Elsie Lange
Nina Yhap said the chance to train as a vascular and endovascular surgeon at Northern Health has been the “opportunity of a lifetime”.
The young surgeon will become the first practitioner of this specialty in the small Caribbean island she calls home, Barbados.
The road to Epping wasn’t easy, either – getting a visa, travelling across the world and the rigorous interview process for Northern Health’s post-fellowship took hard work, time and patience.
“It means everything,” Dr Yhap said.
“I won’t know the true weight of it until I look back on it in a few years from now.”
One of her mentors, Iman Bayat, is the head of the Vascular Surgery Unit and said Northern Health’s part in Dr Yhap’s journey was “beautiful”.
“We must cherish these moments in our lifetime and hopefully fuel further endeavours going forward,” Dr Bayat said.
In Barbados there is an extremely high amputation rate – due to the prevalence of various diseases including diabetes – meaning vascular and endovascular surgeons are in high demand, Dr Yhap said.
“That is my true passion and my true focus: to increase the limb salvage rate of all Barbadians, or anyone that has come to Barbados for healthcare,” she said.
