Santiago, Chile

Had a great academic day in Santiago. Dr. Juan Carlos Hernandez and Dra. Veronica Vilches have been showing us around Santiago. They were both POSNA/SLAOTI traveling fellows in the U.S. We participated in a very interesting academic session in the morning. Dr. Edmonds impressed us all by giving his presentation in Spanish. As we have noted in our previous stops in Latin America, the staff here is exceptionally talented and doing amazing work. Some of the staff at Hospital del Ninos Roberto del Rio, a busy public hospital, are pictured .

Like the U.S., there is a place here for parents to sit and gather their thoughts as well as offer support for other parents with hospitalized children.

After the academic session, we visited one of the popular tourist sites in Santiago, the "cerro San Cristobal" or San Cristobal Hill. An additional 1,000 feet of altitude allows a panoramic view of the city as well as the Andes looming over the horizon. Like most countries in South America, Chile is predominantly Catholic. Thus, there is a large statue of the Virgin Mary at the top of San Cristobal hill. You can get a sense of the seemingly never ending forest of skyscrapers in the valley below the Cordillera de los Andes.

We then interrupted our quest to consume all the meat in South America by enjoying a wonderful maritime lunch at the historic Mercado Centrale.

After lunch we visited a different world in Santiago, the Teloton Children's Rehabilitation Hospital. The Chilean people support this institute with charitable donations, producing a beautiful state of the art facility providing primarily rehabilitation services and some pediatric orthopaedics. We all agreed that we haven't seen any better facility anywhere in the world.

We then visited a private hospital next door which could also be mistaken for a very modern facility in the U.S. We capped off the evening with a round of the Chilean national drink, Pisco Sours, and dinner. We have been treated to a fantastic experience in another vibrant South American capitol city. We will be leaving tomorrow to go to the SLAOTI/Chilean Orthopaedic Society Meeting in the scenic town of Puerto Varas which is in the shadow of snow capped volcanic mountains and by an alpine lake. Adios Santiago, and a sincere thank you to our gracious hosts, it was a pleasure.