Wirral’s top plastic surgeon is on track to fulfil his pledge to return to the Middle East to treat victims of the Syrian civil war.

Ali Juma, 54, an expert in face and breast surgery and body contouring at Spire Murrayfield Hospital will fly to Lebanon in January with a top team of surgeons and nurses from American medical charity, LEAP.

Born in Baghdad, Iraq and spending his childhood in Beirut and Abu Dhabi he was more than 24 years of experience in plastic surgery and in managing trauma and reconstruction.

The mercy mission comes 12 months since Ali spent eight days in Jordan to rebuild the shattered bodies and lives of Syrian refugees and vowed to return after being deeply affected by what he had seen.

He said: “The reaction last year was not only very humbling but also made you appreciate the gift of life and what we have in the UK.

“The patients treated came from refugee camps with terrible injuries and they are very grateful and thankful to us and we just felt we had to go back.

“They are smiling at you but you can see the sadness in their eyes and it’s heart-breaking but your brain just goes into a different mode because you have to help them.

“The years of training kick in and you have your professional head on but what we did and the time we spent wasn’t long enough and in the future I would like to go back at least twice a year because we need to achieve more.

“We need to visit more frequently and work with the local surgeons and medical teams and train them so there is a continuity of care.”

Ali and the team are expecting to see around 50 patients and perform surgery on up to 30 of them.

He added: “Speaking the language and dialect means I can converse directly to the patients and staff which can build up trust at an early stage which is vital in achieving more over the short period of time we are there. Achieving trust in our work is very important for patient care.

“The team we worked with in Jordan was very efficient and very skilled and it was a pleasure to work with them at Al Maqasad hospital in Amman, and I’m hoping it will be the same in Tripoli.

“We will probably be treating patients who have been injured at Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria and the range of injuries includes everything from blast, shrapnel and bullet wounds to scalds and burns.

“The conditions in the refugee camps mean people are often cooking on stoves on the ground and little children fall over pans of boiling water and get badly scalded.

“Another advantage of going more than once a year is that I will be able to see the results of treatment on patients which is a very important aspect of continuity of care in addition to training the teams over there.

“I would also like to set up Skype or similar interactive links so we can liaise more closely and more often with the local surgeons and staff while I’m currently working with LEAP and will continue to do so as LEAP is a well organised and effective organisation in providing the support for the patients and the participants under a great leadership.”

Trainee plastic surgeon Sarah Al-Himdani and skilled paramedic Samantha Jones will also join Ali as he takes vital supplies from the Spire Murrayfield Hospital.

Hospital director, Julie Watkinson said: “We’re very proud that one of our team here at Spire is again flying out to the Middle East to use his fantastic skills to help the victims of this dreadful conflict.

“Ali and the rest of the LEAP team are making a huge difference to the lives of the people whom they treat and we’re delighted to be able to support him with his work for this fantastic charity.”