International maxillofacial team returns to Nablus to treat needy patients

On November 14, a 7-member team of doctors from North and South America arrived in the West Bank town of Nablus to start a week of maxillofacial surgery on needy patients from the northern West Bank.  The team was led by Dr. Khaled Abughazaleh from Chicago, and nearly all of the team members had volunteered in Palestine in the past with the PCRF. The team members included Prof. Rafael Ruiz Rodriguez and Dr. Juan Carlos Lopez Noriega from the University of Mexico, Dr.  Fernando Sandoval Vernimmen from the University of San Francisco, Quito, Ecuador, and two anesthesiologists from Cedar Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, Dr. Omar Durra and Dr. Alen Ternian.  Tufts University oral surgery resident, Dr. Ruba Khader, also joined the team for the first time.   Over 100 patients were screened on the first day, and a full week of surgery is planned at the Rafidiah Hospital in Nablus.