What were some of his reactions after the tumor was removed and how long did the surgery take?
Strauss: The procedure itself took some hours to accomplish what was desired. It is not unusual either in some of these cases that it might be done in a couple of stages. First stage is to remove the growth and set things generally in the right condition. Then we do the reparative procedure to restore some functions; so it is not unusual for it to take several stages to get everything in a way that's functional.
In his case it took some hours to get this tumor removed and his reaction was one of disbelief at first. It sort of goes in stages with these patients. First of all, right after surgery they can hardly believe it is really gone; they lived with this for years. They look in the mirror and they have this disbelief that it's really gone. They even reach up to touch the area where the tumor used to be to prove to themselves that it is not there. And then what happens, as they come to understand the impact of what happened - that it is gone now - the celebration starts.
The first patient I did a couple of weeks ago I had removed a cataract and she could see right after the operation. She came down the hallway dancing. (Laughs) It was remarkable. They don't all do that but she did. (Laughs) But it is an amazing experience to see the joy that these people so unreservedly express. No reservation - dancing down the hall or singing at the top of their lungs. Sometimes they get all the patients on the floor and they all sing. (Laughs) It is quite a sight. It is quite the experience to see that.
Why are there so many extreme cases [of tumors and other extreme facial deformities] in Africa?
Strauss: I think medical conditions like these exist everywhere. But when the access to medical care has been disrupted for a significant period of time then what happens is these conditions which normally stay small and insignificant become overwhelming.
So I would say that the extreme severity of the conditions we see and the overwhelming prevalence of these unusual types of problems stems from one primary root cause - and that is lack of access to medical care.
There are rare African conditions which you don't normally see outside of Africa, but the things we are talking about working on exist because some minor condition didn't get attention and resulted in a 7 lb growth. It is a benign tumor but it has gotten so large that it threatens his life.
Do you also have your own private practice in the United States? In what way does the reaction of patients in the US differ from your patients in Africa and has that influenced your decision to work for Mercy Ships?
Strauss: I'm full-time Mercy Ships now. I had an ophthalmology practice up until December 2004 and then joined Mercy Ships full-time in January 2005. I've been working with Mercy Ships for ten years now all together using vacation time to do so since 1997.
