Mekhola Mallik - Awarded Stefan & Anna Galeski Fellowship Award by the Royal College of Surgeons

Earlier this year Mekhola Mallik was awarded the Stefan & Anna Galeski Fellowship Award by the Royal College of Surgeons. The Fellowship involved travelling to Brazil where Mekhola assisted with teaching and presented her research. Mekhola writes: 

“I was fortunate enough to be awarded a Stefan and Anna Galeski Travelling Fellowship this year by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS). Coinciding with the RCS Presidential Triennial Visit to South America, I was invited to serve as a member of the teaching faculty on a RCS Surgical Skills workshop being held in Rio de Janeiro; present my research at a joint meeting with the Brazilian and Peruvian Colleges of Surgeons in Rio and Lima respectively; and act as “tour doctor” for the sixty or so surgeons and accompanying partners that would be joining us afterwards.

Having had the weekend to soak in the wonderful atmosphere of the vibrant Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, we left for the northern outskirts of Rio for the Surgical Skills workshop. After an hour’s journey, we arrived at the “Laboratório de Iniciação a Prática Cirúrgica” in Cascadura. We were met by twenty-four keen and enthusiastic budding young Brazilian surgeons, ranging from medical students to newly qualified doctors. We taught standard surgical techniques, such as tying of knots and performing vascular and bowel anastomoses; but probably the most appealing aspect of the course for the trainees was the use of cadaveric porcine tissue, enabling them to develop an understanding of the feel and handling of tissues within a controlled environment. Sutures, instruments, jigs and other training materials were generously provided B Braun, the German medical company. We handed out prizes to the top three promising students. Our understanding is that this workshop was the first of its kind to be held in Brazil, and judging by the response of the participants, we are hopeful that this course will continue to be taught by the local faculty.

There followed a joint meeting with the Brazilian College of Surgeons. This was an opportunity to establish a new and close working relationship with our overseas colleagues. The Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke, Minister without Portfolio, accompanied by the British Ambassador, opened the proceedings. We learnt about current quandaries of surgery both in the UK and Brazil; how to provide a surgical service in rural Brazil; and we discussed the Olympics – how London prepared for “medical eventualities” in 2012, and what unique challenges face Brazil in 2014. The Trainees’ Research Prize Competition was won by myself; and the day ended with the Gordon Gordon-Taylor Memorial Lecture being delivered by Dr Angelita Habr-Gama, who has revolutionised the management of rectal cancer.

After a brief stopover in the magnificent Iguazu Falls, we then arrived in Lima where we attended a two-day conference with our colleagues at the Peruvian College of Surgeons. Again this was another opportunity to establish close ties with our Peruvian colleagues. Highlights for me included talks on dealing with unusual pathologies of the spleen and hepatic hydatid disease, which is relatively rare in the UK.

This Travelling Fellowship was truly an amazing opportunity for me. I would like to thank the Galeski Family, the Lawrie Fund and the Royal College of Surgeons for supporting me and making this trip of a lifetime possible.”