“Collaborating with international colleagues on these missions is always an enriching experience,” said Dr. Anish Kadakia, a volunteer surgeon with Northwestern Medicine who attended the Namibia program. “I feel like I become a better surgeon with each program, which benefits my practice and my patients when I return home.”

The 2024 Q2 programs included:

April 15 – 19: Monterrey, Mexico, Hospital Christus Muguerza Alta Especialidad

• Chaired by Dr. Mark Myerson, the organization returned to Mexico for the third year. Hosted by Drs. Jaime Ortiz and Omar Vela, the week-long program included volunteer surgeons Drs. Gaston Slullitel, Gabriel Khazen and Lorenzo Gámez. The mission resulted in the training of 31 registrants and the treatment of 18 patients, including an 8-year-old boy who can now fulfill his dream of playing soccer. While there, Steps2Walk volunteers also saw patients from their 2023 mission, checking on their progress and recovery.

May 15 – 17: Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Hospital Escuela – Instituto Hondureño de Seguridad Social

• Dr. Mark Myerson chaired the mission, with Drs. Ariel Palanca from San Diego and Rodrigo Diaz from Spain participating in the organization’s first program in the country. Hosted by Dr. Carlos Fortin, Steps2Walk wrapped up this program after performing 24 surgeries and providing education for several local residents and surgeons.

June 12 – 14: La Paz, Bolivia, Hospital Arcoiris

• The 2024 program, chaired by Dr. Alberto Macklin from Argentina, marked the nonprofit’s third surgical mission in Bolivia. Hosted by Dr. Jorge Zabalaga, the organization trained 32 local surgeons and performed 27 surgeries on 15 patients with foot and ankle deformities. The team included volunteer surgeons Drs. Luis Hermida and Jaime Ortiz from Mexico.

June 10 – 14: Windhoek, Namibia, Windhoek Central Hospital

• Steps2Walk returned to Namibia for the sixth time, a country with a high prevalence of clubfoot (approximately eight in 1,000 children born in Namibia have clubfoot, compared to 1 in 1,000 in the US). Chaired by Dr. Mark Myerson, Drs. Jacques Jonck and TK Majojo hosted the 2024 program. The mission’s volunteer surgeons included Drs. Jose Sanhudo (Brazil), Andy Molloy (UK) and Anish Kadakia (USA). The team performed 32 surgeries and provided surgical education to 27 program registrants.

“The dedication of the hospital staff and the resilience of the patients in Namibia is remarkable, as is the country’s commitment to providing comprehensive care, including transportation for surgery and post-op care,” said Kadakia. “It is truly inspiring and a model for other nations.”

To help change the reality of surgeon education in the countries Steps2Walk visits, most of which have very few if any orthopedic surgeons specialized in foot and ankle deformities, the nonprofit delivers training with an ongoing, sustainable education model made possible through their Steps2Walk Global Institute.

“We believe educating and training local surgeons will ultimately translate into helping thousands of patients worldwide,” said Myerson. “That’s at the core of our model and why we launched the Global Institute earlier this year. Many of the local surgeons and residents we see are hungry to learn new techniques so they can support their communities. Ultimately, our goal is that we’ll never need to return to these countries because they have enough trained surgeons to fulfill their foot and ankle surgical needs.”

Steps2Walk has three programs scheduled for Q3, two of which occurred in July in Beijing, China, and Lima, Peru. Additionally, the team will travel to Uruguay in September to round out the quarter.

For more information on how to become a volunteer faculty member or trainee participant in one of the Steps2Walk Programs, visit https://steps2walk.org/faculty/. Steps2Walk also accepts donations, which can give the gift of walking to those most in need and help fund critical training and education for regional orthopedic surgeons.

About Steps2Walk

Steps2Walk, a 501(c)(3) organization, is an international network of surgeons working to perform surgical care on individuals suffering from severe foot and ankle deformities in under-served regions of the world, while simultaneously educating orthopedic surgeons in various treatment and care alternatives. Founded by Dr. Mark Myerson in 2000 to provide a sustainable model of care and surgical training and to help patients regain their mobility and improve their quality of life, Steps2Walk envisions a world where everyone, no matter their circumstances, has access to quality surgical foot and ankle care. In its eight years of service, Steps2Walk has completed more than 1,650 surgical operations and trained more than 1,600 regional surgeons in over 24 countries around the globe. By investing time into educating local surgeons and revisiting countries where the need is greatest and the resources are few, Steps2Walk is creating a lasting impact that will ultimately give The Gift of Walking to thousands of people worldwide.

Media Contact

Lee Redding, Steps2Walk, 1 706-537-6596, [email protected], steps2walk.org

SOURCE Steps2Walk