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Medical Specialties

General Surgery

tenwek-hospital-logo

Tenwek Vitals
361-bed Christian Mission Hospital
Hospital staff: 800+
Inpatients/year: 15,000+
Outpatients/year: 220,000+
Surgeries/year: 6,000
Births/year: approx. 3,000
Hospital-wide HMIS and radiology PACS system

Full-time missionary staff includes physicians in:
General and Orthopedic Surgery
Family Practice
Internal Medicine
Neurosurgery
Pediatrics
Pediatric Surgery
OB/GYN
Ophthalmology
Gastroenterology

The General Surgery Department Tenwek Hospital has a long legacy of providing high quality surgical care to people from western Kenya and beyond. For decades, the hospital has been the referral center for complex surgical cases in the region. The breadth of routine and emergency surgeries that faculty and residents provide is wide and can range from the general to complex oncology cases and vascular procedures. Surgeons also provide some specialty services such as basic urology and ENT procedures.

Most patients come from the surrounding area in western Kenya. However, it is not uncommon to have patients referred from Nairobi and even from the coastal areas of Kenya. The local tribe is the Kipsigis tribe, which is a warm and hospitable culture and makes care for these patients rewarding.

Dr. Andrea Parker and Dr. Liz Mwachiro, general surgeons, caring for a patient in the ICU.

The area is relatively rural and patients often present late in their disease course. They are frequently quite ill upon arrival and require engaged surgeons to be able to steer them through a difficult course.  Tenwek sees a lot of trauma ranging from typical blunt trauma sustained in road traffic accidents to arrow wounds from local fighting. Tenwek physicians also frequently manage complex oncology cases with locally advanced tumors making surgery in these patients difficult.  The most common laparoscopic cases are laparoscopic cholecystectomies and laparoscopic Heller myotomies for achalasia.

Nutritional issues further compound recovery and complications from surgery. However, Tenwek patients are relatively young and with minimal comorbidities they often experience amazing recoveries.

Caring for surgical patients at Tenwek can be challenging – but it is an amazing place to be a surgeon. Surgeons who participate in a short-term medical mission trip provide valuable service in three critical areas: caring for patients, teaching residents, and providing a respite for long-term surgeons.

General Surgery Staff

The General Surgery Department is staffed by several full-time missionary general surgeons, including expatriate surgeons and Kenyan surgeons who have graduated from Tenwek’s residency program. General Surgery residents also provide supervised surgical care.

There is one Kenyan anesthesiologist on staff. Most of the anesthesia care is provided by anesthetists. Tenwek is a clinical training site for the Anesthesia Nurse training program sponsored by Kijabe Hospital.

Daily Responsibilities of a Visiting Surgeon

A typical day begins at 7 a.m. with either rounds that include residents, visiting medical students, and interns; or a teaching conference, depending upon the day of the week.


A daily devotional and prayer are observed before patient rounds. Visiting staff are guided and oriented by long-term staff and residents. Surgeons help cover the weekly clinic and usually perform two to four surgeries on theater days. The non-call days end around 5 p.m., with often busy call-nights continuing beyond.

During a two-week visit, a surgeon might cover four or five calls, including a weekend.

Equipment

Tenwek’s operating rooms are equipped with much of the basic equipment available in US hospitals. This includes endoscopic towers, portable C-ARM fluro X-ray units, laparoscopic equipment, and portable ultrasound machines for line placement. There is limited Transesophageal ECHO capability. A Microscope is used for some neurosurgical procedures.

Residency Program

Dr. Liz Mwachiro, left, is the Program Director of the PAACS General Surgery residency program. Her husband, Dr. Mike Mwachiro, is also a surgeon at Tenwek

The Tenwek General Surgery Residency program started in 2007 and is credentialed by the Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS) and the College of Surgeons of East, Central , and Southern Africa (COSECSA).  As of 2020, the program has graduated 15 general surgeons, all of whom have become board certified surgeons through COSECSA.

Tenwek’s residency program is similar to the American model of training. It is five years in duration and clinically heavy. Residents must learn to operate on a wide variety of surgical conditions so that they can provide surgical care in the under-resourced setting of East Africa.

Residents are very didactically oriented and study hard to pass certification tests. They are very teachable and welcome tips and other insights from visiting surgeons.

In addition, because this is a Christian faith-based program, there is also a spiritual curriculum which residents participate in. Following graduation, residents are encouraged to see their profession as a ministry and to invest in others through patient care, leadership, and discipleship.  Almost all of Tenwek’s graduates are doing this and some have started surgical training programs at other hospitals. We are grateful to see God building his Kingdom through our graduates!

Learn more about visiting Tenwek
    Medical Specialties
  • Diagnostic Radiology
  • Endoscopy-Gastroenterology
  • General Surgery
  • Nephrology
  • Neurosurgery
  • OB/GYN
  • Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
  • Orthopedic Surgery
  • Otolaryngology (ENT)
  • Pediatrics
  • Physiotherapy
  • Special Needs Clinic

General Surgery Champion

Eric Miller, DO, FACS epmiller1@liberty.edu

If you would like to make a gift to support the General Surgery Department or General Surgery Residents, use the button below to open a secure, online form.
Donate with Credit Card or Bank Draft
TO SEND A GIFT BY CHECK:
Please make checks payable to Friends of Tenwek Inc. and designate “General Surgery” in the memo line.
Friends of Tenwek Inc.
1132 Greenbridge Drive
Matthews, NC 28105
Donate with PayPal
Join Our Mailing List

Friends of Tenwek Inc.

1132 Greenbridge Drive
Matthews, NC 28105

info@friendsoftenwek.org
(704) 491-4297

Friends of Tenwek is accredited by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.

Tenwek Hospital Mission

tenwek-hospital-logoTenwek Hospital is a Christian community committed to excellence in compassionate healthcare, spiritual ministry, and training for service to the glory of God.

Friends of Tenwek Mission

Friends of Tenwek is an independent 501c3 non-profit charitable organization growing an actively-engaged global community to empower Tenwek Hospital to provide excellent compassionate healthcare, spiritual ministry and training for service through capacity-building, financial resources and spiritual support.

Designation of Gifts

Friends of Tenwek Inc. (FOT) sets meaningful and achievable fundraising goals in support of Tenwek Hospital. When the gifts received for a designated project or program exceed the identified need or fall so short that the project cannot be fulfilled, the FOT Board of Directors will use its discretion to redirect the funds to another, similar area of need at Tenwek Hospital.

 

© 2023 Friends of Tenwek
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