This article was written by Ms. Ohashi Michiyo, one of Japan Heart’s Senior Nurses
Mingalaba from Myanmar! I usually work at Wachet Hospital. Here we perform one or two series of surgical missions per month. Most people don’t get the chance to get behind the scenes of surgery, so I decided to make a report about one of our most important activities!
For part one, I will introduce how we prepare for surgery in Wachet, which might be a little different to how you might imagine medical teams prepare for surgery in a hospital in a developed country.
First, patients are admitted to the hospital a few days before surgery is to take place. During this period, we clean and sterilize the operating room as well as the surgical equipment to prepare for surgery.
In Japan, the sterile cloth used in surgery is often disposable, but at Wachet we get large sheets of cloth from the market. A small family makes hundreds of these clothes with a sewing machine for our hospital in what is a mammoth task. We wash the cloths each time they are used and sterilize them in a special machine called an autoclave. We wrap our clothes, hand-towels, and gowns together in a larger cloth for sterilization too, which is one of our biggest tasks, but we work together to get it done.
Most of our surgical equipment is made available by donations and we always make sure that everything is in working condition and accounted for before we start the surgery. We check all the equipment is in place and organize them in boxes for boiling and sterilization. Everything goes into a large pot for a 30-minute boil, then remove and add the next box. Be careful not to burn yourself!
After this, we must make sure that our surgical machinery is in tip-top shape. Things like patient monitors, anesthesia machines and suction devices. There are other details that we must take care of like surgical needles and cameras, inventory checking. Our nurses and medical team work hard to ensure that surgery can be performed safely.
In addition to the operating room, we must prepare the patient ward. The nurse’s station is in the ward and it is partially outside, so it is prone to attract dust and grime. Because we prepare infusions for surgical patients and check machinery here we have to take care.
When the patient comes to the hospital, we have to check their general condition, including their vital signs and body measurements. We also check the condition of the surgical site to make sure it is safe to perform surgery. Like in Japan or other developed countries, we have to obtain consent for surgery and anesthesia. At this point, we explain nil-by-mouth and guide them to sleep to perform surgery.
The patients are always accompanied by one or two family members, and some people are accompanied by their whole families! In Japan you never see patients’ families lying down with them, but it is a common sight at Wachet.
I am still not used to the build-up of pressure before surgery, but when I see the ward filled with patients and their families, I feel like I’ll do my best to start.
Next time, I’ll tell you about the situation after the start of the surgery!
Senior Nurse, Ohashi Michiyo