Webinars

Webinars are taking a break over the next month.

We look forward to bringing you more webinars offering informative and unique insights into Plastic Surgery, and Plastic Surgery around the world in the Autumn. 

If you have missed any of our previous webinars you can watch them on our website!

There are also some fantastic webinars for revision of key topics within Plastic Surgery available!

Projects 

Tanzania

This month a team led by our BFIRST chair Naveen Cavale visited the CCBRT Hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

He was joined by two fellow consultants, David Bell and Matt James, two trainees, Ailbhe Kiely and Laura Awad, and for the first time ever, two plastic surgery nurses, Clare Kelsey and Jasmine Carney.

This week saw the introduction of a surgical skills workshop - a combination of theory and wet lab based modules to upskill on local flaps, tendon repairs and microsurgery. Important topics such as chronic wound care, approach to elective hand surgery and lower limb trauma were discussed at length.

The week finished with some joint operating on cases seen in clinic earlier in the week - we learned about our respective approaches to some complex limb cases.

The BFIRST and CCBRT teams got on famously and plans are already in motion to pick up where things left off next year. The team at CCBRT have been left with equipment to continue lab microsurgical training over the year, and will be in close contact with BFIRST about using these skills for potential cases. Stay tuned!

Breast Cancer Education in Nigeria and Ghana

Barbara Jemec from BFIRST and Abdulrasheed Ibrahim from ABU Zaria University in Nigeria secured a £300000 grant from the Tropical Health and Education Trust on January 2024 for the advancement of multidisciplinary teams in the treatment of breast cancer in Nigeria and Ghana.
70% of women present in stages 3-4 in Subsaharan Africa with breast cancer and therefore the prompt attention and treatment of specialists working together is extremely important.
The courses held first in Abuja and Accra are now being rolled out in other centres around the countries: Ibadan, Zaria and Kumasi with repeat courses in the capitals.
We are proud to highlight that the faculty are all from the UK with African background. 

Upcoming Projects
We have upcoming projects to Nepal and The Gambia later this year!

We will bring you updates about these projects, and how you can get involved and support them!

Lion Project

We are looking for a Brachial Plexus surgeon to help with several cases over a two-week period at the  Lilongwe Institute of Orthopaedics and Neurosurgery (LION) unit in Malawi.

The LION project provides education and training to enable and empower the local surgeons and therapists to specialise in hands. The LION is a not-for-profit institution that provides free care to the local population with the aim of reducing disability and its economic impact on the people of Malawi.

The dates are flexible and expenses will be covered, please get in touch with any questions and for more information.

Fellowships

We have 5 confirmed BFIRST Fellows. These are Plastic Surgeons from resource-poor countries, who will be spending time in Plastic Surgery Units in the UK to gain experience and training.

We will be bringing you updates about their experiences over the next few months!

Events

BFIRST are coming to the BAPRAS Congress 2024!

We are hosting a session on the 5th December in the afternoon, with talks from surgeons about Reconstructive Surgery in conflict zones and Plastic Surgery in low resource settings!

We will also be having a social on the Wednesday evening, more details to follow! Looking forward to seeing you there!

Cycle for BFIRST

The London to Brighton Cycle Ride is happening soon!

Cycle and raise funds for BFIRST to help us educate and train surgeons in resource limited countries!

We have a few spots remaining to cycle for the BFIRST team, sign up here!

For more information, such as logistics and transport after the race, contact us here.

BFIRST Medical Students Committee

The BFIRST Medical Students Committee (MSC) have had an exciting year so far, they have:

• Hosted webinars featuring Plastic Surgery consultants including Mr. Naveen Cavale and Mr. Anthony Barabás, who discussed topics ranging from global surgery complexities to hand surgery training in Malawi.
• Shared their insights about their educational webinars, research projects, and competitions tailored for medical students at the BAPRAS Congress 2023
• Run the 2024 BFIRST Essay Competition – winner to be announced!
• Hosted a National Plastic Surgery Teaching Series on topics including Burns, Complex Wound Healing, and Skin Cancer.

The MSC are currently hosting a national collaborative teaching series alongside PRASSA “Plastic Surgery around the World Series”, follow their Instagram account for upcoming webinars!

The MSC also encourages members to join their group chat for updates and networking opportunities.

How can I help?

Volunteering

BFIRST is keen for surgeons, nurses and allied specialists to all get involved. Please do get in touch if you are interested. Reconstructive surgery is a team sport!

Also, if you have ideas for new projects that you would like to start, perhaps in new countries, or in areas we already work in, we would love to hear about these, and discuss further.