In 2022 Welmed donated surgical drapes and gowns to The Ouelessebougou Alliance (OA) a Utah-based NGO with a field office in Ouelessebougou that works in partnership with local villages to transform the quality of life in the Ouelessebougou region of Mali, West Africa.
Since 1986, OA has partnered with 25 villages in and around the Ouelessebougou commune (province) to deliver sustainable programs in health and education.
Malians lack adequate access to primary health care. The situation is especially severe in rural Ouelessebougou where access to affordable health care and medicine is complicated further by geography, extreme poverty and cultural traditions. OA partnered with select US medical teams and Welmed to provide high-impact services that are either unavailable or too expensive for the villagers in Ouelessebougou.
Additionally, These services are delivered by the expedition team at the Ouelessebougou Hospital, in cooperation with local Malian doctors and medical staff, providing the opportunity for shared experiences and education. As one of the world’s poorest nations, Mali continues to struggle to make lasting improvements to health.
Goal
OA recruited a small surgical team consisting of eight medical professionals and three support staff to spend a week in Ouelessebougou treating village women. The goal was to integrate closely with the local Malian doctors to provide much-needed medical care for women with uterine prolapse. The focus was on providing charity care for village women who cannot afford to see a doctor or get this surgery. Some prolapse repair options are available in Mali, however, they cost around $800 USD (several years’ worth of village wages; impossible to save as they live day-to-day). Because this was the first time in many years that OB/GYN surgeons from the US have been to Ouelessebougou, there were many unknown factors faced by the team.
Preparations
Before setting foot in Mali, they worked hard to gather all the necessary medical supplies, including valued Surgical Drapes and Surgical Gowns from Welmed, to perform surgery. OA is funded entirely from private donations and could only allocate a small portion of the expedition budget. Generous donations from several organizations were critical in making the expedition possible. In addition to the Welmed donation, items ranging from sterile gloves and OR towels to suture, medications, and instrumentation were collected and organized in Utah and then packed into 23 plastic bins to take on the plane with the team to Mali. Each member of the team paid their own expenses, including in-country expenses while in Mali. The OA Field Director worked closely with the local hospital staff in Ouelessebougou to prepare the hospital and operating room for our team. The operating room was simple, but functional. We had an anesthesia stand, suction, cautery, and sterilization machines that were all functioning. We donated new light bulbs so that the overhead surgical lamps would work when we got there. The OA Field Team also coordinated the efforts of local doctors and nurses to participate with the expedition team in providing specialized health care services.
Surgical Outcomes
Our first day in the hospital was Sunday, January 9th, and everyone was anxious to get started after two long travel days. There were two women from San, a village 300 miles from Ouelessebougou, who had been waiting for us (sleeping in the hospital) for five days.
We were well prepared and able to begin surgeries that afternoon, when we completed our first three surgeries. The women from San were beyond happy to see us and receive the help they so desperately needed. They both had stage IV uterine prolapses, which our surgeons repaired with a sacrospinous ligament suspension. They received spinal anesthesia, were given foley catheters, and stayed one night in the hospital to be monitored. A team of expedition nurses and local Malian nurses cared for them pre- and post-surgery.
By the end of the week, our OB/GYN team had examined a total of 52 women and performed surgeries for 21 women. The patients traveled from Ouelessebougou, Bamako, and neighboring villages in the Ouelessebougou region. Most (81%, 17) had a
uterine prolapse repaired, and some had a cystocele repair in addition. There were no
major complications.
The list below summarizes the operations performed.
- Uterine Prolapse Repair - Sacrospinous Ligament Suspension 17
- Repair Cystocele - Anterior & Posterior Colporrhaphy 5
- Excision of Cyst 1
- Vaginal Steroid Injection 1
- Excision of Labial Mass 1
In addition to surgery, the doctors were able to offer support and education in the exam
room.
Photos courtesy of: The Ouelessebougou Alliance, protective equipment, provided by Welmed Inc.
