Dr. Kushagra Verma, a spinal surgeon at MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center, recently came back from his 11th mission trip to provide specialized orthopedic surgery in Ghana. His experience and assistance helped Ghanaian hospitals improve the quality of life of their patients and is helping to develop a sustainable healthcare system in Ghana through medical education, research, and professional development.
Dr. Verma volunteers to provide life changing care to underprivileged patients who don’t have access to physicians with the expertise to treat complex spinal cases.
While his home base is MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center, he loves giving back to those underserved and has volunteered his exceptional services in Africa, Columbia, and Mexico for the past 14 years. He has helped children with complex spinal deformities in small communities around the world, performing complex pediatric spine surgery through the FOCOS and 33 Spine Align Foundation.
FOCOS and 33 Align Foundation are both non-profit organizations that focus on providing medical treatment and care to people with orthopedic and spine conditions. Both organizations work toward improving the lives of individuals by providing access to specialized care and treatments, and Dr. Verma works closely with them to pursue his passion for helping others while also growing professionally.
I love volunteering in these developing countries, to improve the quality of life of children. I believe my purpose is to give back to those in need by making use of all my skills and teaching others how to do the same.
Kushagra Verma, M.D., MS, FAAOS, spinal care, MemorialCare Orthopedic & Spine Institute at Long Beach Medical Center.
With Dr. Verma’s vast experience in spinal care, he is one of the leading orthopedic doctors at MemorialCare and has vast experience with complex spine surgeries. In Ghana, he conducted a nine-hour procedure with a patient who was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis. Because the disease deformed her spine, Dr. Verma had to remove several bones in her spine, straighten out the spine and make sure her spinal functions were maintained during the procedure.
“The young neurofibromatosis patient was by far my most challenging case,” says Dr. Verma “The procedure was intense because her spinal cord was very pinched, and it was important to work diligently or she would’ve become paralyzed. Fortunately, the surgery was a success, and now she can continue her education to become a doctor.”
In addition to helping patients, Dr. Verma gave levels of training to the doctors of the FOCOS hospital in Ghana, who themselves have over a decade of experience with complex spinal cases.
Dr. Verma helped transport state-of-the-art spine surgery technology to FOCOS to help the next generation of doctors provide quality spinal care.
All of these efforts were made possible by a collaboration with the 33 Spine Align Foundation. Toward the end of his trip Dr. Verma presented a check of $100,000 donated by 33 Spine Align Foundation.
“This donation is going toward funding surgical procedures and equipment for the children of FOCOS hospital,” says Dr. Verma “I’m very grateful to help these children. It renews my spirit and motivates me to be the most compassionate physician I can be.”
