The R.E.S.T.O.R.E. team of healthcare volunteers, led by celebrity plastic surgeon, Dr. Michael K. Obeng, will be transforming lives in Cameroon through reconstructive surgery.
This is the first time that the team has travelled to Cameroon to perform free reconstructive surgery.
The medical mission commenced on June 23 and runs through June 27, 2022. Patient evaluation was started on June 23 and on Friday June 24, the team started the surgical operations.
Due to the current state of COVID-19, safety measures have been amplified and implemented on site to ensure that all regulations are being met or exceeded.
The patient screenings and surgeries are being done at l’Hôpital Militaire de Yaoundé.
This will be the 15th year that the R.E.S.T.O.R.E. team has embarked on such a humanitarian mission. The team of selfless volunteers have visited and performed reconstructive surgeries in Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Laos, Mexico, Nigeria, Senegal and Vietnam.
During this mission, the team will be performing approximately fifty (50) reconstructive surgeries and train a good number of local healthcare professionals as well as exchange ideas.
Last December, the team of 26 healthcare volunteers from five different countries and three different continents performed 111 free surgeries in Darkar, Senegal. This endeavor touched countless numbers of people and positively impacted the community at large.
To date, R.E.S.T.O.R.E. has performed over 1,600 surgeries free of charge in three different continents, the monetary value exceeding $80 Million USD.
“The opportunity to be able to bring hope and change the narrative in a community that has been devastated by deformities and disease processes is very humbling. I am very thankful and grateful to all the volunteers over the years; the ones who have donated money and those who have donated their time. We couldn’t have been able to accomplish all our good works without these amazing people,” says Dr. Obeng.
“I am also very thankful to my good friend and financial sponsor of this mission to Cameroon, Mr. Eran Moas and his family as well as our hosts Dr. Col. Hamadou and Dr. Achta Hamadou”, concludes Dr. Obeng.
This year’s volunteers include Prof. Dr. Col. Racine Kane, Dr. Maj. Abibou N’Diaye, Dr. Fatoumata Bah, Oscar Garcia, John Okyere, Mercy Boateng, Mbacke Dioum, Collins Boateng and Serge Mbeutcha.
About R.E.S.T.O.R.E. Worldwide Inc.; The Foundation for Reconstructive Surgery
R.E.S.T.O.R.E. is an acronym that stands for Restoring Emotional Stability Through Outstanding Reconstructive Efforts. It is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit medical service organisation that provides free reconstructive surgery and related medical services to children and adults with disfiguring deformities from birth, accidents and diseases involving not only the head and neck region, but also the trunk, breasts, extremities, and genitalia. It was founded in 2007 by Dr. Michael K. Obeng.
As part of its mission, R.E.S.T.O.R.E. also educates and trains local medical professionals on the latest techniques and safety measures in plastic and reconstructive surgery, effecting change long after the R.E.S.T.O.R.E. team leaves these communities.
About Dr. Michael K. Obeng
Dr. Michael K Obeng, popularly known as The Surgeon’s Surgeon is a Harvard trained, board-certified plastic surgeon.
In March this year, Dr Obeng reached an agreement with Sushen Medicamentos PVT LTD. to build a $50 millionUSD WHO GMP-certified first-class pharmaceutical plant in Akwamu in the Eastern Region of Ghana to curtail the importation of fake drugs into the country.
He also runs Global Health Solution, a consulting firm, that is bridging the gap between “morbidity and healthy living” in developing countries.
Dr. Obeng is among the rare few plastic surgeons in the world to successfully reattach a limb, remove ribs to streamline the waist. He specializes in cosmetic surgery and complex reconstruction, hence, the nickname, “The Surgeon’s Surgeon” as dubbed by his colleagues.
Dr. Michael K. Obeng was named among “America’s Top Plastic Surgeons” by the Consumer’s Research Council of America in 2011 and 2014.
The Ghanaian-born surgeon gained global recognition in 2021 after successfully removing Gorilla Glue from the hair of “internet sensation” Tessica Brown by using bio-friendly chemicals he put together in less than 48 hrs.
He is a father, an award-winning motivational speaker, philanthropist, humanitarian and a global health strategist.