Surgery patient Sharly Solis Gomez, 5, with Vanderbilt’s Julia Shelton, M.D., center, and Kate Carlson, M.D., in Guatemala.
Children’s Hospital surgical team returns from Guatemala
For the sixth time since 2006, a group of faculty and staff of the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt traveled to Guatemala City, Guatemala, to perform surgeries on impoverished children.
The group performed 35 general surgeries, and this year marked the first time a general surgery team made the trip.
Led by Wallace Neblett, M.D., and Chris Lemelle, M.D., and nursing team leader Merewyn Chambers, R.N., the team arrived for the weeklong stay in Guatemala City on Feb. 6.
Other team members included Stephen Morrow, M.D., Chris Karsanac, M.D., Kate Carlson, M.D., Andrew Murphy, M.D., Julia Shelton, M.D., Roni Nylander, C.R.N.A., Melanie Francis, C.R.N.A., Julia White, R.N., Veronica Ross, L.P.N., Kay Moss, Keith Lee, Juli Reynolds, R.N., Summer Bartz, R.N., and Caroline Hale, the project coordinator.
Procedures included bilateral inguinal hernias, bilateral orchiopexies, hydrocele repairs, a facial mass excision and a colostomy takedown.
“The families of the patients were extremely grateful for our team's help — we traveled to Guatemala to serve the kids in need, but we've returned having received much more than what we gave,” Hale said.
To read more about the trip, visit the blog authored by Hale at http://www.vanderbiltchildrens.org/blogs/international.