AO Alliance/AO CMF facial trauma education in Ghana

The AO Alliance has been working with three of the AO specialties (AO Trauma, AO Spine, and AO CMF) to advance care of the injured in low resource settings. After six months of preparation, 31 oral and maxillofacial surgeons from the major cities in Ghana attended the first AO Alliance/AO CMF course on the management of facial trauma on November 19-20, 2021.

A generous donation of orthopedic equipment and implants for educational purposes during practical exercises was made by DePuy Synthes, who has been donating such equipment to the AO Alliance since 2019. This evidence-based education event was strategically developed to meet the increasing burden of facial injuries in the rapidly developing West African region.

A teacher training course also took place for faculty to develop the knowledge and skills they need to teach craniomaxillofacial (CMF) surgery. They learned how to run training sessions, observe teaching, and give feedback. This high-level and needs-based course was the first of its kind in the region.

The AO Alliance would like to thank Dr Solomon Obiri-Yeboah (Ghana Course Chair), Dr Maxwell Adjei, Dr Alexander Oti Acheampong, Dr Mathew Boamah, Dr Robert Nii Lamy Larmie, and Dr Richard Serlormeyy for their local expertise; as well as AO CMF faculty Dr Seidu Bello (Middle East Northern Africa (MENA) Regional Board Representative – Nigeria), Dr Gregorio Sanchez Aniceto (International Board Chair – Spain), and Dr Amir Elbarbary (MENA Regional Chair ”“ Egypt).

Watch this video by AO TV to learn more about the joint AO Alliance/AO CMF collaboration.