Stories from the Road: Weill-Bugando Medical Center, Tanzania

Richard J. Lu, MD, MBA, MSc, on behalf of the Humanitarian Efforts Committee

Richard J. Lu, MD, MBA, MScOur recent July 2025 humanitarian surgical trip to Mwanza, Tanzania, represented the third year of a collaboration between the Weill-Bugando Medical Center (WBMC), a major tertiary referral hospital located on the shores of Lake Victoria, and Healing the Children Northeast, Inc. (HTCNE), a volunteer organization dedicated to providing donated medical care to children in need. Serving a population of more than 18 million people, WBMC plays a critical role in providing care to patients with limited access to specialty surgical services. 

HTCNE was designed to provide direct, life-changing surgical care for underserved patients while strengthening the local healthcare infrastructure through capacity building and education. Rather than functioning as a one-time intervention, the program emphasizes sustainability through intraoperative teaching, lectures, workshops, and shared case conferences. In doing so, the program aims to reduce long-term dependency on visiting teams and help cultivate a locally led surgical ecosystem that continues to serve Tanzanian patients once the trip ends. 

Location and Need

In Tanzania, access to specialized surgical care remains limited, with fewer than 0.5 surgeons per 100,000 people. In rural areas like Mwanza, patients with treatable conditions often go for years without access to necessary medical and surgical care. Conditions such as cleft lip and palate, facial trauma, and untreated head and neck cancer can lead to profound consequences, including impaired feeding and speech, social stigma, and lifelong disability.

The Team

Organized by HTCNE with funding support from the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) Foundation’s Face to Face (FTF) program, the trip brought specialized surgical care to the Weill-Bugando Medical Center. This year’s team included facial plastic surgeons, head and neck surgeons, otolaryngology residents and fellows, anesthesiologists, pediatricians, speech-language pathologists, nurses, and technicians all working in close partnership with local Tanzanian health providers. The effort was led by facial plastic surgeons Manoj T. Abraham, MD, and Anthony P. Sclafani, MD, MBA, and head and neck surgeon JK J. Rasamny, MD.

Clinical and Lasting Impacts 

Our week at the WBMC was filled with moments that reminded us of the importance of capacity building in global surgery. We performed more than 25 complex surgical procedures and provided 45 patient consultations focused on speech-language pathology along with local healthcare teams. The surgical caseload included both primary and revision cleft lip and palate repairs, as well as complex reconstructive and ablative procedures, many of which required surgical expertise unavailable elsewhere in the region.

During this trip, we worked shoulder-to-shoulder with Tanzanian medical staff, including Dr. Francis Tegete, one of the few plastic and reconstructive surgeons in Tanzania. Dr. Tegete is in the process of establishing the first plastic surgery residency program in the country at WBMC.  Our cases for the week involved advanced reconstructive techniques, including a Karapandzic flap for functional lip repair and Fricke flaps for eyelid reconstruction. Outside of the OR, we also led didactic sessions and suturing workshops for the Tanzanian medical trainees and staff.

Patient Stories

The stories of the patients whose lives and communities were transformed through this trip were profound. On our first day, we cared for a one-year-old boy with a large congenital nevus covering his cheek. His family had been ostracized by their community due to cultural beliefs that the boy’s congenital lesion was a type of curse. In a single-stage procedure, we were able to remove the lesion completely.

We also treated a woman who had lost her upper lip from a devastating infection related to malnutrition. Two months earlier, she had received the first stage of an Abbe flap reconstruction. We performed the final stage by dividing the pedicle and insetting the tissue to restore her lip contour and oral competence. As she emerged from anesthesia, her first words were, “Am I going to be beautiful again?” Her quiet question captured the emotional stakes of facial reconstruction. For her, this was more than a procedure—it was a restoration of identity and dignity.

Personal Reflections 

As a resident, I was humbled to be both a teacher and a learner. Many of the patients we treated required complex reconstructions that are rarely encountered in residency training in the United States. Some of the injuries we treated were particularly new to us, such as those sustained from snake bites or hyena attacks.

It was an immense privilege to take part in this surgical trip, and we are forever grateful to all the patients who entrusted us with their care. We look forward to building on this partnership in the years to come, with the shared goal of advancing surgical equity and excellence in Tanzania.

Program Details

Requirements: Please visit the program website for the most up to date information.
Typical Service Commitment: one to two weeks per year

Clinical Emphasis:

• Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• Head and Neck Surgery / Oncology

Financial Aspects: Travel costs and living expenses (living expenses are low in Tanzania, travel includes cost of internal flights). Unlikely to exceed USD $3,000 in total for a one- to two-week visit, depending on airfares.

Language Skills: English, Swahili
Global Region: Africa
Research Opportunities: Basic, Clinical

Services Provided:

• Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• Head and Neck Surgery
• Cleft Lip and Palate Repair
• Speech-Language Pathology

Coordinator Contact Information

Name: Manoj Abraham, MD
Email: DrAbraham[at]fprls.com
Phone: +1 860 355 1828

Websites:
https://bmc.go.tz/public/ 
https://htcne.org/

For more about the Weill Bugando Medical Center, Healing the Children, and other Humanitarian Efforts campaigns happening around the world, please visit the AAO-HNSF Humanitarian Efforts online repository of information and resources.