American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine August 2016 - 16

Figure 4: Dr Missair (left) and Dr Osman (right) teaching a group of Cuban anesthesiologists during a scanning session with models.

"The best made plans are laid to waste." The proverb was never
more true than the night before the 10 a.m. flight to Havana.
Despite weeks of preparation and more paperwork than the
Affordable Care Act, the mission hung in the balance just hours
before boarding when our travel visas from the Cuban Consulate
in Washington, DC, failed to arrive. The January blizzard that
paralyzed the mid-Atlantic coast had also stranded the FedEx truck
carrying our paperwork. Neither history nor "snowmageddon" was
going to stop us, however. At 8 p.m. that Sunday night, a call from
the Cuban Consul, himself, gave us hope. On Monday morning, with
the personal guarantee of a diplomat we had never met, the team
drove to Miami International Airport, checked in to Havana Air flight
EA3141, and boarded the plane with myriad other tourists carrying
more luggage than a trans-Saharan camel caravan. Forty-five
minutes and two bags of banana chips later, we landed in the Jose
Marti International Airport of Havana, Cuba.
EXECUTION
The workshop was held at the UNICEF office in Havana as part
of the collaborative effort with local and international nonprofit
organizations that provided the necessary audiovisual equipment
and meeting space. The key officials who facilitated the encounter

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were Dr Odalys Rodriguez (UNICEF), Dr Jose Perez Vives (MINSAP),
and Dr Humberto Sainz, President of the Cuban Society of
Anesthesia and Resuscitation. The program was held over 2 days
and attended by 21 Cuban anesthesiologists from each of the
country's 15 provinces, each personally selected by Dr Sainz. Three
diplomats and 16 government officials were also present at various
points of the conference. Three faculty members from the University
of Miami Department of Anesthesiology and the president of
ASRA, Dr Oscar de Leon-Casasola, gave lectures on topics ranging
from neuroanatomic ultrasonography to pain neurophysiology
and acute pain service management (Figures 1-2). Basic upperand lower-extremity nerve block techniques were taught in the
afternoon using projected live scanning sessions and hands-on
practice with models at four stations, including a meat phantom
for needling with ultrasound guidance (Figures 3-4). Despite the
very real obstacles faced by Cuban anesthesiologists to implement
ultrasound guidance in clinical practice, their enthusiasm during
the workshop and creative solutions to access the scant equipment
locally available was heartening. This is, after all, a nation
accustomed to making lemonade (and mojitos) out of lemons. In
response to the humanitarian need of our Cuban colleagues and
their patients, Sonosite generously donated a complete NanoMaxx

American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine August 2016