Paediatric surgeon performs complex operations on children in Rwanda

Paediatric surgeon Anna Gunnarsdóttir, who lives and works in Stockholm, has performed numerous operations on children in Rwanda, mbl.is reports. She specialises in correcting congenital defects of the colon and rectum and travels to the country several times a year to provide care.

“This is work driven by a strong sense of purpose, and I want to do something good in the world,” Gunnarsdóttir said. “The need is enormous, and I think we sometimes fail to realise how well we have it.”

Gunnarsdóttir is the senior doctor responsible for paediatric surgery and the running of the department at Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden. Her work includes operations on children up to the age of 18 involving the abdomen, lungs, oesophagus and urinary tract.

Many of her patients are newborns with congenital defects. She also performs general surgery on older children, including operations for appendicitis and hernias, as well as procedures for children with cancerous tumours and the insertion of ports for administering medication.

Children born without an anal opening

One in every 3,000 children is born without an anal opening, Gunnarsdóttir said. In such cases, the colon may end blindly or form a small fistula in the wrong place on the skin behind the vagina or scrotum. In boys, it may end in the bladder or urethra.

Surgeons must close these connections and create an anal opening. The procedure generally goes well, she said.

Primitive operating facilities

Gunnarsdóttir’s interest in helping in developing countries began in Lund around 2011, when she worked with doctoral students on cooperation projects with Bangladesh and Vietnam. She travelled to Hanoi to teach a course for paediatric surgeons, worked on a project in Bangladesh and sent two doctoral students there.

In 2021, she connected with the Stockholm-based charity Martina Medical Mission. She made her first trip to Rwanda in November that year.

The hospital in Kigali is underdeveloped and receives little funding, she said. The paediatric surgery department and operating rooms are very basic, with no air conditioning. The operating tables are old, the equipment is primitive and hygiene standards differ from those she is used to.

“When you come there from highly specialised hospitals such as Landspítali and Karolinska, you cannot make the same demands you are accustomed to,” Gunnarsdóttir said. “It tests your ability to think differently and make the best of what you have.”

She said congenital defects are often detected late during pregnancy, and that many children who travel from rural areas to the hospital in Kigali are in poor condition when they arrive.