First Anatomy Annual Congress in Rwanda - October 13 – 15, 2022
Authors: SOCIETY OF CLINICAL ANATOMY OF RWANDA (S-CAR)  
Published: August 2023

Theme: Promoting anatomy to enlighten safe and effective clinical practice

It is with a greater honor that I welcome you to this Anatomy Annual Congress, the first of its kind in Rwanda. Anatomy is an essential fundamental science in medical education and medical practice and it deserve to be vibrant scientifically. The S-CAR have been founded with the aim of growing the anatomy sciences and this congress is a wonderful outcome of this common commitment. The congress has 4 events that include: a pre-conference workshop on the peripheral nervous system, the S-CAR annual congress, the scientific conference and the world anatomy day (WAD).

Reinforcing the importance of the PNS, Dr. David HAKIZIMANA, a Senior Consultant Neurosurgeon wrote this, I quote: “Peripheral nerve surgery is used to improve function and minimize pain and disability in people with peripheral nerve disorders, such as acute nerve injuries, entrapment neuropathies, and nerve sheath tumors. It involves rerouting healthy nerves to take over the function of the nerves affected by injury, disease, or condition. Surgical treatment for peripheral nerve injuries involves a team which may include: neurosurgeons, plastic surgeons, orthopedic surgeons. Globally the status of peripheral nerve surgery practice within the global landscape of surgery has long been in the shadow of the more prominent areas. The reasons are many, one of them plausibly being the conceptual frame of the very word “peripheral”, which evoke the notions of marginality and lesser importance especially for neurosurgeons. Some of the related common misconceptions are that neurological deficit in peripheral nerve injury is permanent and irreversible, that peripheral nerves do not have the ability to regenerate, that the results of surgical treatment are insignificant. In Rwanda and Africa in general peripheral nerve surgery in almost non-existing or at embryonic phase at best. Although peripheral nerve surgery is not a life-saving surgery, it has been proved to be a life-changing surgery, with a major impact on the quality of patient’s life, as it improves the patient’s ability to perform every day and professional activities and thus affects his/her physical and psychological well-being. Moreover, since most patients with peripheral nerve injuries and brachial plexus injuries belong to the working-age population, peripheral nerve surgery also has substantial socioeconomic implications. Contrary to the previously held view, the peripheral nerve system has been shown to have a huge regeneration potential, with significant results enhanced by different modalities of stimulation, whereby recent research on brain plasticity indicates that experience-dependent reorganization of neural networks plays an important role in functional recovery. For all these reasons, systematic research, education, and practice in peripheral nerve surgery is definitely worth the effort. The aim of this course will be to train residents and interested surgeons from Rwanda in peripheral nerve surgery skills”. The rich scientific conference program with 37 presentations subdivided in sessions on medical education, congenital defects, anatomy and anatomical variations, neurosciences, free presentations, closure lecture, scientific forum for PhD and MSC candidates, cadavers for education and research will give to you an excellent experience. On behalf of S-CAR, I am grateful to the sponsors (MoH, UR, UGHE, AUCA-ASOME, Operation Smile, CHUK and MMI).