A program known as Athena recently facilitated the treatment of nearly three dozen patients by bringing a plastic surgeon to an airlift hub in western Tokyo for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Athena program involves sending volunteer Air Force plastic surgeons to overseas bases on a semi-regular basis, sometimes twice a year. Patients from various bases across Japan were screened and began arriving at Yokota during the first week of April for appointments with Dr. Bryan Curtis, an Air Force colonel and chief of plastic and reconstructive surgery for the 60th Surgical Operations Squadron at Travis Air Force Base, California.
Dr. Curtis expressed the importance of providing such services at a patient’s home location, emphasizing that it alleviates burden and stress. “Surgery in and of itself is a stressful time for patients, so anything we can do to alleviate that stress is beneficial,” he told Stars and Stripes at the 374th Medical Group.
One patient, Erika Mulhall, an Air Force spouse, traveled from Misawa Air Base in northeastern Japan for an umbilicoplasty, a procedure to alter the appearance of the belly button. Mulhall had previously consulted with Dr. Curtis at Travis over a year ago but postponed the procedure due to her family’s relocation to Japan. Upon her arrival, Mulhall applied for an appointment with Athena’s visit to Yokota and was accepted three months later.
Tricare beneficiaries in Japan can apply for an Athena appointment, with the military health care plan covering plastic surgeries related to birth defects or physical trauma. However, cosmetic surgeries such as breast augmentations, rhinoplasties, and liposuction are not covered by Tricare and must be paid for out of pocket. For instance, breast reconstruction for a service member who underwent mastectomy due to cancer is covered, while rhinoplasty for cosmetic reasons is not.
Dr. Curtis, who previously served as Yokota’s general surgeon during the first Athena mission in the 2000s, expressed his desire to continue the program’s involvement at Yokota. Maj. Christopher Ng, the medical group’s current general surgeon, highlighted the response to Athena’s return this month, indicating a backlog of patients. “We’ve seen patients from five different bases and completed 33 procedures so far,” Ng said, expressing the intention to bring a plastic surgeon to Yokota through the Athena program as often as mission requirements allow. “We have to support our local community,” Ng added. “If the Air Force needs us to support the community in this way, this is what we’ll do.”
