Speakers
Ashtin Doorgakant
Alex Schade
Surg Cdr Steve Mannion
Simon Graham
Sean Kelly
Elodie Gloria Ewolo Sike
Mengistu Gebreyohanes Mengesha
Specialist Society
Session Title: Transforming lives in less resourced environments
Session Description: WOC-UK is a charitable organisation and specialist society of the British Orthopaedic Association. We work to raise the standard of orthopaedic, trauma, and reconstructive surgery in low- and middle-income countries through education, training, research and hands-on clinical support.
Our volunteers—experienced UK orthopaedic surgeons—travel to partner hospitals overseas, delivering expert teaching and mentoring to local teams. We also offer overseas placements for UK orthopaedic trainees, contributing to their professional development while supporting global health.
WOC-UK advocates within the NHS and the UK orthopaedic community to highlight the critical need for equitable global orthopaedic care. We also collaborate with other UK-based organisations working in disaster relief, surgical training, research and capacity building.
Co-Chairs: Ashtin Doorgakant and Alex Schade
Agenda:
10:30 - 10:45 A history through WOC-UK Steve Mannion
10:45 - 11:00 WOC-UK medal presentation Graeme Groom
11:00 - 11:15 Setting up a THR service in Zambia Sean Kelly
11:15 - 11:30 International Guest speaker: Development of Ethiopian Orthopaedics focusing on Clinical service expansion, Academia and Research Mengistu Mengesha (Ethiopia)
11:30 - 11:45 BOTA International Guest speaker: Modified Masquelet Technique for Infected Segmental Long Bone Defects in a Low-Resource Setting of Sub-Saharan Africa: A Prospective Comparative Study from Cameroon Elodie Sike (Cameroon)
11:45 - 11:50 NIHR funding update Simon Graham
Ashtin is a consultant in Trauma and Orthopaedics with a subspecialist interest in foot and ankle surgery.
He has spent 2 years as VSO volunteer in Malawi 2010-2012 and been actively involved with WOC UK since. He was BOTA linkman, then trainee representative and now is chairman of WOC UK. He is an alumni of BOA Future Leaders Programme. He has run a yearly surgical camp in Malawi for the past 3 years under the banner of Feet First. He has trained LMIC surgeons with AO alliance and observed the COSECSA fellowship exams.
He is enthusiastic about teaching and training. He is engaged with BOFAS through their mentorship programme and as international education committee member. He is the current education and governance lead for his department. He is past president Mersey 58 society for regional trainees.
Ashtin loves spending time with his family and is an avid sportsman.
Alex Schade is an ST6 T&O trainee in the West Midlands and completed his Wellcome Trust PhD on outcomes of open tibia fractures in Malawi between 2020-2023. Born and grew up in France, he then studied an undergraduate at King’s College London, medical degree at the University of Bristol and a master’s in public health at the University of Warwick. He has worked in different hospitals across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) including in Uganda, Cambodia and Malawi. He believes that the growing epidemic of disability from musculoskeletal conditions can be reduced through good clinical practice and high-quality collaborative research. His specific research interests include strengthening orthopaedic services in LMICs, cost-effective interventions, and policy implementation to ensure research leads to meaningful impact. He is particularly interested in paediatric orthopaedic pathology in LMICs.
Steve Mannion, MA MChir DTM&H DMCC FRCS (Tr & Orth) RD is Head of the Department of Conflict and Catastrophe Medicine at St George’s, University of London, combining this with a part time appointments as an NHS consultant orthopaedic surgeon in Blackpool and Preston. For up to 6 months a year he also undertakes orthopaedic education and training projects in the less developed world and has extensive experience in humanitarian surgical projects in conflict areas, including Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. He has established clubfoot treatment projects in many less developed countries and is Medical Director of the Global Clubfoot Initiative. Steve is a lead clinician in the UK response to International Disasters and past Chairman of World Orthopaedic Concern (UK).
Simon is an Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Trauma at the University of Oxford and a Limb Reconstruction Consultant Surgeon at Liverpool University Hospital Foundation Trust.
Simon's research focuses on advancing higher standards of care in musculoskeletal trauma in low- and middle-income countries. He completed a Wellcome Trust Clinical Research PhD Fellowship at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the University of Edinburgh. His project investigated fracture healing in HIV positive patients and was awarded the prestigious Royal College of Surgeons Hunterian Professorship and Syme Medal. He also holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Leeds.
Sean is an Orthopaedic and Trauma surgeon based in the Highlands of Scotland in Inverness. Early training was undertaken in Scotland, Belfast and New Zealand.
After 30 years working as NHS surgeon has now retired from clinical practice whilst maintaining a non -clinical role locally. Previously Sean was chair of the SAB group at RCS Ed., and continues within that committee in the current Orthopaedic advisory group.
For the last two years Sean has been involved with Flyspec.
This is an NGO based in Zambia and he has helped in their ongoing projects. This includes trauma work and a hip arthroplasty project.
Dr Elodie Gloria Ewolo Sike is a trainee in Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery at the Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Cameroon. She is actively involved in the management of musculoskeletal conditions in both children and adults. Her main areas of interest include Bone and Joint infections, on which she has published, as well as growth-related disorders and lower limb deformities.
Deeply engaged in research and scientific communication, she has a particular interest in adapting and optimizing surgical techniques in resource-limited settings. Awarded the British Orthopaedic Association (BOA) Travel Bursary 2025, she will present her work on the use of a modified Masquelet technique for the management of bone defects in a sub-Saharan African context, and will also undertake a clinical observership at the Leicester Royal Infirmary.
Her ambition is to further strengthen her clinical and academic expertise, with the long-term goal of contributing to the development and teaching of orthopaedic surgery in sub-Saharan Africa.
Mengistu Gebreyohanes Mengesha is an orthopedic and spine surgeon and faculty member at Hawassa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Ethiopia, where he serves as Chair of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery and leads the residency program. He is committed to improving musculoskeletal (MSK) care in resource-limited settings through clinical leadership, research and training. Dr. Mengistu is principal investigator of the “Bone Setting Associated Disability (BOSAD)” project, which investigates factors influencing the preference for traditional bone setting and promotes timely and evidence-based orthopedic care. He established the department’s Research Unit and developed the CORE MSK Injury Registry to collect comprehensive data on injury patterns and outcomes, soon to be expanded to four additional centers. His research provides valuable evidence for clinicians, policymakers and global health stakeholders working to strengthen injury care systems in low-income countries. Through innovation and collaboration, Mengistu strives to enhance orthopedic and trauma services in Ethiopia and beyond.
Graeme Groom is an orthopaedic surgeon at King's College Hospital. He came to medicine late with the Army funding his studies.
An interest in trauma was almost inevitable as he has been involved in the care of the wounded from 15 wars or civil disasters. He set up a Limb Reconstruction Service at Queen Elizabeth Military Hospital, joined the fledgling Circular Frame Users Group, and was a founder member of the BLRS.
The service moved with him to King's in 1993 and has developed into a specialised team, boasting ready access to both mental health and Citizens Advice support, funded by the Rebuild charity. It plugs the many gaps in NHS provision.
He joined IDEALS in 2009, when it first began working in Gaza, and is now Co-Chair. The focus there has been principally on Limb Reconstruction. The consistent objectives, with brilliant NHS colleagues, were treatment, training, building capacity, and delivering equipment. The team has been thoroughly embedded in the excellent local service. The project was to end, "job done", in October 2023. The subsequent humanitarian catastrophe has involved 14 Missions from IDEALS; he has been on 4 and denied once. The need continues, and the work intensifies.
Graeme was appointed CMG in the New Year Honours 2025.