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Jefferson Surgical Solutions

    Drs. Haley Kittle and Kris R. Kaulback

    For one week each February, Jefferson trauma surgeon Kris R. Kaulback, MD, trades the operating rooms of suburban Philadelphia for a surgical center in rural Honduras. While there, he performs procedures on patients who have often waited years, sometimes decades, for surgical care they couldn’t otherwise afford or access.

    The annual medical mission trip, now in its fourth year, is led by Dr. Kaulback and Nina Kalawadia, MD, Chief of Anesthesiology at Paoli Hospital, and run through One World Surgery. This nonprofit operates a permanent surgical center on the grounds of Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos, a long-established orphanage on more than 2,000 acres about an hour from the capital city, Tegucigalpa.

    For each of the past three years, Dr. Kaulback has invited a Jefferson surgical resident to join him during their research year, with funding support from Charles J. Yeo, MD, Enterprise Chair of Surgery. This year, the resident was Haley Kittle, MD. “I’ve always wanted to do global surgery and give back,” Dr. Kittle says. “It’s not easy to do as a resident, so as soon as I heard about this trip, I jumped at the opportunity.”

    Dr. Kaulback notes that the cases come quickly and are often far advanced. Conditions like hernias, gallbladder disease and ovarian tumors – routine to treat in the United States – present in Honduras at a much more challenging stage. “These are people who, when they have problems, don’t seek healthcare because they can’t be out of work for a week,” Dr. Kaulback explains. “They would lose their jobs, and their kids would go hungry.”

    For Dr. Kittle, the breadth of the work was a clinical gift. Because gynecologists were also part of the volunteer team, she scrubbed in on cases she wouldn’t ordinarily get to perform, including a myomectomy – a procedure to remove uterine fibroids. “The patient was a young woman who had lived with large fibroids for several years,” Dr. Kittle says. “She wants to start a family, and now hopefully she’ll be able to do so.”

    For both Dr. Kaulback and Dr. Kittle, the experience is highly rewarding. “When you go on a trip like this, it reminds you why you chose this career,” Dr. Kittle says. “You really are helping people.” Dr. Kaulback agrees: “As much as we’re helping people, it reinvigorates everyone who goes. We’re probably the ones who benefit the most.”

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