Volunteering in Malawi: ‘An Experience Like No Other’

For two weeks in October, Aileen Kerns, DO, volunteered in Malawi with a group of fellow surgeons from around the world to treat and operate on patients who traveled for miles and days on foot to obtain care at the only otolaryngology clinic in the southern part of the country.

At Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi, Kerns worked with a team of 10 to 15 Ear, Nose and Throat surgeons and anesthesia staff to perform dozens of surgeries with minimal equipment in a short timeframe. The hospital is the largest medical facility in Malawi and the main teaching hospital for the University of Malawi College of Medicine. The surgeons and staff assisted Dr. Wakisi Mulwafu, one of the only ENT surgeons in a country of 19 million people.

“It’s an experience like no other,” says Kerns, adding they worked long days, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., performing five to six surgeries daily. “You learn to think out of the box for a lot of scenarios because of the limited resources they have available and the different environment you are operating in than you would be in the United States. You have to overcome and adapt to obstacles in and out of the operating room.”

The surgical cases for both adult and pediatric patients consisted of procedures related to head and neck cancer: thyroid surgery for goiters due to iodine deficiency; pediatric nasal reconstruction; neck dissections; endoscopic sinus surgery; and parotidectomy (removing salivary gland tumors). The team relied on donated medical and surgical supplies from hospitals in the United States, such as suture material, surgical gloves and gowns and local anesthetics.

This surgical mission trip was Kerns' second experience working with the Madgy Malawi Foundation, a nonprofit group that aims to deliver safe surgical treatments to the people of Malawi. Kerns previously visited Malawi in 2019 while a resident physician at the Detroit Medical Center. Both experiences, she says, have helped her become a more well-rounded surgeon. Although the group had very little downtime, they did have an opportunity to participate in early morning adventures, including a hike up one of the nearby mountains and a safari at 4 a.m. to a local wild reserve where they came upon a family of elephants.

“My team and I were very thankful for this opportunity to make a difference in the lives of these patients who live in one of the poorest countries in the world,” says Kerns. “The people of Malawi are amazing. They are so gracious and are so full of gratitude.”