I am not especially skilled with a fiberoptic bronchoscope. No matter. The only fiberoptic scope on the surgical ship Africa Mercy was broken (asamonitor.pub/3wBz8f9). The only fiberoptic scopes on hand were a box of Ambu aScopes. The monitor was not included in the donation, so these could only serve as steerable bougies.
My patient, 8-year-old Abubakar, had an Abbe flap in need of debridement (shown). This flap is a surgical marvel. The lower lip flap is raised, rotated, and sewn in place to fill cleft lip defects. The flap's pedicle acts as an umbilical cord of blood flow while the tissue develops a new blood supply from the upper lip. Three to four weeks later (and several debridements requiring GETA), the pedicle is severed and the flap's migration from lower lip to upper lip is complete.
This procedure is life-changing for the patient. The result is also satisfying...
