ICU

So...its been a long day, for lots of people. It was a long day for Sufi, the little girl in this photo. She came to Facing Africa with a huge dental tumour called an ameloblastoma. Although benign, its bulk filled most of Sufi's mouth and stretched her jaw, making it difficult to eat or speak and would soon have caused her to die.

It was a long day for the medical team, who arrived at the hospital at 8am and left at 10pm. The operation was amazing - the tumour was cut out, long with her jaw and lower teeth. Then a new jaw was made from one of the bones in her leg (the fibula). The bone was shaped using a guide which had been 3D printed in Switzerland using scans of Sufi's skeleton sent from Ethiopia. There was a lot of very detailed vascular work to ensure that the new jaw has a good blood supply. The guide and kit (including screws and fixing materials and tools) were provided by a company called Synthes. In the extra you can see Kazia who is their rep, next to the plans for cutting the bone to fit.

It was a long day for Sufi's father, who waited on the ward all day to find out what was happening to her. When she left theatre and went to ICU, I went up to the ward to all him. he was asleep, but jumped out of bed and hugged me. He speaks no English but I showed him some photos and all the men on the ward crowded around to look. It was a lovely moment when he saw his daughter and held her hand.

It was a long day for the photographer, who had a bit of a queasy stomach. One of the nurses kindly gave me some cyclizine  which helped no end. 

We left Sufi and her father in ICU at around 10pm and got a minibus home. Everyone in the hotel lobby cheered as we came in. So... well done to all the FA team! You are amazing ! Back in the morning for more and then it will be time for a bit of a break at the weekend.