I recently completed a charitable trip to the Colonial War Memorial (CWM) Hospital in Suva, Fiji. It was a humbling and educational experience and a chance to reconnect with some old and new colleagues. The visit was part of an ongoing collaboration between the Dept. of Surgery at North Shore Hospital and CWM with an emphasis on hepatobiliary (liver, bile duct, and pancreas) surgery, surgical training and understanding the infrastructure requirements at CWM to establish a specialist HPB program.

The trip facilitated a knowledge exchange with local surgical teams and future Pacific surgical leaders. I was also able to provide HPB expertise to patients who may not otherwise have access to such care and transported essential surgical gear donated by Medtronic (Thank you!).

Having trained all over New Zealand and then in the UK and USA, working with the talented but under-resourced surgeons in Fiji was an eye-opening experience. I can honestly say that it broadened my clinical perspective. There are enough similarities between our systems (including in the challenges!), that the relatively short time in Fiji provided important learning points towards a refined, adaptable practice here in NZ.