We were to do a laparoscopic low anterior resection for an older man with colorectal cancer. The OR was large, but sparse. There were no booms descending from the ceiling like OR’s in the US. A single tower of German laparoscopic equipment greeted me like an old friend from high school. This was not the operating room that I expected from a country where most of my dollars were going. Driving around Saudi Arabia, one is struck by the size and opulence of the shopping malls. This was not on par with those malls.
Despite the shortcomings of the facilities, the technical skills of the surgeons and staff more than made up for it. I operated with a female surgeon who was very gifted. Together, we excised a very difficult, large cancer with little blood loss and a lot of fun. It WAS fun. Technically, we had synergy and, as surgeons, that is very hard to come by. After making short work of a tough tumor, we went back to the Chief’s office where the familiar sign was hanging. I went in anyway without knocking. Everyone was in their familiar places. A traditional Saudi lunch was ordered.
This consisted of grilled, lean chicken and rice served in the center of the table. Each person uses his hands to roll the rice into a ball and eat the chicken. Though I like to think of myself as manually deft, I felt uncoordinated as my rice fell apart before getting to my mouth and my chicken fell to the floor. My colleagues smiled graciously, but I felt they were wondering how I could operate on people yet drop my rice all over the floor. Actually, I was thinking the same thing.
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