The Ghana FPMRS Fellowship
Dr. Kwon served as Fellowship Director for the Ghana Fellowship, founded in 2013 through a partnership between FIUGA and the Ghana College of Surgeons. Created to address the critical shortage of specialists in female pelvic floor disorders, the program focuses on fistula repair, post-fistula incontinence, genital prolapse, urinary incontinence, and overactive bladder syndrome.
As the first accredited FPMRS fellowship in West Africa, it trains OB/GYN physicians through a rigorous clinical and research curriculum leading to board certification.
Expanding Training and Clinical Capacity
In its early years, the fellowship emphasized core surgical skills. A significant milestone came in 2018 with the introduction of female pelvic floor physical therapy, which was new to nearly all trainees at the time. Since then, the program has recruited its own pelvic physical therapist to continue this essential work.
Fellows now receive advanced surgical training in complex obstetric fistulas, vaginal and rectal prolapse, and bladder incontinence. Education emphasizes comprehensive evaluation and tailored treatment planning.
To support ongoing learning, regular Zoom conferences allow fellows and faculty to review complex cases and strengthen cross-continental collaboration.
Growing the Program’s Scope
During our most recent visit, a maternal–fetal medicine specialist joined the team to train OB/GYN residents in ultrasound assessment for pregnancy complications—an invaluable addition to the curriculum. Inspired by this success, we plan to involve more subspecialists to expand educational opportunities further.
Our foundation has also strengthened the fellowship by donating essential equipment, including four cystoscopes and other surgical instruments, significantly enhancing training and clinical capacity.
Broader Global Initiatives
For more than two decades, our foundation has supported long-term programs in Liberia and Bolivia, led by Dr. Jeffrey Freed, Clinical Professor of Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. These efforts provided both hands-on surgical care and medical education in settings with limited resources. Procedures ranged from gallbladder and cancer surgeries to hernia repairs and gynecologic operations. Many missions also brought urgently needed specialists—orthopedists, otolaryngologists, and ophthalmologists—who provided instruction and direct patient care.
Although political instability led to the withdrawal of these programs, our commitment remains. We are actively supporting the training of anesthesiologists and OB/GYN physicians in Liberia, intending to help them earn board certification and return home to establish their own training programs. Our vision is a fully self-sustaining system in which physicians in Liberia train future generations—by Liberians, for Liberia
