By Li Bo

At 10:38 on 9th December local time in Guyana, Feng Liang, the leader of Linden team of the 20th China Medical Team for Guyana picked up his mobile phone and sent a WeChat message to Ji Lei, requesting assistance in diagnosing a Chinese patient. The patient needed professional advice for a sprained foot.

It was 22:38 on 9th December Beijing time. Ji Lei, the Director of Orthopedics of the Second People’s Hospital of Nantong, who just finished a day’s work, received his colleague’s request, and started to provide consultation for the patient far away on the other side of the world.

Soon, Feng Liang sent a few CT images. However, due to the limited conditions of local medical devices, the image clarity was not high. With rich clinical experience, after careful observation, Ji Lei found out that the patient had a poor cortical base of the fifth metatarsal, and remotely guided Feng Liang to perform orthopedic palpation.

Feng Liang operated according to Ji Lei’s guidance, and took photos and videos simultaneously. At the same time, he communicated with the patient, and gave an initial diagnosis of the patient's sprain site and condition. However, due to local conditions, it was not able to perform MRI. Ji Lei gave a preliminary treatment plan.

Feng Liang learned from a follow-up call a few days later that after the patient was treated according to the consultation advice, pain and swelling were relieved significantly. The patient was satisfied about the consultation result and was in the progress of recovery. He expressed gratitude to the China medical team for their professional competence and high sense of responsibility.