News
ZimmerBiomet Lower Limb Travelling Fellowship Haris Naseem
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he ZimmerBiomet Lower Limb Fellowship, awarded to Haris Naseem, was spent at the Russian Ilizarov Scientific Centre for Restorative Traumatology and Orthopaedics in Kurgan, Russia, where Gavriil Abramovich Ilizarov discovered and applied the principle of ‘tension-stress.’ I aimed to gain experience of this method in a high volume centre, understand the scope of its application, meet surgeons from a variety of international backgrounds, gain historical perspective in an area of interest to me and ultimately use this to benefit patients in the UK. This was a four week structured Fellowship that was comprised of theatre time, case discussions, lectures and workshops with Saturday mornings reserved for sawbone work, with the opportunity to scrub in and assist with cases in theatre. Surgeons were extremely experienced with techniques and circular frames were applied efficiently with a heavy reliance on knowledge of anatomical landmarks over intra-operative
radiography. They were supported by a multi-disciplinary team, with patients often staying at the centre for their entire duration of time in circular frames, giving them access to optimised nursing care and rehabilitation. The pathology observed was varied and included traumatic and elective conditions in both the paediatric and adult population. Examples included limb lengthening, non-union surgery, acute fracture fixation in the upper and lower limbs, the management of the diabetic foot and bone infection. Whilst the majority of the work performed at the centre uses the Ilizarov apparatus, internal fixation is available for certain cases, as is joint replacement surgery.
In summary I felt that my objectives for going were achieved and also that the visit took place at the right time as I had attained CCT and had Fellowship experience in this technique prior to the visit. I would like to thank the Ilizarov Scientific Centre for hosting me and also the BOA for the generous award of the Zimmer Travelling Fellowship. Please visit www.boa.ac.uk/travellingfellowships to read Haris’ full report and other reports by BOA Travelling Fellows. n
British Hip Society (BHS) update Andy Hamer
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he British Hip Society has not been immune to the effects of the pandemic and has made the difficult decision to move its traditional March Annual Scientific Meeting to a fully virtual meeting in June 2021. By the time you read this, the meeting will have taken place with a number of Topic in Focus sessions, free papers, guest lecturers and industry seminars. A summary of the meeting will appear in a future edition of the JTO. The BHS has continued to help its members during these difficult times by holding a number of webinars looking at the development of Revision Hip Networks and plan an ongoing educational webinar series titled ‘The BHS Midweek Special: Every Day is a School Day’. This series of case based discussions with experts in the field is the brainchild of Vikas Khanduja and will be held monthly throughout 2021-22. The BHS have also established a Culture and Diversity Committee who are developing a mentorship programme, engaging with Doctors of Tomorrow, creating inspirational videos and establishing a network of research mentors who can advise junior doctors on research projects. The BHS are closely involved in a national project looking at the improvements that can be made to revision hip surgery prompted by Professor Tim Briggs and the GIRFT process. The society has produced four BOASTs for revision for infection, dislocation, aseptic loosening and instability which will be published via the BOA. In addition, the BHS have developed a democratically elected Revision Hip Network National Advisory Panel with representatives from across the UK, to bring local expertise and knowledge to the question of how Revision Hip networks might look. Please visit the BHS website for more information, https://britishhipsociety.com. n
10 | JTO | Volume 09 | Issue 02 | June 2021 | boa.ac.uk
