Following the overthrow of Colonel Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has been in freefall in its political, economic and social infrastructure.
Libya once had a vibrant and advanced Healthcare system, which now lies in ruins. Following the war, there were many casualties requiring surgical management, and in 2012 MiST Foundation was invited to Benghazi, Libya for a Trauma conference. At that time, the Foundation proposed to the local authorities of setting up a Limb Reconstruction Unit (LRU) to help the war-injured and to train the local surgeons in the art of Ilizarov surgery. The offer was politely refused and many of the injured were sent to neighbouring countries for surgical treatment, at great cost to the Libyan government.

       Benghazi Medical Centre                The BMC Orthopaedic Department

In 2018, the MiST Foundation was invited back to Benghazi to hold talks for the possibility of developing an LRU. Following detailed discussions, an MOU was signed between Benghazi Medical Centre (BMC) and the MiST Foundation in February 2019. BMC was the largest government hospital in Benghazi with an infrastructure and dedicated personnel. Work started and initially a number of patients began their surgical management with the training of 3 junior Libyan Surgeons.

The Foundation mobilized its members, and Limb Reconstruction Teams (LRT) had been organized to visit BMC on a monthly basis to manage previously treated and new patients. To this aim, the junior surgeons at BMC had started a patient database, so the visiting LRT's would know in advance the patients that would need their surgical input.

PRE OP with tibial non union       POST OP with Ring Fixator

Ring fixators had been purchased and brought by the first mission led by Professor Khan, and the first hexapod frame was applied at BMC. A number of patients were treated and others collected by the local surgeons and entered into a database for treatment by subsequent LRT’s. Each case was to be discussed prior to the team arriving and thus the equipment needs could be planned for each case.

 Teaching Ilizarov Surgery at BMC

In May 2019, after 3 visits, the BMC project had to be abandoned due to the start of the civil war in April. This offensive had cut supply lines for vital Ilizarov equipment to BMC and it was becoming more difficult to obtain permission for entry of LRT’s to Libya. BMC hospital management had changed during this turmoil and decided to put the LRU project with the MiST Foundation on-hold indefinitely.

The MiST Foundation is bitterly disappointed with this decision. Ilizarov treatment can take months to complete and needs constant input from the treating clinician to avoid inevitable complications. If a transport of bone segment is stopped, this obviously leads to a non-union at the docking site.
Without access to BMC a number of our patients, half–way through their Ilizarov treatment would need to start some of these complex procedures again. BMC informed us that the patients would be sent abroad for completion of their surgical management.
Best wishes to all the doctors and staff at BMC and hopefully there will be light at the end of the tunnel for locals to be able to rebuild their lives.