Cinterandes Mobile Surgical Program

Small primary care health clinics are found throughout rural Ecuador, giving reasonably good access to clinic medicine services.  But if someone needs surgery, they often do without for "elective" surgical problems like hernias or gallbladder problems.   For emergency surgical problems, patients often have to travel hours to the nearest hospital, and obviously sometimes they don't make it in time. 

Cinterandes is an organization founded in 1992 which travels to rural communities throughout Southern Ecuador with a mobile operating room in a retrofitted produce-delivery truck to provide surgical services to the underserved.  The staff members include 2 general surgeons, a family physician, a couple of medical students, 4 full-time support staff, and a cadre of volunteers.  They do incredible work, often operating on very advanced/complex surgery patients, because as you can imagine, people in rural areas do not often consult with a doctor about health issues until their hand is forced.

On the day these photos were taken, we did a large inguinal hernia operation, removal of a lipoma growing between a patient’s legs that was the size of a pineapple, and a laprascopic tubal ligation.  Cinterandes usually sets up the mobile surgical truck in the parking lot of a rural health center, working together with local health workers, and using clinic beds for post-op recovery.  The work has been particularly gratifying to me because we see the patients throughout the day before/during/after surgery, meeting their families, and seeing them return to their homes after a surgery that they would likely have never considered if it weren’t made available so close to their home and free of charge.

In 1994, I worked with Cinterandes for an elective rotation during my last year of residency.  The founder of the organization, Dr. Edgar Rodas, put me up in his house back then and continues to be the primary surgeon for the organization now.  He has a remarkable commitment to the underserved people of Ecuador and runs an amazingly efficient program, performing surgeries that would cost many thousands of dollars in the US.

At this time, I am working with Cinterandes 2-4 days/week.  Patricia is working a similar schedule at the local hospital in Azogues.  Patricia will follow with an entry on her work soon.