15th Annual IGOT SMART Course

IGOT's flagship 15th Annual San Francisco Surgical Management and Reconstructive Training (SMART) Course takes place September 13-15, 2025! Thirty-five surgeon-attendees from 19 countries worldwide will be attending. The three-day course, held in partnership with IGOT and SIGN Fracture Care, will focus on the management of open fractures/flaps and limb deformities. The course will also include specialty streams on pediatric orthopaedics, arthoplasty, and arthroscopy taught through didactics, case discussions, and Bioskills labs.

Global Resident Electives

Pictured above (L to R): Dr. Kelly Bach and Chief Resident at KATH, Dr. Christin Amoh.

UCSF PGY4 Orthopaedic Surgery resident, Dr. Kelly Bach, recently returned from her global elective at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, Ghana. In line with our Department's commitment to provide one-to-one bidirectional exchanges, a surgeon from KATH will be participating in a four-week observership at UCSF next month.

Dr. Bach described her experience below:

"I am so thankful for my global rotation in Kumasi, Ghana. The residents and consultants showed incredible passion and determination as they worked to provide better outcomes for their patients in a resource-limited setting — in their words, operating in Ghana means you need to have 'plans A, B, C, D, and E,' as they face equipment shortages, C-arm malfunctions, limited economic resources, heavy trauma burden, and more. I have learned so much from their ability to adapt to imperfect circumstances. I also loved the opportunities to teach the junior residents, share surgical techniques and clinical pearls I have learned from UCSF attendings, and give a department-wide presentation on pediatric elbow fractures. The consultants, residents, and every single Ghanaian I met ensured that I was greeted with an extremely warm welcome. Everyone at KATH is so excited for the next UCSF resident to arrive in Kumasi."

Pictured above (L to R): Mexico site director, Dr. Saul Mingüer, and Dr. Jeffrey Kwong.

Dr. Jeffrey Kwong, a UCSF PGY5 Orthopaedic Surgery resident, participated in the Global Resident Elective at Hospital San Lucas and Hospital Regional Presidente Juárez ISSSTE in Oaxaca, México. This is the newest UCSF orthopaedic elective site. Dr. Saul Mingüer serves as the site director and is also the local host for IGOT's Annual Mexico SMART Course.

Dr. Kwong described his experience below:

"My global experience was phenomenal! I had the opportunity to operate together with the orthopaedic surgery residents training in México. We shared OR experiences, discussed surgical techniques, and exchanged residency slang. Dr. Mingüer was an incredibly gracious and welcoming host. I learned so much during the elective, from making cost-conscious medical decisions to seeing the unique challenges and solutions of healthcare in another country. I am excited for Oaxaca to become the newest IGOT site, and am looking forward to seeing the partnership between UCSF and our friends in Mexico continue to grow!"

IGOT Research Fellows

Pictured above (L to R): Sheryne Zeitoun and Chellandra Samuels.

Introducing the 2025-2026 IGOT Research Fellows! Sheryne Zeitoun and Chellandra Samuels will be conducting clinical research projects this year with IGOT faculty.

Sheryne is a medical student at Yale University. Her research includes vector-borne disease surveillance in Kenya, road safety interventions in the Eastern Mediterranean, the burden of orthopaedic trauma in The Gambia, and medical and surgical protocols for managing wartime injuries in limited-resource settings. She applied to the IGOT fellowship to further develop the skills and partnerships needed to integrate orthopaedic surgery and global health in her future career.

Chellandra is an MD/MPH candidate at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, NY, and has conducted health equity research, pursued global health coursework, and held a leadership position as Vice President of Education for the Global Surgery Student Alliance (GSSA). She also co-founded a nine-week orthopaedic mentorship program for high school and college students, providing early exposure to the field. She looks forward to bringing her initiative and passion for advancing equitable care to the next stage of training.

To learn more about IGOT's Research Fellowship, click here.

Orthopaedic Science and Research Podcast

IGOT Board Member, Dr. Ted Miclau, served as a guest on OrthoJoe with Drs. Mohit Bhandari and Marc Swiontkowski (current and past Editors-in-Chief, respectively, of The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery) to comment on a study that was published in April. Dr. Miclau discussed the relevance of this study to clinical management, recent work on bone healing, large-scale international trials, and the importance of studying therapies relevant to the regions in which they are performed.

Keep Our Work Moving Forward

At IGOT, we are on a mission to bridge the gap in global orthopaedic trauma care and we need your help to make it possible! Your donation to IGOT directly supports training local healthcare providers in underserved regions to deliver expert musculoskeletal care.

Thank you for being a part of this vital mission. With your support, we can expand our reach and transform orthopaedic trauma care worldwide.