Specialists push to expand access to life-changing reconstructive surgery beyond Nairobi

Specialists in Kenya are working to expand access to complex reconstructive surgery beyond Nairobi, with a weeklong microsurgery workshop at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) demonstrating procedures that can help patients recover function, appearance and confidence after serious illness or injury.

The Surgeons in Humanitarian Alliance for Reconstruction, Research and Education (SHARE) workshop featured two complex reconstructive procedures.

The first was a Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator (DIEP) flap procedure for a patient undergoing breast reconstruction after a mastectomy for breast cancer.

The second involved facial reconstruction for a patient whose facial skin had been extensively damaged in an acid attack.

Both patients are recuperating in the wards.

The 7–8-hour procedures involved harvesting and transferring tissue and blood vessels from other parts of the body, followed by the meticulous reconnection of blood vessels to those in the affected areas.

Prof. Ferdinand Nangole, Programme Director and Thematic Head of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Nairobi and Consultant Plastic Surgeon at KNH, said Kenya currently has approximately six practising microsurgeons serving a population of more than 60 million people.

Together, they perform about 40–50 microsurgical procedures each year, with around 30 carried out at KNH and the rest in private facilities across Nairobi.

“Six microsurgeons in a population of 60 million is a drop in the ocean,” Nangole said, stressing the need to train more young residents and surgeons in microsurgery.

He said the specialised services are already available in Kenya, reducing the need for patients to seek treatment abroad.

The longer-term goal of the training programme is to expand microsurgical services beyond Nairobi and eventually enable county-level hospitals across Kenya to offer these procedures.

The SHARE team worked under the guidance of Dr. Benjamin Wabwire, Head of Specialized Surgery; Dr. Dorsi Jowi, Head of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery; and Prof. Ferdinand Nangole.

Through training, collaboration and knowledge-sharing, the programme aims to strengthen local surgical capacity and make advanced reconstructive care accessible to more patients across Kenya.

Source:X/Kenyatta National Hospital, 18 September 2026