Dr. Raj Dhangana, an IR attending in our department, and Dr. Suraj Parikh, one of our chief residents, recently returned from a week-long trip to Uganda where they worked with the multi-institutional ROAD2IR initiative to help develop a self-sustaining interventional radiology (IR) training program at Mulago National Referral Hospital, the country’s only tertiary care hospital.
Uganda is a country of over 45 million people whose entire population unfortunately has not had access to basic image-guided minimally invasive interventions including biopsies, nephrostomy and biliary drains, and embolizations. This ROAD2IR initiative seeks to provide patients access to vital percutaneous procedures by training physicians in their respective countries to perform them.
Dr. Dhangana served as teaching faculty for the country’s first three fellows mentoring them on ultrasound and CT guided procedures, while also providing didactic education through case presentations and lectures.