BOA sponsored travelling fellowship to Ganga Hospital, India 2023

Kunal Kulkarni

Consultant Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgeon (Hand and Wrist Surgery), University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust

I was delighted to have been awarded a BOA Travelling Fellowship to Ganga Hospital in Coimbatore, India – an internationally recognised, 650bed private orthoplastic centre of excellence for hand and upper limb surgery, and one of the busiest specialist units in India.

During my visit, I had the opportunity to spend time with their specialist elective and trauma orthopaedic and plastic surgical teams. In a single clinic, I saw a wide variety of upper limb cases, ranging from the simple (carpal tunnel, De Quervain’s) to the complex (birth brachial plexus palsy, open polytrauma).

There is a strong ethos of research and teaching, with residents, fellows and consultants undertaking numerous teaching sessions each week that I was able to attend. I also had the opportunity to complete Ganga’s highly regarded microsurgery course, which takes place over five days in a lab furnished with four Zeiss microscopes.

The course covers a variety of arterial and venous anastomosis on anaesthetised rat femoral vessels (approximately the calibre of adult human digital vessels), allowing repeated practice during the week to build confidence and dexterity. This opportunity allowed me to observe the delivery of complex and life-changing care to a huge number of patients, in a very different clinical and social environment to my usual NHS practice. The expertise of the teams was evident, with many of their senior clinicians well-established on the international conference circuit. I had a great experience and would highly recommend a visit. Thank you to the BOA for supporting this experience.

This BOA travelling fellowship took place at Ganga Hospital, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India in February 2023.