Zambian Doctors Give a Thumbs-up to Their Chinese Counterparts

Zambian Doctors Give a Thumbs-up to Their Chinese Counterparts

“孩子得救了，谢谢中国医生！”赞比亚医生盛赞河南大夫

"The child was saved. Thank you, Chinese doctors!" At 2 o'clock pm on January 25 (Zambian Time), witnessing two Chinese doctors saved the life of a 9-year-old boy, the chief of Levy Mwanawasa Hospital, a China-aided project in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, expressed his heartfelt thanks for them.

“孩子得救了，谢谢你们！谢谢中国医生！”当地时间1月25日下午两点，亲眼见证了两名中国医生挽救了一名9岁男孩的生命，赞比亚卢萨卡Levy援建医院院长送上由衷的感谢。

Picture taken with the two Chinese doctors. [Photo provided to Henan Daily] 

It all started at noon that day. At noon, Zhao Haiyuan's phone suddenly rang. Zhao is a chief physician at the otolaryngology department who also heads the 22th Chinese Medical Team in Zambia. "Dr. Zhao, please read the message I sent you. We need your help!" The message sender is a doctor at the otolaryngology department of the Levy Mwanawasa Hospital. In the message, he wrote that, a 9-year-old boy developed breathing difficulties following neck trauma that did not get relieved after treatment and was in urgent need of medical attention.

事情要从当天中午说起。中午12点，中国援赞比亚第22批医疗队队长、耳鼻咽喉科主任医师赵海源的电话铃声突然响起。“赵医生，看一下我发给你的信息，我们需要你的帮助！”求助者是Levy援建医院的耳鼻咽喉科医生，信息上说，一名9岁男孩颈部创伤后出现呼吸困难，处理后没有缓解，急需抢救。

Immediately, Zhao, together with another team member Jin Mingxin, drove to the hospital with the emergency tracheotomy kit.

看过信息后，赵海源立即叫上医疗队另一名医生金铭鑫，携带紧急气管切开包，一路驱车赶往医院。

Based on his 30-year clinical experience in otolaryngology, he realized that under the African bad medical condition the child could probably die if he didn't receive treatment in time.

赵海源从事耳鼻咽喉专业临床工作30年，具有丰富临床经验，非洲当地的医疗条件使他意识到，“患儿病情十分危急，如果抢救不及时，就很可能有生命危险。”

They learned, after arriving at the hospital, that the boy fell down on his bike three days ago with his neck hit by the bike's handle, but he did not see the doctor in time, thus developing breathing difficulties after two days and the symptoms gradually worsened. The symptoms did not get relieved after the emergency treatment, so the local doctors called the Chinese medical team for help. 

赶到医院见到受伤的孩子，他们得知，男孩3天前骑自行车摔倒，车把撞到了颈部，可是当时并未在意，也没有及时就诊，结果两天后出现了呼吸困难，症状逐渐加重，家人才匆忙带他到医院看病。经过医生紧急处理后，症状并没有明显缓解，当地医生才紧急向中国医疗队求助。

After careful examination, Zhao and Jin immediately made a diagnosis: Closed neck trauma and tracheal laceration lead to subcutaneous emphysema of the neck with tracheal compression, causing third-degree breathing difficulties. In this case, emergency tracheotomy must be performed immediately, otherwise asphyxiation and even death might occur at any time.

经过仔细检查，赵海源和金铭鑫立即做出诊断：颈部闭合性外伤，气管裂伤，导致颈部皮下气肿，压迫气管引起三度呼吸困难。这种情况必须立即进行紧急气管切开手术，否则随时可能出现窒息甚至死亡。

"The boy needs immediate surgery!" With that, the two Chinese doctors immediately asked their assistants to contact the operating room.

“不能再等了，马上手术！”一边说着，两名中国医生立刻让助手联系手术室。

Zhao finally decided to perform tracheotomy under local anesthesia after learning the boy's medical history from his father on their way to the operating room. The chief of Levy Mwanawasa Hospital also arrived. Seeing the Chinese doctors racing against time to save the patient, he was deeply moved, praying for the patient with folded hands and paying tribute to the Chinese doctors.

在送患者赶往手术室的途中，赵海源边跑边向患儿父亲追问病史，最终确定实施局麻下的气管切开术。Levy援建医院院长也赶到了手术室门口，看到中国医生争分夺秒抢救病人，他非常感动，双手合十为病人祈祷，更向中国医生致敬。

In the operating room, the intense but orderly preparation for the surgery started. The patient's condition worsened because of tension and fear before receiving local anesthesia with beads of sweat on his head, panting heavily.

手术室内，紧张有序的术前准备工作开始了。当患儿准备接受局部麻醉时，因经受不住内心的紧张和恐惧，头上渗出了汗珠，呼吸困难再次加重，喘鸣声不断。

The two Chinese doctors pacified the boy's emotion and performed local anesthesia smoothly.

医生一边安抚患儿情绪，一边熟练操作，局麻顺利完成。

Next, they overcame a series of difficulties, such as cutting and separation of subcutaneous tissue, positioning and cutting of trachea. With the insertion of the tracheal tube, the child's breathing difficulties and heavy panting disappeared immediately. "The boy was saved," shouted the assistant.

紧接着，切口、分离皮下组织，准确找到气管，切开……闯过一道道“难关”，随着气管套管的置入，患儿呼吸困难和急促喘鸣音瞬间消失，“孩子得救了！”一旁的助手喊道。

After the wound was sewn up, the surgery was finally done. Returning to the observation room, the boy smiled, gave a thumbs-up to the two Chinese doctors and asked for a picture taken with them.

经历了紧张有序的切拆封合，手术终于完成。回到术后观察室的男孩笑了，他向两位中国医生竖起了大拇指，并主动要求要和心中的救命恩人合影。

Through patient observation, Zhao and Jin were sure that the child had no related complications. Then, they carefully explained the do's and don'ts after the surgery in detail to the Zambian doctors.

通过耐心观察，赵海源和金铭鑫确定孩子没有相关并发症，随后向赞比亚医生详细交代了术后注意事项。

After that, the hospital chief was still waiting there. He said to Zhao and Jin “谢谢!谢谢中国医生!” (Thank you, Chinese doctors!) in non-fluent Chinese.

走出手术室门口，他们再次见到仍在等候在外的院长。一番感谢过后，院长用略显生硬的中文连声说道：“谢谢！谢谢中国医生！”（中文来源/河南日报 翻译/赵汉青 审校/李文竞）