Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Third World Medical Missions

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History

Since the inception of the program, three opportunities for foreign service in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery have evolved. The longest standing rotation involves the resources of Dr. Frank Pilney and the late Dr. Mike Messenger, who have performed cleft lip and palate repairs in Peru to for over 15 years.

Dr. Pilney has been in the same location for this entire time and has evolved a very close working relationship with the Hospital San Juan de Dios in Lima, Peru (shown in the image at left). Dr. Pilney's relationship with them has been remarkable in that he has excellent opportunities to follow up on his patients as they come back periodically to this site when his team is there. Dr. Pilney is a distinguished plastic surgeon in the Twin Cities and a clinical faculty member who provides an excellent teaching environment for our residents while they are in Peru.

Other opportunities involve initiatives established by our staff members, Dr. Warren Schubert, Dr. Jeff Aldridge, Dr. Mark Migliori, and Dr. Marie Christensen. Each have made several trips to their various sites in Guatemala and Honduras to work with cleft lip and palate patients and other congenital anomalies and routinely take residents and other staff members.

Resident Experience

The Plastic Surgery Resident is afforded the opportunity to join the Peruvian team in the final year of training. Close to 100 operations are performed over a two week period. Each resident visits the site for approximately one week, and may go on one or more foreign service missions per year.

The residents have the same responsibilities in the foreign service mission as they do if the cases are done at the University or affiliated hospitals. Namely, the residents are expected to participate in the triage of the patients, the formulation of a treatment plan either independently to be reviewed by the staff or in conjunction with the staff, and to evolve and participate actively in a treatment plan. This affords an optimal learning experience, as well as insures the best service to the patients.

This elective experience is regarded as extremely rewarding by the residents.