It can’t go too smoothly.

The focus of my day today has been resuscitation of the mesh autoclave. Last night, I was shown that the adaptor plug had burnt out. You may recall that the native plug for it is an Indian plug (I think) and so the adaptor plug is essential. The plastic around one of the pins had melted. It was definitely kaput! 

Of course alarm bells should have rung at this point, but it was not until today when I was looking for a solution to get it back up and running that the true extent of the issue transpired. Having been told that a suitable adaptor plug would not be available until a trip to Tanga was organised (likely next week), I reasoned that it would make more sense anyway to rewire it with a UK plug (most sockets here in Tanzania are UK). The plug into the wall was a sealed unit and it would require cutting the wire (and completely sacrificing the plug) to work this solution. I had a look at the plug into the autoclave and saw that it could be opened and thus rewired that way. So off I went looking for a suitable plug and cable – such as from the kettle or microwave that had broken at home. 

After a bit of toing and froing, I was taken into the store room that can only be adequately described as an ‘expired goods mortuary’ and felt a little like a Harry Potter 'Room of Requirement'. Anything that was broken, but potentially worth keeping for spares, was in here. It was a masterclass in hoarding (possibly also reflecting the challenge of disposal that a country like Tanzania faces). A bit of rummaging and I found our old microwave – its plug and socket were perfect, so I removed them. Back to theatres to rewire it. Should be simple. Although it wasn’t. And I discovered the true reason why the adaptor plug had burned out. Evidently, after our last issue when the element was left to boil dry, the plug into the autoclave took some damage too. Things had obviously reached a point of criticality and a short within the plug into the autoclave had resulted in it welding itself together. Today, I have painstakingly taken this apart, cleaned it and I think definitively fixed it. I hope.

Cleaned up and rewired

A nice distraction from these shenanigans was the operating for the day; two mesh hernia repairs. These both went very well and were both done by one of the local surgeons. One was even a tricky recurrent hernia. It was a real pleasure for me today. I can see the confidence of the local surgeons growing and I really do believe that, when I leave, they will be able to not only carry on such surgery, but carry on doing it well. I have seen them grow in confidence and also in their technical expertise and approach to operating over the time that I have spent with them. When I leave, what they do and how they do it will definitely be better. And this is exactly why we came.

Unfortunately, on the home front, the power has been out for the last 6 hours. It has been a sticky evening and, as I think about heading to bed, it looks like it will be a restless night. The electricity company is apparently on the case. But who knows? I could really do with the fan to take the edge off the heat to help me get a good nights sleep….