I plan to travel to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania to partner with local surgeons & surgical trainees in expanding access to high quality breast reconstructive care. During this trip, our team will provide both operative and non operative education, including hands on surgical training, discussions, and lectures. By working alongside local providers, we aim to strengthen their ability to independently deliver comprehensive reconstructive care long after the trip concludes. This trip is unique in that Resurge has just started to host mission trips specifically focused on women's healthcare through breast reconstruction, which is not traditionally offered/available to most women diagnosed with breast cancer. I am looking forward to
This project will focus on women in Tanzania, where access to reconstructive surgery remains limited. Local surgical leaders have identified a significant unmet need for specialized reconstructive care within this population and ReSurge has partnered with them to help address these disparities. Through collaborative education and mentorship this initiative seeks to empower local providers to expand access to safe and sustainable reconstructive
services for their communities. This trip is unique in that Resurge has just started to host mission trips specifically focused on women's healthcare through breast reconstruction, which is not traditionally offered/available to most women diagnosed with breast cancer in this country. Breast reconstruction/women's healthcare is very close to my heart, and what I specialize in, and I look forward to be able to help pioneer this effort.
The impact of this trip extends well beyond the patients treated during the mission itself. In the short term, we will provide free high quality reconstructive surgical care to patients who would
otherwise have limited or no access to these services. More importantly, the trip is designed to create lasting improvements in local surgical capacity through hands on training and
mentorship. By equipping local surgeons with advanced reconstructive techniques, clinical decision making skills, and ongoing support they will be able to continue providing care
independently. Furthermore, they can train future generations of surgeons within their institutions. This trip will be at a teaching hospital, and thus trainees will also benefit from this experience directly. Combined with the provision of essential equipment, supplies, and educational resources, this model fosters sustainable growth in reconstructive surgery capacity and creates a lasting increase in access to care for the local patient population.
In October 2026, I was part of a team of surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses from ReSurge International who traveled to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, for a week-long surgical volunteer mission dedicated to advancing breast reconstruction care. Through hands-on teaching in the classroom, operating room, and cadaver lab, we shared knowledge and surgical expertise with local medical professionals and trainees to strengthen skills and expand access to reconstructive surgery. During the mission, we transformed the lives of four patients through life-changing operations and achieved a historic milestone by performing the first-ever deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap breast reconstruction in Tanzania! This mission exemplified ReSurge International’s commitment to building local surgical capacity, fostering collaboration, and improving access to safe, high-quality reconstructive care.
