I plan to travel to Hue, Vietnam to partner with local anesthesiologists 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 anesthesia care, 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 project will focus on women in Vietnam, where access to reconstructive surgery remains limited. Local surgical leaders have identified a significant unmet need for specialized breast 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.
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 anesthesiologists and surgeons with advanced analgesia and 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 anesthesiologists and surgeons within their institutions. 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.
The anesthesiologists I worked with all benefited from the teaching I provided. The local physicians were very textbook knowledgable, but did not get the nuances in medicine/anesthesia care. I also educated them on labor analgesia techniques and medications. The local anesthesiologists are technically proficient in ultrasound guided blocks. They re-introduced me to bedside blood typing.
