FAAGL Hem Practice Update
When I received the AAGL Harrith M. Hasson Award in 2024, it was recognition not simply of my own work, but also of an idea we were exploring at The Hem Practice. We believed that access to Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) in Kenya could grow if we brought both the technology and the necessary skills to more than the few hospitals where they were concentrated.
Two years later, that idea has grown a lot.
The Hem Practice Training Centre
“Laparoscopy is not just a technique; it is a philosophy of doing less harm.”
Dr. Harrith M. Hasson
With your support through the AAGL Global Health Program (AGHP), the Hem Practice has provided MIS training, including access to JMIG and SurgeryU, for 55 healthcare professionals in Kenya so far in 2026, with a new cohort beginning soon.
Over the last two years, the HEM practice has now supported more than 1,000 laparoscopic surgeries across Kenya, including over 350 free and subsidized procedures, and provided care to more than 2,500 women. Our work has reached more than 57 hospitals across 35 towns, while over 180 healthcare professionals have participated in our MIS training programmes.
Lap on Wheels, our mobile surgical initiative, has been central to this effort. We bring laparoscopic equipment, instruments, and an experienced surgical team to hospitals with limited access to MIS. However, providing equipment is only the first step. We are increasingly focused on helping hospitals develop the skills and systems required to offer MIS independently.
This experience led to the development of SurgiEdge Training, our structured programme for practical laparoscopic skills. Our flagship two-month Stitch & Knot programme integrates dry-lab training, ongoing home-based practice, proficiency assessments, and supervised operating. We recently graduated our fourth and largest cohort of 19 obstetrician-gynaecologists, culminating in a surgical camp where eight women received free laparoscopic hysterectomies.
The Hem Practice Training Centre: SurgiEdge Training
Perhaps one of the most encouraging measures of progress is seeing hospitals we have supported begin establishing their own MIS programmes. This is ultimately the goal: not for The Hem Practice to stay indispensable, but for laparoscopic capacity to take root within local health systems.
We are now building the next phase of that vision. Our Women’s Medical Centre in Thika, 50 km from Nairobi, is growing as a dedicated centre for women’s health, pelvic pain, diagnostics and minimally invasive surgery. Through SurgiEdge, we are also developing the locally designed Endo Bora pelvic trainer and exploring AI-enabled skills assessment to make high-quality laparoscopic training more accessible and scalable. Alongside this, our collaborations in research, surgical data science and technology are helping us explore new ways of training, diagnosing and caring for women.
AAGL has played a key role in this journey. Beyond the recognition of the Hasson Award, our partnership with the AAGL community has provided opportunities for mentorship, global learning, and collaboration, and has demonstrated that locally developed solutions can make meaningful contributions to the global MIS community.
Much work remains. Too many women in our region still undergo open surgery when minimally invasive options are available. Our ambition is clear, though challenging: to make minimally invasive surgery the norm and not the exception.
We ask for your continued support in 2027 as we aim to train an additional 75 physicians in Kenya with the support of the AAGL Global Health Program. The minimum cost to fund the training of one physician for a year is $300. The Foundation of the AAGL is accepting donations now to fund these efforts.
Thank you to the AAGL community for your continued support. Your investment in global surgical education extends beyond one surgeon or organisation; it impacts the doctors we train, the hospitals they serve, and ultimately the women whose care they improve.
