Bansang, a distant region of the Gambian geography, has a small Cuban Medical Brigade (CMB) that faces the ravages of a very hot climate every day, and attends with responsibility and dedication to a large needy and grateful population, marking with love a history full of altruism and consecration.
Our health professionals show off their supportive training and the deep love they feel for the profession they practice, saving lives and doing a lot with little to meet the needs of the population of this West African land.
Dr. Lianelys Pereira Betancourt, a first degree specialist in Comprehensive General Medicine (MGI) and General Surgery, as well as Professor-Instructor of the Cuban province of Matanzas, is a member of this dedicated team, and already has many lives saved and sufferings relieved. Among them is the case of a patient who today from his bed in the hospital room, smiles happily, and looks with gratitude and satisfaction at his angel who came from the Caribbean island that brought him back to life with peace, calm and health.
The patient had a 5-year history of suffering from an inguinal hernia that over time became irreducible.
After making a violent physical effort he begins with a sharp pain in the right inguinal region and vomiting.
Arriving at Bansang hospital from a distant community, the patient was admitted to the emergency room and diagnosed with intestinal obstruction secondary to a stuck inguinal hernia.
When undergoing surgery, vascular compromise was evidenced and also strangulation of the intestinal loop, which was not viable.
It was then decided to approach it abdominally for a better operative field and the successful performance of the intestinal resection and anastomosis.The operation was a total success, and the patient had a favorable evolution.
The quality of health care in the largest of the Antilles is unquestionable, its facts are palpable truths that cannot be erased with the slander and lies of the haters who attack, daily, the unstoppable work of our medical brigades.
Congratulations to Dr. Pereira, who still has a long way to go in this sister African country. We are sure she will have great successes and feats.
By Maria Ines Alvarez Garay
Professor and collaborator of the CMB in The Gambia
