Day One Surgery in Phnom Penh

As the sun and the heat and humid start to rise on a bright Monday morning in Phnom Penh - our team is anxious to get started. Princess Samdech Sisorath Pong Neary Mony Pong, sister of the King of Cambodia - King Preah Bat Norodom Sihamony - arrived early to welcome our team to Cambodia and thank us of the work that we are doing. You could feel the excitement in the pre/post op room as the Princess walked from bed to bed handing out gifts of clothing (a sarong), candy and money. After a brief ceremony, the Princess carried our first patient into the OR. It was the start to a great day.

We successfully operated on 25 children. Everything ran very smoothly. As is typical on Operation Smile missions, as word gets out in the community that Operation Smile is in town, more potential patients show up for screening. So in addition to the 25 patients and families that we cared for today, our terrific team screened an additional 25 patients!! Quite an undertaking during an already busy first day of surgery. We were able to add 7 of those new patients to the operating schedule during the week — that is a good feeling. Of course, we all feel the pain when we have to turn someone down because they are not a candidate for surgery or we simply cannot fit them into the OR schedule — and that is why we are so committed to continuing this incredible mission of hope and smiles.

- Dottie Ryan, Operation Smile Student Sponsor