International Women’s Health Surgical Missions

Worldwide Impact

Bringing our expertise and high-level of care to empower more women around the world.

Beyond our practice here at home, we support efforts to bring life-changing health care to women in all parts of the world.

Dr. Goldberg has led volunteer surgical missions, sharing specialized women’s health care services with underserved communities, and has also traveled to perform our innovative, minimally invasive procedures in Brazil, Australia, Italy, France, UK, Germany, Mexico, Colombia, Taiwan, and Japan.

It is a special privilege to share our expertise with women, and surgeons, in parts of the world where these health problems are routinely ignored. Large populations of women silently suffer with urinary incontinence, pelvic prolapse, fistulas, and other complex pelvic floor conditions. In many cultures, these conditions lead to severe stigma and social isolation.

As visiting specialists, our challenge is to not only provide expert surgical care, but also to do our part to change perceptions of these conditions—bringing them out of the shadows and into the spotlight.

Western Nepal

Dr. Goldberg led a surgical mission in Dailekh, located in the remote mountains of western Nepal. Women there experience  an epidemic of pelvic organ prolapse, due to heavy lifting, malnutrition and traumatic childbirth. Prolapse in that environment afflicts women as young as 14 years old, leading to severe stigma and social isolation. Hundreds of women attended the clinic, and we performed over 50 surgeries.   Learn More

Honduras

Dr. Goldberg has led two recent women’s health surgical missions to Honduras, hosted by One World Surgery on the site of Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos (NPH), a facility and foundation dedicated to raising disadvantaged and orphaned youth. His team performed dozens of specialized women’s health operations in addition to running outpatient clinics.  An amazing place, and when not performing surgery, an opportunity for Dr. Goldberg and his family (who joined the trip as volunteers) to interact with adorable children growing up in a nurturing and beautiful environment.

Ghana

Dr. Sand helped the Foundation of the International Urogynecology Association (FIUGA) introduce specialized urogynecology surgery at the Ghanaian College of Surgeons. The goal of the project is to expand knowledge around post-fistula repair incontinence and the treatment of genital prolapse, urinary incontinence, and overactive bladder syndrome, and to create a self-sustaining training center of excellence in West Africa.

Dr. Sand, as past President of the International Urogynecological Association (IUGA) and also an active leader within the charitable foundation of IUGA (FIUGA), has been one of our specialty’s most active leaders in expanding the presence of urogynecology worldwide.

Latin America

Dr. Goldberg has instructed surgeons throughout Latin America, in recent years making over 12 visits as visiting professor to Colombia and Brazil.   He will be returning in Fall, 2020 to lecture and also perform a live surgery demonstration in Sao Paolo, Brazil, as he was invited to perform our new minimally invasive treatment (transvaginal rectopexy) for female constipation / obstructed defecation.