The Virtue Foundation team of surgeons across multiple specialties including neurosurgery, ophthalmology, ENT, general surgery, pediatric intensive care and more will travel Mongolia as part of our annual healthcare initiative. The team will work with our long-standing Mongolian colleagues to treat the people of Ulaanbaatar, Khovd, and Khuvsghul. Moreover, one of the key goals of Virtue Foundation outreach is to work closely with our counterparts and train them to best manage complex cases.
Our teams will be working in multiple healthcare facilities in Ulaanbaatar, Khovd, and Khuvsghul. We will be serving a wide range of patients from pediatric (e.g. oculoplastics, strabismus surgery), to the elderly (e.g. cataracts). Specifically, I will be part of the oculoplastics team as I am a current oculoplastics fellow. Patients are recruited and subsequently screened by our surgical team. We seek to support the most vulnerable and underserved populations.
Last year's mission saw us screen over 600 patients and perform approximately 200 surgeries. This year's mission is expected to have the same if not a larger impact. Some supplies will be donated to our Mongolian colleagues for future use by the local doctors and an emphasis is placed during the mission to teach local doctors so they can continue to perform similar surgeries.
Our trip brought us to Khovd, Mongolia, which is a city of 29,800 people at the base of the Mongol Altay Mountains, on the Buyant River. There, we worked with a team of resident and attending ophthalmologists and anesthesiologists from Khovd and Ulaanbaatar.
Over the course of 6 days, we worked together to screen patients and perform surgery. We saw a range of pathology from pediatric ptosis and epiblepharon to orbital fractures and nasolacrimal duct obstructions. It was a privilege to work with and learn from the incredible team that hosted us, as well as the patients we saw during this trip. Thank you Dox Foundation!
