Dr. Samuel Badalian, Bassett Healthcare Network’s chief of women’s health care, was part of a team of doctors and fellows that traveled to Armenia to share their expertise at the Wigmore Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Yerevan.
The group was there from July 27 to Aug. 3 during the Third Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery Symposium, in cooperation with the Association of Urogynecologists of Armenia.
Badalian and other speakers from the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Armenia, instructed 120 attendees on topics surrounding urogynecology, such as pelvic floor dysfunction, urinary incontinence, pelvic reconstruction surgeries and advanced laparoscopic techniques.
Known for his research in advancing women’s health, Badalian received a Fulbright scholarship in 2021 to establish this program and develop urogynecology as a subspecialty in Armenia.
The project has been recognized by the Board of the Foundation for International Urogynecological Assistance and has been published in the International Urogynecological Journal, according to a news release from Bassett.
Badalian’s recent trip was part of the Fulbright program he started. It included bringing a group of five fellows finishing their third year, plus other fellows from Dubai and Armenia.
The fellows presented their research projects and performed 23 surgeries, which Badalian and other doctors oversaw. The fellows received diplomas recognizing their successful completion of the international fellowship at the end of symposium.
“Our hybrid training model for urogynecology is the first of its kind any where in the world,” Badalian said. “Over the last three years, we put together a program, with zoom case studies and lecture series, and meeting with them multiple times to train.”
“We have been trying to replicate this fellowship program, and it has become very successful,” Badalian said Friday, Aug. 23.
The need for urogynecology has increased due in a large part to the increased awareness as more women are talking about their symptoms, such as urinary and fecal incontinence and other issues from pelvic floor dysfunctions that they are often embarrassed to mention.
“It is a kind of hidden epidemic,” Badalian said. “We are encouraging more women to talk about their symptoms. Many years ago they didn’t want to talk about it. There was a lot of embarrasment. By encouraging them to speak-up, and we hear what they have to say, we can then explain that there is a cure for this. And that has increased the need for urogynecology.”
Training for this subspecialty is increasing, but much more needs to get done.
“Around the world, there is a big gap in urogynecology,” Badalian said.
Unfortunately, many physicians have been turning to YouTube to try procedures, which in many cases harms more people than it helps.
“That’s the problem,” Badalian said. “You need to train doctors also about when not to do surgery and manage the problem conservatively.”
Before Badalian arrived in Cooperstown five years ago, the eight counties that are in the Bassett Healthcare Network did not have this kind of women’s health care services, which one of the reasons he decided to join Bassett.
“I was traveling around the world, training with this method, to Ghana, Russia, Armenia,” he said. “I was based in Syracuse, and when I was notified by Bassett saying that they were looking for these kinds of services, I thought, Cooperstown is in my backyard, maybe I should go and talk with them.”
He said he’s glad he did.
“The pleasure that I can see, and the impacts that my treatments can provide, it’s like my patient is a new person and can go out freely and do things freely with friends and family,” Badalian said.
As the chief of women’s health at Bassett, Badalian also is busy recruiting others in gynecology and obstetrics and bringing people in from Syracuse and Boston to provide more services to the area without having to refer them to Albany or other locations, as had been previously done.
“We now have general gynecology services and four subspecialties at Bassett to service women’s health care within the area,” Badalian said.
However, Badalian’s schedule is full. “I don’t like patients waiting longer because we need more physicians trained to do this,” he said.
Badalian plans to head back to Armenia in late September to work on building a urogynecology center and continue the research with a goal to create a division within the country and teach other physicians the practice so that they can continue to train others.
“It’s inspiring to see such enthusiasm and participation in advancing our field,” Badalian said. “The ongoing success of this project holds significance for governmental, public, and health care entities in Armenia, where urogynecology as a subspecialty is practically non-existent, and across the world. We are preparing future female pelvic surgeons to care for the growing needs of women with these conditions, compounding the benefits and successes across different societies and cultures.”
