As part of the VOOM Foundation’s mission to Nigeria, I will serve as one of the anesthesiologists on the team, bringing additional expertise as the only provider with fellowship training in critical care medicine. My role is to contribute to safe anesthesia and postoperative management for adults undergoing open-heart surgery.
In addition to patient care, I will support local anesthesia and ICU providers by sharing practical approaches to perioperative management that are tailored to a resource-limited environment. This includes strategies for hemodynamic monitoring, ventilator management, and prevention of common postoperative complications.
By complementing the skills of the VOOM surgical and anesthesia team, I hope to help fill an important expertise gap and ensure patients receive the safest possible care. At the same time, the knowledge exchange with Nigerian providers will strengthen local capacity to care for adult cardiac surgery patients after our team departs.
The patients who benefit most directly from this project are Nigerian adults with untreated heart disease who have little to no access to cardiac surgery. Many present with advanced conditions such as valvular disease or heart failure, which are often fatal without surgery. VOOM missions provide lifesaving procedures for these patients, many of whom would otherwise never receive care.
A secondary population served includes the Nigerian anesthesia and critical care providers who work alongside us. By collaborating in the operating room and ICU, the mission fosters skills transfer and professional development. This helps build confidence and capacity in local teams, creating benefits that extend beyond the immediate patients treated.
In the short term, the impact will be measured in successful surgeries and improved recovery for adult patients who otherwise lacked access to advanced care. The additional critical care perspective I bring helps strengthen perioperative safety, reduce complications, and optimize recovery for this vulnerable group.
In the longer term, the teaching and collaboration with Nigerian providers will carry forward. Through case-based learning, bedside teaching, and discussion of resource-appropriate protocols, the mission promotes a sustainable model where local clinicians are better equipped to care for similar patients in the future.
Ultimately, the project combines direct patient benefit with ongoing capacity building, saving lives during the mission while also strengthening the foundation for future adult cardiac care in Nigeria.
On this trip to Nigeria with the VOOM Foundation, I served as a cardiac anesthesiologist and critical care physician on a surgical mission dedicated to expanding access to life-saving cardiac care. Our team performed open-heart surgery for 24 patients an which is an extraordinary contribution in a country where fewer than 400 open-heart procedures are performed each year, and where the VOOM Foundation now performs the highest annual volume nationwide (Adult + Pediatric).
While short-term missions are not a complete solution to strengthening health systems, VOOM’s approach pairs direct surgical care with meaningful, structured education for local providers. I helped lead anesthesia and critical care educational efforts throughout the trip, both in and outside the operating theaters. In the OR, I worked alongside local cardiologists and intensivists, supporting perioperative management and hands-on echocardiography learning during cardiac cases. Outside the OR, I held emergency echocardiography courses to cardiologists who are masterful at TTE but have little access to TEE. I also collaborated with a Nigerian cardiologist to deliver a remote Basic Life Support (BLS) course that reached trainees across multiple teaching hospitals nationwide.
This experience was made possible through the generous support of the Doximity Foundation. Their commitment to advancing global health education enabled me to contribute to both patient care and the training of local anesthesia and critical care teams. I’m deeply grateful for their support in fostering sustainable skill-building and improving access to life-saving cardiac care in Nigeria.
