Dr Mohamed Abdel-Wanis, professor of orthopedics at Sohag University in Sohag, Egypt, was the recipient of the prestigious Germán Ochoa Traveling Fellowship in 2019 and subsequently traveled to four different centers in Kenya to help teach the local surgeons and bring the message of AO Spine to those who would not normally be exposed to the organization.

 

Abdel-Wanis visited Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret where he was joined by 20 local surgeons for a three-hour seminar on spine fractures. He then toured the various departments within the hospital including patient wards and the casualty department. On his second day in Eldoret, he made a presentation to the postgraduates, met with the faculty dean, and discussed collaboration with his university in Sohag, Egypt.

 

The next part of his trip was to Nakuru where he visited Egerton University Hospital and joined rounds with the local doctors. As well as a meeting with the dean of the Egerton University School of Medicine, he ran an AO Spine seminar for the local surgeons, engaged in many case discussions with the residents, and attended outpatient clinics.

 

The final leg of Adbel-Wanis’ extraordinary journey took him to Nairobi, where he attended rounds at the National Spine Injury Referral Hospital with Dr Otieno Soren and visited the hospital’s intensive care and rehabilitation units. Another AO Spine seminar was very well attended by 32 local orthopedic surgeons. He was also invited to speak at the Kenyan Orthopedic Association and the Kenyan Spine Research Group annual meeting where he gave a presentation titled, “My experience in spinal tumors”,

to the 60-plus participants.

 

Adbel-Wanis’ final port of call was the Kenyata Hospital where he had arranged an AO Spine seminar on Cervical spine injuries for the local surgeons, and later joined them in their rounds.

 

The AO Spine Education Commission sincerely thanks Abdel-Wanis for his initiative and drive to spread the word about AO Spine in Kenya during his trip.