Advancing Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in Ethiopia
Plastic surgery is relatively new to Ethiopia, with just 18 Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons treating 104 million. GSF and BFIRST (British Foundation for International and Reconstructive Surgery and Training) funded a six week training course at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford for one of these surgeons, Abdurezak Ali Mohammed, to learn some of the advanced techniques that are not taught in Ethiopia.
Abdurezak has since gone on to share these techniques with his colleagues in Ethiopia, the benefits of which are twofold: he has significantly improved the standard of treatment provided by fellow Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons and also reduced the stigma that comes with diseases causing disfigurement or loss of function.
Improving awareness of available treatment is critical in a society where some believe that these diseases are a curse, meaning that treatment is not sought or welcomed.
From left: Wee Lam of BFIRST, Immediate Past Vice-President Prof Graham Layer and Abdurezak Ali Mohammed
