Hospital San Jorge

On Monday morning, I started my work at Hospital San Jorge. I will be in the operating room for the next 2 weeks. After entering surgery at around 7:30, I was in front of my first open thorax at 7:45. A bypass operation was waiting for me. Whether it was the fact that I was standing in front of a beating heart or the many cell phones, painted nails, or the nurse who killed a mosquito that impressed me more, I can no longer say. The differences to an operating room in Germany are definitely significant. The swinging door, through which everyone can come and go whenever they want, also surprised me a little. However, despite the simplicity of the conditions, all the surgeries have been successful so far.

On Tuesday, I went to Hospital General Pediatrico Ninos de Acosta Nu with one of the surgeons, one of the largest children's hospitals in Paraguay. There, I witnessed the life of a 2-year-old boy being saved through surgery.

Today, for the first time, I was allowed to join the surgical table and had a perfect view of the anatomy of my patient. While most procedures in Germany are performed minimally invasively, the patient's thorax was opened today to replace two heart valves. After I answered no to the question from one of the doctors whether I had ever touched a human heart, he took my hand and placed it on my patient's beating heart. I don't need to mention how fascinated I am by everything.