About
The McMaster International Surgery Desk (ISD) was launched in June 2010 to facilitate international surgery activity within the Department of Surgery and collaborate with like-minded disciplines and colleagues within McMaster University and the Canadian surgical community.
The ISD objectives are to promote the development of partnerships, include education in all projects, encourage service to low and middle-income countries and contribute to Knowledge generation.
For more information about ISD activities, review our annual report and the McMaster International Compendium:
- 2015 – 19 ISD Report
- 2014 McMaster International Compendium (PDF)
For more information on Global Health Research at McMaster University, please visit the website of our partner organizations:
Developing Partnerships
The International Surgery Desk has been developing global partnerships with organizations involved in international surgery throughout its existence. These include surgical training programs in Guyana, Uganda and Haiti. The ISD is proud to partner with organizations who share the goal of promoting and supporting the development of international surgery and global health research. Together, we have organized local seminars and forums and plan to work together to promote and support international surgery initiatives in the future.
Institutional Partnerships
Canadian Network for International Surgery Learn More
The Canadian Network for International Surgery (CNIS) sends surgical tools and training to Africa, teaches kids conflict resolution, builds labs and sends books and information. The goal of the CNIS is empowering low-income countries to create an environment where the risk from injuries is minimal and all people receive adequate surgical care.
MacOrtho Global Outreach Learn More
The Division of Orthopaedic Surgery at McMaster University is currently conducting a number of research studies globally, as well as helping local orthopaedic surgery residents extend their medical training experience to global outreach.
St. Joseph's Health System International Outreach Program Learn More
The St. Joseph’s Health System International Outreach Program (IOP) has worked for the past 20 years to build healthcare capacity in the developing world. Learn more about the program (PDF).
Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research Learn More
The Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research (CCGHR) is a not-for-profit organization with an orientation towards health research challenges in low- and middle-income countries. The Coalition includes global health researchers, organizations interested in funding health research and those
actively engaged in applying research to improve global health.
International Partnerships
Guyana - Learn More
The lead commentary in the February 2015 issue of the Canadian Journal of Surgery is about the longstanding surgical partnership between Guyana, the Canadian Association of General Surgeons (CAGS) and the McMaster Department of Surgery.
Over the past several years, McMaster has hosted clinical fellows Dr. Ravi Motilall, Dr. Carlos Martin and Dr. Cheestanand Mahadeo. Numerous McMaster faculty and alumni have visited Guyana, resulting in many successful collaborative research projects and educational activities. Just recently, one of the first graduates of the Guyana program, Dr. Navindra Rambaran (who visited here as part of our 2010 Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded research workshop), has been appointed a hospital consultant and Department of Surgery coordinator. Many thanks to all who have been and continue to be involved in Guyana.
Recent Activity:
- Help raise funds for the new Pediatric Ward at Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.
Uganda - Learn More
McMaster has a longstanding partnership with Uganda through the St. Joseph’s International Outreach Program (SJIOP). In 2011, Dr. Cameron visited Kampala, Makerere and Gulu (PDF) with the SJIOP team. Since then, we have welcomed Ugandan surgical visitors to Hamilton including Dr. Sam Kaggwa (PDF), Dr. Sister Margaret Ajiko (PDF), Dr. John Sekabira (PDF) and a large group at the 2012 Side-By-Side conference (PDF).
Kampala hepatobiliary surgeon, Dr. Olivia Kituuka, spent a month in June – July 2014 at the Juravinski Hospital and attended a Centre for Minimal Access Surgery (CMAS) course. Dr. Phyllis Kisa visited here in June 2015. Dr. Marcaccio and Dr. Cameron will be visiting Uganda in September 2015.
Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Brad Petrisor and the MacOrtho group are now regular visitors to Kampala, and a number of our surgical residents have done electives in Uganda over the past several years.
Our future plans include further development of surgical training collaborations at Makerere and Gulu. Stay tuned and contact Dr. Brian Cameron if you would like to be involved.
Recent Activity
- The MacOrtho group is affiliated with the Uganda Sustainable Trauma Orthopaedic Program (USTOP), a formal partnership between the University of British Columbia and Makerere University to “reduce the human suffering, disability and poverty caused by traumatic injuries in Uganda” Learn more about Dr. Macleod’s trip to Uganda (PDF).
- Dr. Jean Chamberlain, an obstetrician/gynecologist at McMaster, founded Save the Mothers in 2005. Save the Mothers is an international organization that equips professionals from a wide array of disciplines in developing countries to improve the health of mothers and babies.
Haiti - Learn More
Dr. Alez Dauphin, a native Haitian and anesthesiologist at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, and Dr. Brad Petrisor, an orthopedic surgeon at Hamilton General Hospital, lead the Hamilton Health Sciences connection with surgeons in Haiti as members of the St. Joseph’s International Outreach Program (SJIOP).
Education
The International Surgery Desk (ISD) has been involved in a number of international surgery education initiatives, including:
- Hosting visiting scholars from Nigeria and facilitating international electives for McMaster residents
- Providing local and international courses on surgical skills, trauma, evidence-based medicine and collaborating with the Canadian Network for International Surgery
- Presentation of international surgery research at international meetings including the Canadian Surgery Forum, Association for Surgical Education, Canadian Association of Pediatric Surgeons, Bethune Round Table on International Surgery and Guyana Medical Scientific Conference
Expandable List
Visiting Scholars:
Dr. Phyllis Kisa, June 2015
Dr. Kisa visited with us for one week. After 18 months of training in Vancouver, she is returning to become the second pediatric surgeon in Uganda.
Dr. Olanrewaju Oyedepo, June 2015
Dr. Oyedepo was a clinical observer with us in pediatric anesthesiology. He works in Nigeria with our previous visitor Dr. Abdur-Rahman. Thanks to Dr. Parrish and Dr. Reddy for facilitating his visit.
Dr. Olivia Kituuka, June – July 2014
Dr. Kituuka was with us for a month after the Bethune Round Table conference as a clinical observer in hepatobiliary surgery with Dr. Marcaccio and colleagues at the Juravinski Hospital, and as a participant in the Centre for Minimal Access Surgery (CMAS) Fellows course. She is interested in advancing minimal access surgery in Uganda.
Dr. Olajide (Timothy) Adewale, July – September 2012
Dr. Adewale is a pediatric surgeon from Nigeria who recently visited McMaster to observe pediatric surgical practice and learn about laparoscopic pediatric surgery.
Dr. Lukman Abdur-Rahman, September – December 2011
Dr. Abdur Rahman visited McMaster’s Division of Pediatric General Surgery for three months as a visiting scholar supported through a scholarship from the World Federation of Associations of Pediatric Surgeons.
McMaster surgery graduates go global:
- Dr. Jessica Westerholm (General Surgery, 2011)
- Dr. Mojole Omole (General Surgery, 2012)
- Dr. Nick Bauman (General Surgery, 2002)
Residents who have completed electives overseas:
- Dr. Andrew Giles (Angola, 2016)
- Dr. Ryan Fielding (Uganda, 2015)
- Dr. Matthew MacLeod (PDF) (Uganda, 2015)*
- Dr. Vasudha Gupta (PDF) (Bolivia, 2014)*
- Dr. Elena Parvez (PDF) (Uganda, 2014)*
- Dr. Jorge Zequiera (Guyana, 2013)*
- Dr. Rubini Pathy (PDF) (Uganda, 2012)*
- Dr. Rubini Pathy (Uganda, 2011)
- Dr. Patricia Larouche (Guyana, 2011)
- Dr. C.J. Foote (India, 2011)
- Dr. Colin White (China, 2010)
- Dr. Jola Omole (Nigeria, 2010)
- Dr. Sara Kalechstein (Guyana, 2010)
- Dr. Maggie Gordon (Guyana, 2009)
*Previous ISD Scholarship winners.
Courses & Workshops
- Trauma Simulation and Evidence-Based Research Methodology workshops lead by Dr. Karen Bailey and Julia Pemberton in Guyana. (November, 2012)
- Surgical Skills Workshop for McMaster Students Undergoing International Electives (June, 2012)
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded workshop on surgical research collaboration between Canada and Guyana. Video: Guyana Canada Surgical Research Workshop (May, 2011).
- McMaster-Brock Global Health Research Forum (2011)
- From Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) to the operating room (OR) Workshop – A Roadmap for the International Surgeon (October, 2010)
Resources for Residents
Goals and Objectives: International Surgery Rotation (PDF). Prepared by Dr. Jessica Westerholm (McMaster, 2011), currently in Nepal.
Global Electives – Policies & Documents
ISD Scholarship
The ISD is proud to award the International Surgery Scholarship each year to a McMaster surgical resident or fellow who is embarking on an international surgery clinical or research elective in a low resource region. This scholarship is funded by the ISD in the amount of $2,000. Applications for the 2019 scholarship will be accepted until June 15, 2019.
Paul Farmer Global Surgery Fellowship
The Paul Farmer Global Surgery Fellowship is a one- or two-year fellowship offered by Boston Children’s Hospital Department of Plastic and Oral Surgery in collaboration with the Partners in Health organization and the Program in Global Surgery and Social Change at Harvard Medical School. The purpose of the fellowship is to train leaders who will further promote surgical care, education, and research in the field of global surgery in resource-poor settings around the world.
For information on how to apply, please visit the Boston Children’s Hospital website.
Knowledge Generation
The International Surgery Desk (ISD) is dedicated to its ongoing contributions to knowledge generation and translation in international surgery. The ISD has produced a number of publications in its short history and constantly strives to expand the boundaries of surgical research on a global scale.
Expandable List
Global Outcomes in Surgery
Principal and Co-Investigators: Dr. Brian Cameron, Dr. Karen Bailey and Dr. Michael Livingston
McMaster Children’s Hospital joined the GlobalSurg Project in September 2014 and is now an active study site. GlobalSurg is an international, prospective audit of clinical outcomes following emergency abdominal surgery. The purpose of this project is to determine internationally relevant, modifiable surgical practices associated with the best outcomes.
Disability Averted by Pediatric Surgery (DAPS)
Principal and Co-Investigators: Dr. Brian Cameron and Dr. Dan Poenaru
The DAPS project is focused on describing the scope of pediatric surgical practice and understanding the global burden of disease in children in Kenya and Canada, two widely divergent settings, by determining disability weights for surgical conditions. Learn more about DAPS.
Trauma Team Training (TTT) Program in Guyana: An International Collaboration
Principal Investigator: Dr. Brian Cameron
The Trauma Team Training Course is a nationally accredited trauma program in Guyana. The TTT Update course was piloted November 2011 to allow TTT graduates to sharpen their skills while focusing on teamwork capacity in a one-day setting. Study results will help inform the development of an official TTT Update manual for the Canadian Network for International Surgery.
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
- GlobalSurg Collaborative. Mortality of emergency abdominal surgery in high-, middle- and low-income countries. Br J Surg. 2016; E-Published ahead of print. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com /doi/10.1002/ bjs.1015 1/epdf (PDF)
- Bruni A, Kazmi K, Bailey K, Rambaran N, Rambaran M, Cameron B, Pemberton J. A qualitative assessment of trauma team performance at Georgetown Public Hospital in Guyana. West Indian Medical Journal. 2015; E-Published ahead of print. https://www.mona.uwi.edu/fms/wimj/article/2367
- Poenaru D, Pemberton J, Frankfurter C, Cameron B. Quantifying the disability averted through pediatric surgery: a cross-sectional comparison of a pediatric surgical unit in Kenya and Canada. World J Surg. 2015 Sep;39(9):2198-206. http://link.springer. com/article/10.1007%2Fs00268-015-3103-8
- Poenaru D, Pemberton J, Cameron BH. The Burden of Waiting: DALYs Accrued from Delayed Access to Pediatric Surgery in Kenya and Canada. J Pediatr Surg. 2015; 50(5): 765-770. http://www.ncbi.nlm. nih.gov/pubmed/25783371
- Margolick J, Kanters DM, Cameron BH. Incorporating procedural skills into pre-departure training for medical students participating in international elective. Can Med Ed J. 2015; 6(1): e23-e33. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC4563617/
- Livingston H, D’Cruz J, Pemberton J, Ozgediz D, Poenaru D. Mortality of pediatric surgical conditions in low and middle income countries in Africa. J Pediatr Surg. 2015; 50(5): 760-764. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25783373
- Cameron BH, Martin C, Rambaran M. Surgical training in Guyana: the next generation. Canadian Journal of Surgery. 2015; 58(1): 7-9. doi: 10.1503/cjs.010414. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC4309757/
Published Abstracts
- Harrop T, O’Flynn E, Howard A, Jani P, Bekele A, Cameron BH. Surgery in Africa Journal Club: a north-south e-learning collaboration for surgical residents in the COSECSA Region. Can J Surg. 2016; 59(3 Suppl 3): S66. http://canjsurg.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/59-3-S65.pdf
- Pemberton J, Poenaru D, Derbew MD, Neufeld V, Cameron BH. Ready, set, go! Follow-up from the 2014 Bethune Round Table Global Surgery Research Working Group. Can J Surg. 2016; 59(3 Suppl 3): S72. http://canjsurg.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/59-3-S65.pdf
- Galloro L, Pemberton J, Cameron BH. Surgical education partnerships: a socially responsible approach to augment surgical capacity. Can J Surg. 2015; 58(4 Suppl 1): S168.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC4603959/
Presentations
- Cameron BH. Surgery in Africa Journal Club: A North-South E-learning Collaboration for Surgical Residents in the COSECSA Region. Bethune Round Table 2016. Halifax, Nova Scotia. 2016-06-3.
- Galloro L, Pemberton J, Cameron BH. Surgical education partnerships: a socially responsible approach to augment surgical capacity. Bethune Round Table on International Surgery. Calgary, Alberta. June 4-7, 2015.
- Livingston MH, DCruz J, Pemberton J, Poenaru D, Ozgediz D. Pediatric general surgery outcomes in low and middle-income countries in Africa: What is being studied and where do we go from here? Bethune Round Table. Hamilton, Canada. 2014-06-07.
- Pemberton J, Frankfurter C, Cameron BH, Poenaru D. Quantification of Global Burden of Pediatric Surgical Disease Using Disability Weights: Implications for Priority Setting. Bethune Round Table 2014. Hamilton, Canada. 2014-6-5.
Poster Presentations
- Pemberton J, Poenaru D, Derbew MD, Neufeld V, Cameron BH. Ready, Set, Go! Follow-up from the 2014 Bethune Round Table Global Surgery Research Working Group. Bethune Round Table 2016. 2016-06-04.
- Prashad A, Grierson L, Cameron BH, McConnell M, Rambaran M. Retention and Capacity Building in the University of Guyana Surgical Training Program: A Case Study Exploration of Eyal and Hurst’s Framework for Locally-Relevant Training Canadian Conference on Medical Education. Montreal, Quebec. 2016-04-18.
- Bruni A, Kazmi K, Bailey K, Rambaran N, Rambaran M, Cameron BH, Pemberton J. A qualitative assessment of trauma team performance at Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation in Guyana. Canadian Conference on Global Health 2015. 2015-11-05.
- Prashad A, Cameron BH, McConnell M, Rambaran M, Grierson LEM. A Case Study Exploration of Retention and Capacity Building in Guyana’s Surgical Training Program. 8th Annual Guyana Medical and Scientific Conference 2015.
- Rekman J, Moro E, Greene B, Cameron BH. Assessing the Needs of the MMed (Surgery) Program in Gulu, Uganda. Global Partners in Anesthesia and Surgery Conference 2015.
- Pemberton J, Prashad C, Lett R, Cameron BH. Trauma Team Training: From Uganda to the World. Global Partners in Anesthesia and Surgery Conference 2015.
- Duncan AW, Waiswa M, Prebtani APH, Verhovsek MM, O’Shea TM, Kruisselbrink R, Cameron BH, Kagoma P. Fifteen years experience with Canadian ‘Hands on’ electives for Ugandan physicians. Global Partners in Anesthesia and Surgery Conference 2015.
Videos
- Guyana Canada Surgical Research Workshop
- Instructional video demonstrates a novel device for intraosseous needle insertion using the Near Needle Holder
Resources and Links
Expandable List
Service
According to our 2010 survey, 79% of faculty and 84% of McMaster residents and fellows who responded indicated interest in international surgery activities. Countries that have been visited by McMaster surgeons include: Kenya, Angola, Libya, Morocco, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Egypt, Israel, Japan, Laos, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, China, India, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Guyana, Venezuela, Haiti, Mexico, USA, Austria and Turkey.
Global Involvement of the International Surgery Desk (ISD)
Countries highlighted red indicate ISD involvement.