Over 10 years, from 2013 to 2023, with the 2nd CHANCE Association, we have carried out 36 surgical missions in eastern Congo DRC and operated on more than 500 patients as part of the training of local doctors in thyroid goitre surgery.

Dr BAKONGA is the only qualified Congolese surgeon in the entire Haut and Bas Uélé region (population 4.5 million). We want to support him so that he can continue to teach surgery to young local doctors. The incidence of giant goitres is particularly high throughout Central Africa, and few surgeons are trained to treat them.

The aim is to continue teaching this delicate surgical technique using our vast experience in goitre surgery, but also to facilitate the development of other more specific treatments, such as the treatment of hydrocephalus in children or laparoscopy for gynaecological pathologies.

The buddy system, which involves two surgeons operating together and guiding the trainee surgeon through programmed operations step by step, is highly effective and enables rapid progress to be made in terms of skills and procedures.

The trainers will assist the Congolese surgeons to guide them and help them progress in their surgical practice:

• On the one hand, the aim will be to ensure that surgical indications are correct, that patients are informed and prepared for the operation, and to teach surgical techniques to younger doctors. The aim will be to supervise and improve the basic skills of surgeons in training at GRACE HOSPITAL, with particular emphasis on intra-operative risks and complications
• It will also help to set up basic laparoscopic equipment and improve Dr Bakonga’s skills in laparoscopic surgery for pre-selected patients. Women with gynaecological pathologies are particularly concerned by this non-invasive technique. In each case, patients are operated on in collaboration and then, as their skills improve, under the supervision of an expert.

The direct impact on the population is better surgical management, with less mortality and morbidity, and shorter hospital stays, enabling patients to resume their daily activities as soon as possible. In a region with no social or private health insurance, this essential point provides patients with financial relief. This first mission will identify the needs and put in place the steps for acquiring the equipment and planning the training.