life-saving heart procedures to these children in their home countries

• Train host country medical professionals (doctors, nurses, administrative staff, etc.) in cutting-edge surgical, medical, palliative and interventional care techniques such that local physicians will eventually be able to independently provide the same treatments to children in their home country

taken from: http://www.heartcareintl.org/home

I feel blessed to have been chosen to work with this incredible organization.  Our team performed 15 cardiac surgeries at the Instituto de Salud del niño in Lima, Peru.  During this mission I had the opportunity to work with amazing doctors, nurses & respiratory therapists from all over the US. I also had the opportunity to work with and learn from the ICU staff at Instituto de Salud del niño.  An amazing exchange of knowledge between our team and the Peruvian team took place each and every day and it was truly a humbling experience.

All photos taken with my iphone

entrance to the ICU at Instituto de Salud del niño

This is pt V.M. he is an 11 month old male.  He was the only patient that we operated on that still remained in the ICU when our team left Peru.  He had a TET repair on 3/9 that was complicated by seizures and multiple organ failure. He improved on a daily basis and we are hopeful that Pt V will have a good long term outcome.

small right sided pleural effusion 

narcotic regulations are quite a bit different, no keys, no count...just a small plastic box!

our IV pumps

PD dialysis 

Chest tube set-up

Art line set-up

Dr. Enrique

me 

Peruvian nurses hard at work

daily rounds-- Dr. L teaching the Peruvian team

The Peruvian nurses--some of the most amazing nurses I have ever met!

Heartcare team with the Peruvian nurses

taking a break before rounds

The next few pictures were taken while rounding on the floors.  During these rounds we got to interact with the families and the kids who had recently had surgery.  We learned lots about the Peruvian culture and even got to be on Peru t.v. :)  Here are a few photos taken during rounds.  Most of these kids were getting ready to be discharged home.