‘The AO spirit is a drive to excel in your career’
Mohamed Hazem Abdelazeem outlines his goals as new AO CMFMENA representative to the AO CMFCDC
Increasing the reach of AO CMF, leveraging innovation and technology to the ultimate benefit of patients, and fostering collaboration across AO CMF’s global, multispecialty community are among Mohamed Hazem Abdelazeem’s top priorities as he begins his three-year term as the AO CMF Middle East and Northern Africa (AO CMFMENA) representative to the AO CMF Community Development Commission (AO CMFCDC).
Abdelazeem has a long history with AO CMF, beginning with his first AO CMF course in 2006.
“From that point, I appreciated the quality education and the distinguished AO CMF faculty that I attended many more AO CMF courses and then undertook an AO CMF Fellowship at Freiburg University in Germany in 2009—an experience that was both personally and professionally inspiring,” Abdelazeem recalled. “In 2011, I attended the flagship AO Davos Courses. Through these events, I learned a lot and made lifelong friends.”
Abdelazeem became approved AO CMF faculty in 2011 and became an adjunct member of the AO CMFMENA CDC in 2021.
“I believe that the AO CMFCDC is the core that integrates education with networking and serves all surgeons’ needs along their career journey from learners to leaders,” he said.
Responding with new, innovative tools
As a plastic and craniomaxillofacial (CMF) surgeon, Abdelazeem performs a variety of plastic surgery procedures and surgeries, with subspecialization in CMF and has a special interest in minimally-invasive and endoscopy-assisted CMF surgeries. He recognizes how technology is impacting surgeons—especially the emerging generation of CMF surgeons—across their careers.
“Nowadays with the great changes in technology, communication, artificial intelligence, and digitalization, the needs of surgeons in the different stages of their careers have changed—especially for the young generation,” he explained. “Our role as CDC members is understanding and responding with new, innovative tools to meet their needs and motivate them to learn and improve their skills both professionally and personally. The AO spirit is a drive to excel in your career and enjoy your life.”
Looking ahead
Looking to the next three years, Abdelazeem said his priorities include increasing the reach of AO CMF while maintaining and enhancing the AO clinical division’s reputation. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and expanding the AO CMF network are additional priorities.
“[I want to] motivate more surgeons to become active AO CMF members and to maintain and augment the reputation of AO CMF,” he said, “and implement the DEI opportunities we offer. I also want to expand the AO CMF network of surgeons by raising awareness of our member benefits and value, while collaborating with other global and regional societies to spread the word about AO CMF.”
Growing the AO CMF community
Abdelazeem also hopes to foster networking and communication between surgeons who share common interests.
“This is of utmost importance for career development and exchange of experiences. It also opens new opportunities in research and new projects that address the challenges surgeons face in advancing their skills and practice to improve patient care,” Abdelazeem said. “The AO family is bonding with friends and colleagues who share the common values of continuous learning, education, and having great times together.”
Desciribing his passion for minimally invasive and endoscopic approaches, Abdelazeem said he believes these technologies offers a wide range of benefits for patients.
“[These approaches] are always my passion,” he said, emphasizing that facial surgery patients deserve no visible scars and that minimally invasive and endoscopic approaches can provide that result while protecting important structures and affording rapid recovering with minimal postoperative care.
“Combining computer surgical planning, patient-specific implants, and intraoperative imaging with endoscopy is my new passion,” Abdelazeem said. “A personalized approach is always my way to treat each patient according to his or her specific situation and expectations. Operating with passion is giving your patients the best outcome…a new success story with every case you treat.”
About Mohamed Hazem Abdelazeem
Mohamed Hazem Abdelazeem, MSc., M.D., MRCS(Eng), FRCS(Glasg) is a professor of plastic and craniomaxillofacial surgery at the Cairo (Egypt) University Faculty of Medicine and is in private practice at clinics in central Cairo and the New Giza area. In July 2024, he began a three-year term as the AO CMFMENA representative to the AO CMFCDC.
