Overseas Outreach

The application period for the 2019 trip to Vietnam is now closed. Selected volunteers will be notified in early 2019 and travel in May/June 2019.

Through the Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Foundation Overseas Outreach Projects, AOFAS members have the opportunity to use their surgical expertise to help children and adults in underserved areas. Surgeons volunteer time and pay for their own travel, and the Foundation covers in-country expenses for food, lodging, travel, and logistics support.

The Foundation currently sponsors outreach trips to Vietnam with plans to expand to new sites in the future. Contact foundation@aofas.org with questions.

Vietnam

Since the first Overseas Outreach Project to Vietnam in 2002, AOFAS volunteers have performed surgery on nearly 1,500 patients and evaluated more than 3,500 patients in clinics, all at no charge to the patients. A total of 60 AOFAS members from around the world have participated in the project. Read about the 2018 Vietnam Project.

Volunteer surgeons spend 1-2 weeks in northern Vietnam and Hanoi working side-by-side with Vietnamese orthopaedic surgeons – teaching, seeing patients in the clinics, and performing surgery. Volunteers also present at the annual orthopaedic educational conference in Hanoi and at provincial hospitals. The annual project is scheduled over a four-week period in May/June.

Applications for the 2020 trip will open in Fall 2019.

Future Sites

In response to the great interest from AOFAS members for service opportunities, the Humanitarian Services Committee is currently exploring additional sites for humanitarian outreach. Watch this page for updates.

"This type of mission really tests you and makes you realize how lucky we are in our first-world situations... It is a privilege to be able to help people who would otherwise get limited or no care for their problems."
— Geoffrey M. Tymms, MBBS, Melbourne, Australia

"My favorite part of this mission is working with the other AOFAS surgeons. We learn from each other."
— Ruth L. Thomas, MD, Little Rock, Arkansas

Interested in volunteering? Ask these AOFAS members about their experiences!

Jorge Acevedo, MD (Jacksonville, FL)
Mario Kuhn Adames, MD (Florianopolis, Brazil)
Robert S. Adelaar, MD (Richmond, VA)
Angel Arnaud Franco, MD (Monterrey, Mexico)
L. Samuel Barouk, MD (Bordeaux, France)
Judith F. Baumhauer, MD, MPH (Rochester, NY)
D. Scott Biggerstaff, MD (Winston-Salem, NC)
R. Dale Blasier, MD (Little Rock, AR)
Nathan Bruck, MD (Givatayim, Israel)
Loretta B. Chou, MD (Redwood City, CA)
R. Richard Coughlin, MD (San Francisco, CA)
Raman K. Dega, MBBS (Wexham, England)
Greta E. Dereymaeker, MD (Leuven, Belgium)
Paul S. Docktor, MD (Denver, CO)
Sandra A. Eisele, MD, MBA (Cincinnati, OH)
Jessica A. Faught, MD (Portland, ME)
Lorenzo Gamez, MD (East Setauket, NY)
William H. Gondring, MD (St. Joseph, MO)
Naren G. Gurbani, MD (Downey, CA)
Aaron J. Guyer, MD (Tallahassee, FL)
Thomas Hearty, MD, DPT (Bethesda, MD)
Paul J. Hecht, MD (Lebanon, NH)
Minoo H. Hollis, MD (Navarre, FL)
A. Holly Johnson, MD (Boston, MA)
Justin M. Kane, MD (Dallas, TX)
L. Daniel Latt, MD, PhD (Tucson, AZ)
Thomas H. Lee, MD (Pickerington, OH)
Lowell D. Lutter, MD (St. Paul, MN)
Victor W. Macko, MD (Stockton, CA)
Angus M. McBryde, MD (Columbia, SC)

Thomas A. McDonald, MD (Springfield, MA)
Francis X. McGuigan, MD (Washington, DC)
Kathleen A. McHale, MD (Alexandria, VA)
Robert Mihalich, MD (Brighton, MI)
João de Carvalho Neto, MD (São Paulo, Brazil)
Mier Nyska, MD (Sde-Nitzan, Israel)
Paul J. Juliano, MD (Hershey, PA)
E. Greer Richardson, MD (Memphis, TN)
Pascal F. Rippstein, MD (Zurich, Switzerland)
Michael M. Romash, MD (Chesapeake, VA)
Nimrod Ron, MD (Caesarea, Israel)
Peter B. Salamon, MD (Stockton, CA)
Pierce E. Scranton, MD (Kirkland, WA)
Steven C. Sheskier, MD (New York, NY)
Naomi N. Shields, MD (San Antonio, TX)
Mark P. Slovenkai, MD (Chestnut Hill, MA)
Michael B. Strauss, MD (Long Beach, CA)
Raymond J. Sullivan, MD (Hartford, CT)
Altug Tanriover, MD (Ankara, Turkey)
Ruth L. Thomas, MD (Little Rock, AR)
Saul G. Trevino, MD (Morrisville, VT)
J. Loch Trimingham, MD (Bellingham, WA)
Geoffrey M. Tymms, MBBS (Melbourne, Australia)
Isabella V. van Dalen, MD, PhD (Almere, Netherlands)
Robert G. Veith, MD (Renton, WA)
J. Turner Vosseller, MD (New York, NY)
Keith L. Wapner, MD (Philadelphia, PA)

Thank You

Funding for the 2019 Overseas Outreach Project to Vietnam is provided by the Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Foundation, supported by a grant from Stryker

Thank You

General support for 2019 humanitarian efforts is provided by the Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Foundation, supported by a grant from Paragon28.

Paragon28