Our Work


Dr. Anh, working with a virtual reality surgical simulator at Evanston Hospital, Evanston Illinois.

The Global Arthroscopy Foundation (GAF) uses a practical model which has been successful in training orthopedic surgeons in the United States, using resources generally available only to U.S. physicians. After a period of building infrastructure, since the middle of 2003, GAF has brought orthopedic surgeons to the United States from Vietnam, China, Lithuania and Romania. In some cases, these surgeons were familiar with arthroscopy and in others they were not. Additional surgeons from Nepal, Russia, and Kenya will be participating during 2006.

To learn more about the personal stories of two of our trainees, Dr. Haiqing Cai from Shanghai, China and Dr. Vytautas Tutkus from Vilnius, Lithuania, click here.






Under the model developed to date, through the visits of a number of orthopedic surgeons for training, GAF takes the following steps:

  • Identifies and recruits good candidates from other nations where arthroscopic surgery is non­existent or under-developed;
  • Pays for the surgeons to fly to the Chicago area and for their expenses while participating in the program;
  • Provides initial training at the Orthopedic Learning Center in Rosemont, Illinois, and teaches actual surgical procedures on cadaver knee and shoulder specimens;
  • Provides training on state-of-the-art computer simulator at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare in Evanston, Illinois, to teach motor skills; and
  • Provides opportunities for the surgeon to observe actual arthroscopic surgery at a number of Chicago area hospitals, including Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, Glenbrook Hospital, Oak Park Hospital, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and the University of Illinois Hospital, Chicago.

Dr. Cai, GAF Guest, observing a procedure at Evanston Hospital, Evanston, Illinois.

Upon the orthopedic surgeon's return to his or her country and hospital, GAF:

  • Obtains donated instruments for the surgeon's home hospital, where needed and possible;
  • Maintains contact with the surgeon as he or she begins surgery in the home hospital; and
  • Sends a volunteer U.S. arthroscopic surgeon to the trainee's home hospital to work with the trainee for one week to assure that all is going well and to help in the training of other orthopedic surgeons in the same country.

GAF is always looking toward the future, when we will build on what we have developed during the first five years of the organization. In the future, we hope to increase our ability to communicate via the Internet, including using it as a follow-up tool with trainees. This would include a virtual reality mentoring program. GAF also hopes to identify mechanisms to cut through the red tape and fees to ensure delivery of donated equipment to the physicians at their home hospitals; further identify and develop sources for donated medical equipment and supplies; and increase the number of orthopedic surgeons who are able to participate in GAF training.