Father's Day 2012

Our Purpose for Service

In just a few short weeks, an IVUmed volunteer team will be heading to Kampala, Uganda to conduct a female urology workshop. IVUmed workshops give our volunteer urologists the opportunity to change the lives of their host colleagues and their patients. The local doctors will gain essential surgical skills through training and educational models developed by IVUmed and its volunteers, who maintain professional contact throughout the year to continue the learning process.  Our international partners can then use their new capacity to help patients in their community, even after the volunteers have left.

This is a monumental event for our partner physicians, as well as patients like Veronica Nandego, shown above. Veronica Nandego mentions, "I have urinated on myself for 50 years." Not only has she suffered countless years of public humiliation but has lost three children, lost ability to bear children and no longer presents proper urinary function. Veronica's story is very common across Africa due to lack of capable physicians to perform the proper surgeries to deter maternal issues from becoming this severe.

IVUmed was contacted by local medical professionals in Uganda in hopes of coordinating for the upcoming workshop. We have had the opportunity to arrange travel arrangements for Veronica to reach Mulago Hospital, where the workshop will be hosted, approximately 45 kilometers away from her one-room hut in Bugembe.

Working with IVUmed's volunteer physicians will better equip the local doctors with the skills they need to help many African women like Veronica return to society and  live a normal life.

IVUmed's motto, Teach One, Reach Many, guides our continuing successes in improving the quality of life for individuals worldwide through building the confidence and skill sets of local medical professionals.

To read more about Veronica's story and personal life, continue to this article.


Map of Uganda from Jinja district, where Veronica lives, to Mulago Hospital in Uganda.

Mother's Day 2012

April 2012 - IVUmed Team To Senegal

Mary Frances James, MD

Eastern Virginia Medical School

Nairobi, Kenya – March 3 – 13, 2012

Mentor: Dr. Kurt McCammon

Sponsored by: The Mid Atlantic Section of the AUA

Through the generous sponsorship provided by the Mid Atlantic Section of the AUA, Dr. Mary Frances James traveled to Nairobi, Kenya with mentor Dr. Kurt McCammon.  Dr. James had the opportunity to experience grassroots surgery and its value in a developing nation.

 Reporting on her experience, Dr. James stated: 

“At the time of our arrival there was a nursing strike going on throughout the city including Nazareth Hospital.  This situation was very stressful for the sisters and added strain to the daily hospital management as the patient census continued to increase each day. …Despite this ongoing struggle within the hospital we were graciously welcomed by the FIHM sisters on our arrival.”

“The operating room staff was very hospitable and allowed us to use one of the two main operating rooms.”

“The first couple of days consisted of several second stage urethroplasties.... This was a wonderful experience as it was the first time I had seen this operation.”

“Overall my IVU trip was a wonderful experience. Traveling to Africa and working within the constraints of limited resources was an eye-opening and humbling experience.  In a field such as urology that has transformed with development of robotics and minimally invasive care I think it is important to remember how different healthcare is throughout the world.  I am extremely grateful for having had this opportunity and look forward to a lifelong commitment to urologic mission work."

Resident Scholar Reflections

Judith Hagedorn, MD

Stanford University

Hebron, West Bank – March 15 – March 24, 2012

Mentor: Dr. Scott Eggener

Sponsored by: Verathon

Through the generous sponsorship provided by Verathon, Dr. Judith Hagedorn traveled to Hebron, West Bank with mentor Dr. Scott Eggener to learn and assist surgeries at Hebron Hospital. Although in a politically turmoiled area, Dr. Hagedorn was able to develop an understanding of the diversities in healthcare due to limited resources.

Reporting on her experience, Dr. Hagedorn stated:

"Every morning we got picked up with the Ambulance of the Hebron Hospital. Our Palestinian driver made a daily pit stop, either to get some strong Arabic coffee or freshly fried falafels. 

"The hospital was quite simple, but clean. The staff was very friendly and showed

their appreciation for our visit. In addition, the patients were overly thankful and there was never a day we didn’t leave the hospital without a small present from one of the patients’ families.

"The clinical decision-making was also quite interesting and different from what I had learned in the Western World…. I had a wonderful, eye-opening, and rewarding experience, which definitely strengthened my passion to contribute to global health, and I am already looking forward to my next international medical/surgical trip."

Interested in learning more about our resident scholar program?

Find more information at our website, www.ivumed.org.

Jonathon Wu, MD

Stanford University

Hue, Vietnam – February 17 – March 4, 2012

Mentor: Dr. Walter Beh, MD

Sponsored by: The Western Section of the AUA

Through the generous sponsorship provided by the Western Section of the AUA, Dr. Jonathon Wu traveled to Hue, Vietnam with mentor Dr. Walter Beh. Dr. Wu and his mentor collaborated with Dr. Hung and his colleagues of the urology department, focusing on 19 patients with difficult cases. Dr. Wu was able to perform his first open pyelolithotomy under the supervision of a Vietnamese colleague, Dr. Tuan.

Reporting on his experience, Dr. Wu stated:

"In our two weeks of working mainly with Dr. Hung, I was very impressed by his surgical technique. Open surgery involved tediously dissecting out important structures and controlling all bleeding quickly with cautery or ligatures. He moved very quickly in the OR but was very purposeful with his movements. No suture was wasted as instrument tying was performed whenever possible. Bigger cases would often involve 2 attending surgeons intertwined in a well-rehearsed ballet.“What was even more impressive was the efficiency and resourcefulness of the hospital. We mostly worked with Dr. Hung who has been on the urology staff for 6 years. He is quite motivated and very enthusiastic.

"This disparity was made much more obvious to us when we observed a kidney transplant on our last day.… During the course of our 2 weeks, we were able to see the kinds of needs our Vietnamese colleagues had."