Pediatric Reconstructive Surgery

The need for surgical care in Zimbabwe is staggering. With a population of over 14 million people, Zimbabwe has only 1 physician for every 10,000 citizens. The country has only 72 practicing surgeons who are listed in the College of Surgeons of East, Central, and Southern Africa’s database of members, and only three plastic surgeons.

In collaboration with ReSurge International, the University of Zimbabwe School of Medicine recently established a residency program in Plastic Surgery aimed at training Zimbabwe’s next generation of plastic surgeons and meeting Zimbabwe’s staggering need for reconstructive surgery. ReSurge is committed to sending expert reconstructive surgeons to serve as visiting educators to bolster this new training program.

Thanks to South African Airways, ReSurge International was able to send a team of medical experts, including two plastic surgeons and a pediatric anesthesiologist to Harare, Zimbabwe to train local medical professionals. Because of ReSurge’s ongoing partnership with the University of Zimbabwe in Harare, the impact of this trip will extend far beyond the initial enabled surgeries. As part of the collaborative residency program between the University of Zimbabwe and ReSurge International, the volunteer medical team trained local anesthesia and reconstructive surgery residents. The resident surgeons and other staff who received training on this trip will be able to continue to leverage this training to provide quality care to patients.

Results

• Assessed 24 patients in clinic
• Performed operations on 18 patients
• Performed 29 surgical procedures
• Volunteer anesthesiologist worked closely with 3 anesthesia residents and 2 nurse anesthetist trainees in the OR, providing hands-on training
• Volunteer reconstructive surgeons provided hands-on training to four surgical residents
• Presented eight lectures to 16 trainees on a variety of topics related to reconstructive surgery techniques and safe anesthesia