Orthopaedic surgeons’ skills enable patients to walk the following day;
Continuing Medical Education (CME) workshops for healthcare professionals
Dubai, UAE, 9 March, 2016: Two UAE patients who suffered from serious knee injuries are recovering well from orthopaedic surgeries which were telecasted live from the operating rooms at Zulekha Hospitals Sharjah and Dubai to an audience of healthcare professionals.
As part of Zulekha Hospitals’ commitment to sharing best innovative medical approaches with colleagues and associates in the local healthcare community, the surgeries were broadcast consecutively from both the Sharjah and Dubai facilities.
The audience comprised 124 clinicians, including orthopaedic specialists, physiotherapists, surgeons, physicians, and radiologists who gathered at Le Meridian Hotel in Dubai to first witness a total knee replacement surgery (TKR), followed by an arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACL) which were performed by two teams of Zulekha Hospital orthopaedic surgeons on Friday, 4th March.
Prof Dr Fawzi Benomran, Senior Consultant and Director of Department of Forensic Medicine, Dubai Police General Headquarters, was impressed by the innovative technique for skin closure with a special glue rather than the staples or sutures normally used in TKR surgery.
He said: “The event was a great networking and learning opportunity as I could observe the total knee replacement surgery closely. As a forensic pathologist, the technique of implanting the prosthesis amazed me and watching the live surgery performed by Zulekha Hospital doctors answered many of the questions I had in mind.”
One patient, a 56 year old UAE resident, had been suffering from severe osteoarthritis, acute pain, deformity and swelling in his right knee for the past few years.
After reviewing his long-term medical history of unsuccessful treatments, Dr Biju Pankappilly, Specialist Orthopaedic Surgeon and Dr Maher H.Z Al Rawi, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon from Zulekha Hospital Sharjah decided that only TKR surgery could improve the patient’s life.
Dr Pankappilly said: “Standard treatments including analgesics, physiotherapy and intraarticular injections did not give him appreciable results and he’d lived for years suffering from agonising pain.
“The most difficult part of the surgery was to get an adequate exposure into the tight knee joint and correct the pre-existing deformity. This went well, so the patient could walk with support the next day and he will get back to his normal life in six weeks’ time at most.”
Similarly, a 34 year old patient who sustained a knee ligament injury while playing cricket, was operated on by Dr Rahul Shivadey and Dr Chidananda P. Shivashankar, Orthopedic Surgeons from Zulekha Hospital Dubai, and was able to walk the day after his ACL surgery was completed.
“We operated on him with a minimal invasive technique to reduce the recovery time and to get him back on his feet the day after the surgery,” said Dr Shivadey.
“Our technique differs from standard approaches as it incurs minimal bone loss with little tissue damage and rigid fixation of the ligament with early mobilization and discharge rates. He’ll be back on the cricket pitch within the next six months.”
Dr. Shivashankar added, “We carried out the challenging arthroscopic ACL reconstruction (key hole) surgery including three different procedures – the graft preparation, site preparation and graft fixing with utmost care, ensuring perfect femoral tunnel placement (thigh bone), which has to be accurate for the best outcome of the surgery.”
Both live orthopaedic surgeries were part of Zulekha Hospitals’ long-term involvement in the Continuing Medical Education (CME) initiative, serving as a best medical practice forum for healthcare specialists from the UAE.
The panel discussion chaired by Dr Ahmed Zubaidi from Kuwaiti Hospital and Dr Ali Hejazi from Rashid Hospital, was followed by a Q&A with Zulekha Hospitals’ surgeons after the surgeries were completed and the recordings of both operations will be used for further educational purposes by Zulekha Hospitals.
In recent years, Zulekha Hospitals has received extensive recognition for its commitment towards quality care and sustainable business practises, including Joint Commission International Accreditation for patient care and safety, and College of American Pathologists Accreditation for pathology and laboratory medicine standards.
It also received the Best Sustainable Hospital Award at the Hospital Build & Infrastructure Awards, and the Dubai Quality Award for its commitment to quality service and business excellence.