Team Member

MBBS (Benin), MCE (Monash), Dip Obs. (RANZCOG), FRANZCOG DDU

Obstetrician, Gynecologist, Sonologist and Advanced Laparoscopic Surgeon

Dr Uche A. Menakaya is an Australian trained specialist Obstetrician, Gynecologist and Sonologist. He completed his general obstetric and gynecology training with the Sydney Southwest Area Health Service in New South Wales before undertaking additional training in advanced laparoscopic surgery and advanced gynecological imaging. Dr Menakaya is based in Canberra, Australia and is a director at the JUNIC Group that includes a Women’s Centre with specialized focus on advanced gyanecological Imaging and advanced laparoscopy.   Dr Menakaya has a special interest in the concept of a ‘one stop’ ultrasound based outpatient gynecological services especially for the management of women presenting with early pregnancy complications and gynecological symptoms (Menakaya et al, 2014).  He is also very passionate about the use of transvaginal ultrasound for the preoperative assessment and triage of women with suspected endometriosis (Menakaya et al, 2013a, Menakaya et al, 2013b, Menakaya et al, 2015). Dr Menakaya has published over 25 peer reviewed articles and has presented his work at several national and international conferences and has won many awards for this novel approach to women’s health including the Carlo Romanini Award on endometriosis research from the American Association of Gynaecology Laparoscopy.   Given his African background, Dr Menakaya is passionate about the development of conventional laparoscopic surgery in developing countries. He was part of the team that introduced laparoscopic surgery for gynaecological indications in Madagascar and was the lead surgeon for the first ever total laparoscopic hysterectomy in Madagascar. Through his JUNIC global education and training program, he developed and adapted a unique approach for simulated training in laparoscopic surgery for developing countries providing opportunities for local surgeons to improve and update their skills in minimal invasive surgery within their local environment.   In Nigeria, Dr Menakaya has partnered with the Women’s Health and Action Research Center, Benin, a leading NGO in reproductive health to establish a fully functional laparoscopic operating suites and training center with the overall goal of providing affordable and accessible minimally invasive surgical services to women with reproductive health challenges in Nigeria.