"Thank you, to the Chinese medical team for their continued support of Sao Tome and Principe" ---Hospital Ayres de Menezes

In operation. From left to right Dr. Lilibet, Dr.Yang Yi

“Thanks for your help, I learned some new skills today”, Dr. Lilibet Goulet Ordaz, who comes from Cuba, told her Chinese surgeon partner while wiping off sweat from his head. The surgeons just finished an urgent operation in the National Hospital of Sao Tome and Principe (STP).

Dr. Ordaz is a member of a Cuban medical team in the country. Her Chinese partner, Dr. Yang Yi, is the captain of the 17th Chinese Medical Team from West China Hospital, Sichuan Province. Dr. Yang assisted in the urgent treatment of one local patient after receiving a request from Dr. Ordaz.

“It was a ‘bomb’ disposal. It was a critical upper arm pseudoaneurysm operation.” Dr. Yang Yi recalled, “In Hospital Ayres de Menezes, I saw a female patient with a giant mass in the right upper arm, and Dr. Lilibet was not sure about the previous diagnosis. So, Dr. Lilibet asked me to give her a hand.”

The female patient accepted a small mass resection operation in her right upper arm five months ago. But very soon a finger-sized node occurred in the once operated area, and it had been growing up gradually into a huge mass as big as an infant’s head.

Dr. Yang and Dr. Ordaz confirmed that it should be a giant right-upper-arm pseudoaneurysm, and this conclusion corrected the previous diagnosis. A pseudoaneurysm occurs when an artery wall is injured and the leaking blood gathers in the surrounding tissues forming a pulsatile mass.

‘This huge pseudoaneurysm is always prone to rupture and will lead to massive bleeding, Thus it will bring very serious consequences endangering the life of the patient. A surgical repair is highly needed immediately.’ Dr. Yang advised.

Unfortunately, while the doctors were making pre-operative examinations, the aneurysm suddenly ruptured and a massive blooding with hemorrhagic shock occurred. The doctors carried out an urgent measure of compressing to block bleeding, and the vital life signs of the patient were barely stabilized at last.


Dr. Yang Yi obtains key information with a portable bedside ultrasound scanner

At this time, the patient has no chance to complete further pre-operation examinations. In order to win time for operation, Dr. Yang took out a portable bedside ultrasound scanner brought from China, quickly assessing the limb blood flow at the distal end of the pseudoaneurysm. This helped Dr. Yang obtain important reference indexes for the coming operation. Vascular assessment with bedside ultrasound scanning is regular in China, but this operation marked the maiden appearance of the procedure in Sao Tome and Principe.

But very soon the worse was coming, the patient suffered severe hemorrhagic anemia and shock after serious blooding. And another challenge was that there was not enough stocking blood in the National hospital. Have a try or give up? It was a heartbreaking dilemma afflicting the doctors. The Cuban medical turned to Dr. Yang once more.

“Do it immediately. And we could administrate possible intraoperative blood transfusion”, Dr. Yang recommended and he himself agreed to participate in the operation and share all with his Cuban colleagues. To buy time, Dr. Yang showed again the other members of the operation another fast and effective bleeding control ‘trick’–one squeeze exsanguination technique with a tourniquet, which is a normal and frequently-used skill in China, but the other doctors in operation had no idea of. The “new” skill brought an efficient operation and fast completion of the surgery within almost one hour. It was again a huge surprise for the local physicians and they were eager to know more about the magic skill. Dr. Yang generously shared the technique and other application scenarios with his colleagues in the operating room after the operation.

“The Chinese doctors are warm and helpful, and we are getting on well with each other and learning from each other” a medical staffer mentioned, “Dr. Yang is open and is always eager to share.”


The 17th China Medical Team to STP in Sao Tome

As the captain of the 17th Chinese medical team, Dr. Yang arrived in Sao Tome and Principe only over one month ago. His team consists of 8 members majoring in vascular surgery, cardiology, dentistry, obstetrics & gynecology and acupuncture specialties. It is the first time that all members of the Chinese team have stepped foot in Africa

“I am dreaming of an impressive experience in my life and I am sure I will,” said Dr. Yang, in the twilight sunshine of STP, staring at the deep ocean of Africa. “The people here are very kind and I enjoy their warm friendship as well as the clear air and water here in STP.”

 Yi Yang MD, Ph.D., is the captain of the 17th Chinese medical team to Sao Tome and Principe.

This article is originally from CGTN. (https://africa.cgtn.com/2021/11/08/chinese-surgeon-helps-cuban-and-local-doctors-in-sao-tome-and-principe/)