Otorhinolaryngology

Otorhinolaryngology is part of basic medical care and, with the new ENT clinic in Asmara, has been a project within the spectrum of ARCHEMED since 2019. The clinic is equipped with state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment and a surgical center, providing the population with the full range of modern ENT medical care.

The clinic is led by two experienced Eritrean physicians (Dr. Simon Haile and Dr. Alem Teclu), who received comprehensive training in otorhinolaryngology at the university hospitals of Geneva and Tübingen and at Katharinenhospital Stuttgart, and who have mastered most common surgical procedures in the field. In addition, three young Eritrean physicians are currently being trained in ENT.

The spectrum of diseases we see in children in Eritrea differs from that of children in Europe. We more frequently encounter malformations such as branchial fistulas and cysts or choanal atresia (closure of the posterior nasal passage), as well as nonspecific and specific infections that present to the clinic at a later and therefore more serious stage of the disease. Examples include abscessing infections of the lacrimal ducts or acute otitis media, which in our setting typically heals within a few days after rapid diagnosis and appropriate antibiotic treatment when necessary.

In Eritrea, we frequently see children with complications following acute otitis media, as without treatment the suppuration from the middle ear breaks through into the adjacent bone. The immediately necessary operation (mastoidectomy), which is rather rarely required in our setting, is routine for Dr. Alem. However, many children die before they reach a physician.

ARCHEMED sends teams of physicians and nurses several times a year who, during their one- to two-week stay, operate on patients who cannot be treated by the local physicians: tumors or narrowing of the upper airways and esophagus, inflammation of the paranasal sinuses, disfiguring defects or malformations of the face. Unfortunately, the number of patients waiting for surgery is far greater than what the team can manage during each deployment.