Duke senior heart and transplant surgeon Carmelo A. Milano sorts through the heart valves and pacemakers that were donated by the manufacturers and brought to Honduras as carry-on baggage. Heart valves can cost between $4,000 and $7,000.
BS’18, jumped at the chance to travel with the team to Honduras. His travel was funded by a grant from the Charles T. Watt, MD, Travel Fellowship. Jimenez, who speaks Spanish fluently, was able to have lengthy pre-operative conversations with the patients. Jimenez determined what kind of family support the patients had and what their home lives were like. He discussed with them the choices of a mechanical heart versus a bioprosthetic, and talked about the risks involved in the surgery. Jimenez would end the conversations discussing each patient’s post-op medications and follow-up care. “One reason this experience was so valuable to me is because it gave me a little window into working as a team,”” Jimenez says. “My
A few months later, Murillo matched with Duke and started his residency with the Integrated Thoracic Surgery Residency Program. Shortly after arriving in Durham, he received an email from Carmelo A. Milano, MD, Duke heart and heart transplant surgeon, chief of the Section of Adult Cardiac Surgery, surgical director for the Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) Program, and professor of surgery. Milano welcomed Murillo to Duke and wrote, “You spoke about wanting to help Honduras. Let’s talk more about it.” Twelve months later, the Duke team landed in Tegucigalpa ready to help patients and, more importantly, train Honduran surgeons and nurses how to best replace heart valves and care for recovering patients in a country where more than half the population lives in poverty. “AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE” econd-year medical student Fabian Jimenez Contreras,
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While waiting for anesthesia before heart surgery, a Honduran patient receives a little extra care and comfort. DukeMed ALUMNI NEWS • 21
