Global Surgery Program

News

Fall Progress Report

The 4th Annual VCU ACCESS Global Health Symposium Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Global Era

students and Dr. Mallah

MUSC Global Surgery had the incredible opportunity to participate in the VCU ACCESS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Global Era Symposium on September 9th, 2023. The VCU School of Medicine event hosted students, physicians, and professionals from around the globe. We engaged in talks from established global health providers, networked with globally-oriented students and professionals, and attended many clinical workshop activities. MUSC College of Medicine and Global Surgery Council Members Riley Nichols, Sierra Patterson, and Clayton Ross presented research posters on global health topics to several judges at the event as well. We fostered discussion and collaborated with VCU ACCESS students as we look to model their successful programs and events in the future.

MUSC Global Surgery in Ecuador

Cinterades

Dr. Mike Mallah and Dr. Edgar Rodas, President of Cinterandes Foundation and Director of VCU Program for Global Surgery, traveled to Ecuador to work with the Cinterandes Foundation. Cinterandes is a first-of-its-kind non-profit organization that improves access to surgical care in rural Ecuador by taking the operating room physically to the patients.“ They built an operating room on the back of a large cargo truck, like a U-Haul. It is a mobile surgical OR.” Dr. Mallah described. “I don’t know what is more heartwarming, seeing the physical and simultaneous metamorphic coming together of a community around a person who is in need or watching those same patients walk out of our ‘camp’ the next day feeling much better.”

American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2023

team at ACS

MUSC Global Surgery attended the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress this October in Boston, MA and simultaneously presented at the Association of Academic Global Surgery. Our team connected with leaders from various different Global Surgery programs such as Vanderbilt, Baylor, Stanford, Medical College of Wisconsin, Harvard, and University of Utah. We are grateful for this opportunity and can’t wait to participate next year!

Invited Speaker: James Brown, M.D., ACS Global Surgeon of the Year

Dr Brown

 On Tuesday, November 7, 2023, we had the pleasure of hosting Dr. James Brown, the American College of Surgeons Global Surgeon of the Year, at our MUSC Global Surgery Event with over 60 attendees. Dr. Brown presented on his nearly two decades of work providing surgical education and training to physicians in Cameroon at Mbingo Baptist Hospital. He shared invaluable and transformative experiences, and we were so lucky to have Dr. Brown speak at our event!

2nd Annual #Hungry4GlobalSurgery Fast

Hungry 4 Global Surgery

$3001 RAISED.17 UNIQUE DONORS. A big thank you for all your support!

On Monday, November 20, 2023, MUSC's Global Surgery Program hosted our 2nd Annual #Hungry4GlobalSurgery Fast to reflect on populations worldwide who lack access to support services and clinical care. For instance, the Lancet Commission estimates that 5 billion people lack access to surgical care. A goal of our program is to leverage global relationships to create bidirectional opportunities to improve care for surgical patients in low- and middle-income countries.

Global Surgery Rotation: Approved!

The American Board of Surgery approved MUSC’s Global Surgery Rotation.

Dr.Daniel Akyeampong (PGY-3), is currently in South Africa through our Global Surgery Rotation.

 

Winter Progress Report

MUSC-VCU-PAACS Kenya Update 

trip to kenya
Medical student & Global Surgery Program council member Habib Rafka (second from right, next to Mike M. Mallah, M.D.) was awarded an MUSC Global Health Scholarship to join Dr. Mallah in Kenya and work to improve surgical education for LMICs  

The Medical University of South Carolina’s Global Surgery Program conducted its first field visit alongside Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) Department of Surgery and the Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS) to re-think the current surgical resident case-logging system. PAACS oversees 23 resident training programs spanning 11 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Their 153 graduates of the program serving in low-resource settings in Africa and 150 residents currently training in general surgery (majority), orthopedics, pediatric surgery, OB/GYN, neurosurgery, and anesthesia.

Through our collaboration with PAACS and VCU, we aim to develop a simple, education-focused, surgical resident case logging system for all PAACS hospitals. Reliable tracking of surgical cases will help guide surgical education and improve future collaborations between PAACS, other LMICs, and HICs.

During the first four days of the trip, the group attended the annual PAACS Basic Science Conference where there was faculty and resident representation from most of the 23 training sites. They focused their time at the conference on hearing from program directors and faculty. Afterward, the group conducted site visits at three major PAACS-affiliated hospitals: Kijabe Hospital, Litein Hospital, and Tenwek Hospital. While at the hospitals they focused on hearing from the surgical residents and observing the workflow of the current case logging system.

Reflections from Habib Rafka, M2: 

"Kenya is a beautiful country with some of the nicest people I have ever met. One of the first things you will notice as you drive out of the capital Nairobi is the vast disparity in wealth, electricity, sanitation, and infrastructure which collectively impact health. Despite this, Kenyan surgical residents are very optimistic about their future. They have an inspiring sense of community and a strong calling to serve in neighborhoods they grew up in. I am very thankful for the opportunity to work with them on this trip and in the future to better our understanding of surgical resident training both in the LMIC context, and in the US."

MUSC Global Surgery Program Council Member Leads Team at the Emory Morningside Global Health Case Competition

 MUSC Global Surgery team at Emory

Pictured left to right: Mohamed-Faisal Kassir, Shipra Bethi, Tammy Mahaney, Savannah Skidmore, Kaylee Simon, and  Adegboyega Adewale. 

Congratulations to Global Surgery Program council member Savannah Skidmore, M2 (third from the right) who represented MUSC at the Emory Global Health Institute Case Competition where she collaborated and problem solved to address the global maternal mortality crisis and led the team to the finals at the competition! The Emory Morningside Global Health Case Competition brings together 29 teams from 6 countries and 4 continents to address global maternal mortality. The tea took fifth place. 

Emory Case Competition

Georgia Lydon Participates in Research at Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa

Georgia LydonGraduating medical student and MUSC General Surgery-bound student Georgia Lydon traveled to Cape Town, South Africa on combined clinical/research experience. She will be the first of hopefully many students and residents to engage in a partnership between the MUSC Global Surgery Program and Stellenbosch University. Under the direction of Dr. Kathryn Chu, Director of the Centre for Global Surgery at Stellenbosch University, she is working on projects related to access to injury care electrical burns and colorectal cancer resection rates over a three-month period.