Two Orthopaedic surgeons from Ysbyty Gwynedd will step out of theatre and onto the stage this week when they perform at a charity concert to raise funds for vital hand surgery services in Malawi.

The piano recital – featuring Consultant Orthopaedic Hand Surgeon Mr Edwin Jesudason and Orthopaedic Surgeon Mr Khong Wee Lee – will take place on 30 November at Rydal Penrhos School, Colwyn Bay.

All proceeds will go to the British Society for Surgery of the Hand (BSSH) in support of the LION Hand Unit in Malawi, a service providing life-changing treatment to patients who previously had no access to modern hand surgery.

The event is also being championed by their charity Healing Hands in Harmony, a group of surgeons and musicians who use music as a platform to raise awareness and funds for global surgical care.

Mr Jesudason, who returned to public performance only this year, said: “I played the piano to a high standard in my youth, and competed and performed on a regular basis until the age of 18.

“Six weeks ago, my colleague Mr Lee and I staged a charity piano recital in Saint Mary's Church, Conwy. This represented my first public performance in 31 years. The concert was a triumph and we raised around £3,000. As it was so successful, we decided to put on the second concert to drum up more support for this extremely important charity.

“I find playing music helps me deal with the day-to-day stresses of being a busy consultant in the NHS. It also helps me hyper focus as a surgeon both in terms of my manual dexterity, concentration and mental health.

“The British Society for Surgery of the Hand helped to establish the LION Hand Unit in Malawi. This extremely poor African nation had no access to modern hand surgery and there was a desperate need to improve the day-to-day lives of these people. The LION Unit has been staffed by UK surgeons for the last few years and has become a lightning rod for training in the whole region to provide a sustainable hand surgery service in years to come. It has been an overwhelming success, but they need our continued support. We are very proud that our group, Healing Hands in Harmony, are associated with this amazing project.”

Mr Lee, who is also returning to piano performance, added: “Before I enrolled into medicine at 16, it was my dream to become a concert pianist. My parents were against the idea and I went into medicine and it became the road not taken.

“After obtaining my Fellowship from Trinity College London when I was 14, increased commitments in my medical journey took me further away from music and I have regretfully left the piano for 13 years. Just before coming to the UK in 2024, I started picking it back up and through god’s blessings met Mr Jesudason, my Hand Consultant, another accomplished pianist who had left the piano for 31 years!

“We inspired each other and wanted to prove that passion and profession are not always mutually exclusive, and we would like to use this opportunity to support causes we believe in through our charity duo, ‘Healing Hands in Harmony’.”

Tickets are available at https://shorturl.at/RUXYB