Lessons aboundon a Dili adventurecontinuedWe operated on 20 patients over thenext week, aged from two to 32 years,performing mostly mastoidectomies forcholesteatoma, <strong>and</strong> myringoplasties.The average age of patients treatedwith surgery was 14 years. All surgicalpatients were in otherwise good health,though they were notably small in staturecompared with the <strong>Australian</strong> population.The heaviest patient was a man of 30 whoweighed just 52kg.Oxygen <strong>and</strong> halothane were available,but no other gases or volatile agents.Suction was provided by means of aportable electric pump. Drugs <strong>and</strong> someanaesthetic airway equipment came withus, provided by RACS.Nearly all patients I left to breathespontaneously. The available monitoringwas pulse oximetry, ECG <strong>and</strong> BP. Therewas no capnography. My anaestheticassistants were Timorese trained, but didnot speak English, so communication wasa problem. Medical students attendedmany of the sessions, though teachingwas also h<strong>and</strong>icapped by languagedifficulties.The cost of our trip was assisted bythe generous efforts of the Rotary Clubof Balwyn Victoria. We hope we haveimproved the lives of a few Timoresepeople by our visit. It has definitelyprovided an opportunity to mentorTimorese trainees.Dr Jane McDonaldWestmead Hospital <strong>and</strong> Children’sHospital at Westmead“ All surgical patients werein otherwise good health,though they were notablysmall in stature comparedwith the <strong>Australian</strong>population. The heaviestpatient was a man of 30who weighed just 52kg.”Above from left: Final year Timor Lestemedical students, trained in Cuba, watching<strong>Australian</strong> ENT surgeon Dr John Curotta do amastoidectomy. Danielle Doughty (volunteerwith the ENT team) is scrub nurse; Dr JohnCurotta (back to camera) examining patients atthe ENT clinic. To the left is Danielle Doughty.A patient who had surgery on a previous trip,in the green shirt, named Colito, acts asinterpreter.36 <strong>ANZCA</strong> <strong>Bulletin</strong> <strong>June</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
NZ Anaesthesisia AnnualScientific MeetingBy combining with a specialistinternational conference, thisyear’s NZ Anaesthesia AnnualScientific Meeting is able tooffer an exceptional line up ofabout 100 international speakerscovering a wide range ofgeneralist <strong>and</strong> specialist topics.Scientific Co-Convenor Professor AlanMerry says the combined conference hasattracted the best anaesthesia facultyyet seen in <strong>New</strong> Zeal<strong>and</strong> – <strong>and</strong> one thatmeans there will be something of interestfor all anaesthetists <strong>and</strong> trainees.The usual NZ Anaesthesia ASM is beingheld in Auckl<strong>and</strong> between November14-17 along with the <strong>2012</strong> InternationalCongress of Cardiothoracic <strong>and</strong> VascularAnesthesia (ICCVA).“Combining with ICCVA has enabledus to attract an excellent international<strong>and</strong> Australasian faculty,” ProfessorMerry says. “I consider it the best we haveever had for a <strong>New</strong> Zeal<strong>and</strong> conference,<strong>and</strong> they will be providing a first-classgeneralist stream.” Speakers in thegeneral stream come from the US, <strong>New</strong>Zeal<strong>and</strong>, Australia, Germany <strong>and</strong> Canada.Professor Merry is one of a team ofscientific program advisors who have puttogether a comprehensive program underthe theme “What becomes of the brokenhearted? Outcomes <strong>and</strong> how to changethem”. It has a broad-ranging generalstream, a specialist ICCVA stream <strong>and</strong>a third stream that straddles the two.Registrants are able to attend any sessionin any stream.The combined conference is beinghosted by <strong>ANZCA</strong> <strong>and</strong> the <strong>New</strong> Zeal<strong>and</strong>Society of Anaesthetists in associationwith the Society of CardiovascularAnesthesiology (SCA), which is US-basedbut with an international membership ofover 6000 cardiac, thoracic <strong>and</strong> vascularanaesthesiologists. Its ICCVA congress isheld in different venues around the worldevery two years. This is the first time ithas been held in Australasia.Topics in the general stream includeperioperative management of stents,transthoracic echo for non-cardiacanaesthetists, dynamic monitoringfor non-cardiac surgery, goal-directedtherapy in non-cardiac surgery, <strong>and</strong> fasttrack anaesthesia <strong>and</strong> outcome. Someof the other subjects covered includeairway management, trauma, obstetrics,paediatrics, acute <strong>and</strong> high risk patients,risks in older patients, operating roomefficiency, simulation <strong>and</strong> outcome,intubation skills <strong>and</strong> perioperativeassessment.Professor Merry says the quality ofthe faculty overall is exemplified by thekeynote speakers – Dr Richard Duttonfrom the US, Professor Scott Beattie fromCanada <strong>and</strong> the NZSA Visiting Speaker,Dr Paul Baker, from Auckl<strong>and</strong>.Dr Dutton is an attendinganaesthesiologist at the Universityof Chicago <strong>and</strong> the newly-appointedExecutive Director of the AnaesthesiaQuality Institute, which runs the NationalAnesthesia Clinical Outcomes Registry.Dr Dutton has been involved in myriadresearch endeavours for the past twodecades <strong>and</strong> has shared his professionalexpertise at more than 200 gr<strong>and</strong>rounds <strong>and</strong> national <strong>and</strong> internationalsymposiums, specifically addressingsuch issues as haemostatic resuscitation,massive transfusion <strong>and</strong> factor VIIain civilian practice.Dr Dutton will present a Saturdaymorning plenary session on “Outcomes:how to measure them <strong>and</strong> changethem: perspectives from AQI”, as wellas speaking on “Trauma – anaesthesia<strong>and</strong> outcomes” in one of the concurrentsessions.In his plenary session, Professor ScottBeattie from Canada will present on“What becomes of the broken hearted– angina: stents, coronary surgery <strong>and</strong>modern medical management”. In ahuman factors concurrent session, he willspeak to “Perioperative assessment– how does it change outcome?”Dr Beattie is a professor in theDepartment of Anesthesia, University ofToronto, Faculty of Medicine <strong>and</strong> worksin the Department of Anesthesia <strong>and</strong>Pain Management at the Toronto GeneralHospital, University Health Network .He is recognised internationally as anexpert in the area of cardiac anaesthesia.The NZSA Visiting Speaker, Dr PaulBaker, has 25 years’ experience as aconsultant anaesthetist at StarshipChildren’s Health in Auckl<strong>and</strong>. He is alsoa senior lecturer in the Department ofAnaesthesiology, University of Auckl<strong>and</strong>.His research interest <strong>and</strong> MD thesis is“Improving the safety <strong>and</strong> managementof the difficult airway”.In 1996, Dr Baker founded theAirwaySkills course, which has taughthundreds of anaesthetists, intensivists<strong>and</strong> emergency physicians in <strong>New</strong> Zeal<strong>and</strong><strong>and</strong> Australia. He is also the developerof the Orsim bronchoscopy simulator.Dr Baker will present a plenary sessionon “Education in airway management”<strong>and</strong> a paper on the “Quality <strong>and</strong> safetyof airway equipment”.The combined NZ Anaesthesia ASM/ICCVA conference begins on WednesdayNovember 14 with various satellitesymposiums covering general <strong>and</strong> cardiactopics during the day, <strong>and</strong> the welcomereception in the evening. It opens formallyon Thursday morning, with the conferencedinner held on Friday evening.For the full program <strong>and</strong> other speakerdetails, <strong>and</strong> to register, go to www.iccva<strong>2012</strong>.com. Early bird registrationis open until September 5. Abstractsubmission for the moderated postersession, NZSA Ritchie Prize <strong>and</strong> NZSATrainee Prize is open until July 31.The NZ Anaesthetic TechniciansSociety conference is running in parallelwith the NZ Anaesthesia ASM/ICCVAconference.Susan EwartNZ Communications Manager, <strong>ANZCA</strong>37
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