ACS SURGICAL VOLUNTEERISM AWARD HONORS SURGEON
FOR SERVICE TO THE MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED


SAN FRANCISCO - Earlier this evening, A Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) was recognized for his selfless efforts as a volunteer surgeon to the medically underserved by being honored with the 2005 Surgical Volunteerism Awards presented by the College and the Pfizer Medical Humanities Initiative (PMHI).

Domingo T. Alvear, MD, FACS, a pediatric surgeon from Harrisburg, PA, who founded the World Surgical Foundation, Inc., was named a recipient for international volunteer service. The ACS Surgical Volunteerism Award was presented by Courtney Townsend, MD, FACS, and Raul Perea-Henze, MD, in association with the award program's sponsor, the Pfizer Medical Humanities Initiative.

The ACS/PMHI award was presented during the American College of Surgeons Board of Governors dinner, which is one of the highlights of the College's 91st Annual Clinical Congress. The volunteerism award is given ³in recognition of those surgeons committed to giving something of themselves back to society by making significant contributions to surgical care through organized volunteer activities.²



Dr. Alvear, MD, FACS, is in solo practice and serves on the surgical staff at the Pinnacle Health System, Harrisburg, PA. He also directs the surgical skills lab for the Pinnacle Health Hospital Surgical Residency Program. Dr. Alvear was recognized by ACS for his surgical leader-ship and humanitarian efforts as the founder of the World Surgical Foundation, Inc. (WSF), which works to provide ³health care for the medically underserved around the world.² Since its founding in 1997, WSF has rendered free surgical care to patients on regular expeditions to the Philippines, Honduras, Thailand, Haiti, and India.

Throughout his dedicated career, Dr. Alvear has demonstrated a life-long commitment and passion toward helping the medically underserved attain quality surgical services. Dr. Alvear conducted his first surgical volunteer trip to the Philippines, his native country, as a medical student in 1963, and he has passionately continued the practice for the past 39 years. The overseas surgical teams that he has organized have improved the quality of life for thousands of patients by perform-ing a wide range of surgical procedures, including thyroidectomies, hernia repairs, cleft palette repairs, and hysterectomies. Some of the operations performed by WSF surgical teams have been anything but routine as patients appear in the primitive operating rooms with difficult medical conditions, such as huge hernias and grapefruit-sized hydroceles, recalls Michael J. Holman, MD, FACS, a colleague and volunteer surgeon from Harrisburg, PA. Richard T. MacDowell, MD, FACS, a general surgeon from Delmar, NY, has also participated in some missions and observes that, ³the community impact of Dr. Alvear's work through the WSF is major, as the biannual trips are planned to communities and hospitals that are extremely underserved and very poorly equipped. For the people in these areas, elective surgery is not an option, as they have no money and cannot afford anything.²

Dr. Alvear also views the WSF medical expeditions as a prime opportunity for surgeons to disseminate their surgical knowledge. During his many international medical trips, he has often been known as a teacher who takes time to work with local physicians in sharing ideas and teaching new concepts. Back in the states, he serves as an enthusiastic advocate for surgical volunteerism in his community in central Pennsylvania and actively encourages surgical residents to seek out medical volunteerism opportunities as they become practicing surgeons.

WSF also renders another important contribution to the surgical patients in impoverished nations: the foundation works to collect useable medical supplies and equipment and to raise funds to ship the medical and surgical supplies overseas. WSF raises an estimated $100,000 annually for its activities through fund-raising efforts and private donations. Dr. Alvear's tireless efforts to gain useable medical and surgical supplies for the work of the WSF has resulted in a strong response from the medical manufacturing industry and local health care facilities, and the foundation now stocks its own warehouse to store and prepare medical equipment and supplies for its work.

Furthermore, Dr. Alvear's surgical leadership was called upon in early 2005 in the after-math of the great Asian tsunami, when he was contacted by officials in Southern Thailand who were seeking medical assistance for the people on the island of Phuket. During a time of extraordinary distress, Dr. Alvear quickly responded by arranging for a volunteer group of surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses to provide much-needed surgical care in relief of the already overworked medical teams on the island--all while he continued to plan the next WSF medical expedition to the Philippines the following week. Christopher M. Pezzi, MD, FACS, a surgeon who worked with WSF in Thailand following the tsunami says that, ³I cannot overstate the gratitude expressed by the Thai people for the efforts of Dr. Alvear in bringing the WSF to Thailand at this unique time of need. I personally feel privileged to have had the opportunity to participate, and saw first hand this genuine altruism.² In addition, WSF will donate two ambulances to the Thai people who were affected by the tsunami when they return for a surgical mission in February 2006.

Dr. Alvear is the fifth recipient of the ACS Surgical Volunteerism Award, which was inaugurated in 2003. The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and to improve the care of the surgical patient. The College is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scien-
tific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for all surgical patients. The College has more than 66,000 members, and it is the largest organization of surgeons in the world (http://www.facs.org).


See online video clips of recent Surgical Mission Trip