A surgeon’s life is all about sacrifice and commitment

Dr Zaituni Bokhari is a general surgeon at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH). She recently led a team of specialists at the hospital in an operation to separate conjoined twins.

The doctor is proud of her team of experts, who made the four-hour operation a success. She speaks to Success about her career:

Briefly tell us your duties as a general surgeon.

My duties include performing different kinds of surgeries. Among the cases that I deal with include matters to do with the stomach such as the small bowel, colon, liver, pancreas, gall bladder, and the bile duct.

I also deal with the esophagus as well as children who are born with defects such as an imperforate anus, which is a condition where the rectum is malformed. I also deal with children with hydrocephalaus, also known as water on the brain, that is children whose heads are enlarged. Surgeries for these conditions take up to 45 minutes. With hydrocephalus, I sometimes perform more than five surgeries a day.

Could you tell us the processes involved in a hydrocephallus operation?

Just briefly.An area of hair on the child’s head is shaved off, it can be behind the ear, on top or at the back of the head. A U-shape cut is made behind the ear and another in the child’s belly. A small thin tube called a catheter is passed into a ventricle of the brain through a drilled hole in the skull.

Another catheter is placed under the skin behind the ear. The surgery is done to drain cerebrospinal fluid in the brain and the spinal cord. Surgery should be done as soon as hydrocephallus is diagnosed since failure to do that can result into brain damage.

What challenges do you face in performing surgeries in Tanzania?

There are too many challenges when it comes to our health system in Tanzania. We are still far behind as far as technology is concerned. We lack experts in different fields which results into poor performance in our work.

Just recently, we had a case of conjoined twins who needed to be separated. A Magnetic Resonance Imaging test (MRI) was supposed to be done before we performed the surgery but we only did a CT-Scan. This was due to the fact that we do not have paediatric anaesthesiologists.

Without one, it would be difficult to do the test since the twins were supposed to undergo the test under anaesthasia. Also, the test is too expensive for common citizens to afford. We really need to improve our health sytem.

Does your job affect your social life?

Yes. I rarely get the opportunity to attend social events especially weddings, parties etc. To be a successful surgeon, you need to dedicate and sacrifice your time. You need to make regular follow-ups on patients to make sure their condition is stabilising. In short my social life is very limited.

Where can one train to be a surgeon?

In Tanzania there are two places where people can train. At the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences and Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College. However, there are many other universities out there where people can train.