Our History

Dr. Serge Kaska initially started the organization when he traveled to Vietnam with the Dartmouth Plastic Surgery affiliated R.I.C.E. program in 2015.  He recognized the opportunity for collaboration between American and Vietnamese orthopedic surgeons.  Dr. Emily Benson joined him in 2016, and the two of them have been organizing annual trips for groups of orthopedic surgeons to travel to Vietnam since then.  The trips consist of orthopedic surgeons, physician assistants, residents, medical students, pre-medical students and administrative staff, mostly from Southern California.  Each trip is spent providing direct patient care in collaboration with local Vietnamese orthopedic surgeons and residents.  Initially the clinical focus was complex orthopedic fracture non-union cases.  The first orthopedic department to host the group was Viet Duc hospital in Hanoi, under the leadership of Dr. Ngo Van Toan.  This hospital is the large, regional training center for orthopedic surgeons in the northern half of Vietnam.  With their assistance, the trips have expanded to other hospitals in Vietnam.  There have also been trips organized to bring the Vietnamese surgeons to the United States for additional training and experience. 

Our Future Vision

It is the hope moving forward that there will be at least one trip per year of American physicians traveling to Vietnam or other international destinations, and one trip to bring international physicians to the United States.  So far the trips have been orthopedic in nature, but there is the possibility of expanding to other medical disciplines as well.

Board Members

Get Involved

JOIN THE MEDICAL TEAM ▸

If you’re interested in joining a future VietCal team trip, we’d love to hear from you.

Donate medical products ▸

If you’d like to donate medical supplies to VietCal, let us know.

become a sponsor ▸

Our doctors are asked to pay their own way from plane tickets to accommodations. Your sponsorship will help defer personal costs to the team.

become a host ▸

Host one of our fellow Vietnamese surgeons when they join us in the US for the annual Orthopedic Trauma Association meeting.

Viet Cal Affiliated Hospitals

• Ventura County Medical Center  (Ventura, CA)

• Ventura County Orthopedic Associates (Ventura, CA)

• Community Memorial Hospital  (Ventura, CA)

• Kaska Orthopedics (San Marcos, CA)

• Viet Duc Hospital (Hanoi, Vietnam)

CO-FOUNDER

Dr. Serge Kaska

ORTHOPEDIC TRAUMA SURGEON
Kaska Orthopedics San Marcos, CA

co-FOUNDER

Dr. Emily Benson

ORTHOPEDIC TRAUMA SURGEON
Ventura County Medical Center Ventura, CA

ASSOCIATE PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Community Memorial Hospital Orthopedic Residency Ventura, CA 

Dr. Ngo Van Toan

ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON
Viet Duc Hospital Hanoi, Vietnam

Dr. Phan Hai

ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON
Viet Duc Hospital Hanoi, Vietnam

Dr. Long Giang

ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON
Viet Xo Friendship Hospital Hanoi, Vietnam