AADO Asian Fellowship Programme 2015
Report from Dr. Dhanasekara Prabu  

28 Aug - 25 Sep 2015

It is a report from Dr. Dhanasekara Prabu, one of the successful applicants of AADO Asian Fellowship Programme in Queen Elizabeth Hospital at Hong Kong, who had a visit there on
28 Aug - 25 Sep 2015.

Greetings from India. I am Dhanasekararpabu and i work as a senior resident in the Department of Orthopaedics, All India institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.

I was informed that i was selected for the AADO Fellowship for a period of 4 weeks in the month of September 2015 under the mentorship of Prof Shen. I was a little apprehensive about the visa procedures, but thanks to Ms Terry it was a breeze. She kept us informed on regular intervals about the status of application and also sent us detailed instructions which were pretty helpful. The names and contacts of other fellows were shared with us beforehand and that let us communicate with each other.

I had a great time interacting with my other two fellows Dr. Vivek and Dr. Prateek who made my stay in hong kong memorable and enjoyable. I would cherish the times i spent with them and i hope a lifelong bond has been formed.

We arrived in hongkong on the 27th and finding our accomadation at Queen Elizabeth hospital was easy thanks to instructions from Ms. Terry. We had been enrolled in the
AADO-OLC Advanced Trauma Course on pelvi acetabular fractures in Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin. The course was a real eyeopener for me. The use of navigation in aacute trauma setting and the fact that it aided in the accurate placement of screws was wonderful and showed me the glimpse of what the future holds. The oppurtunity to try out approaches to the Pelvis on the cadavers was wonderful and with instructors like
Dr. Ning Tang, Dr. K B Lee, Dr. Lawrence malisono it was indeed splendid. We met our Mentor
Prof. Shen on the second day of the course. He welcomed us warmly and asked us to report the next day in his office.

At this point I would like to say a few words about our mentor, Prof. Shen. Meeting him and interacting with him has been an eyeopener for me. The enthusiasm he has for his profession is boundless. He shares a passion for teaching that only a very few have. It is indeed a privilege to see him operate. I was greatly amazed at the perfection and the attention to detail that he ensured in every case. I was astounded with the way he operates single handedly without assistance on intertrochanteric fractures and femoral fractures at a very impressive speed without cutting any corners. He makes surgeries look easy but as i know from my experience that some times they are not.

The analysis that he brings forth and his view points on subjects made me understand and learn the finer aspects of trauma care. He made me realise that learning doesnt stop and is a lifelong journey. Prof Shen also made me realise the need for documentation and history keeping. He has an impressive collection of Xrays and clinical photographs and also of the complications which really helps in retrospection. His Series on atypical femoral fractures made me brush up on my topics and also the fact that i might have missed quite a few of these during my residency. He told us to analyse what we do, correct our mistakes, and if we are doing it correctly then ask ourselves is there a way to do it better. Thank you sir it was indeed a great oppurtunity to learn from you. And last but not least he made us feel at home and was always helpful.

The trauma unit at QEH deals mainly with geriatric fractures. We also had a chance to look at a few periprosthetic fractures and periarticular fractures. We also realised the need for intraop CT in the injuries of ankle and syndesmosis. We saw in action Prof Shen's principle of SPAN-SCAN-PLAN in the management of periarticular fractures.

We also had a chance to attend the team meeetings in wednesday and interact with the other members of Prof Shen's Team. We attended OPD's on wednesdays and fridays where we got a chance to look in to the impressive collection of Powerpoint presentations that Prof Shen has.

I have to say i am very grateful for the oppurtunity given by AADO. I am at the start of my orthopaedic career and my experiences here will mould me and help me evolve in to a better surgeon and a doctor. And at last a few words about this lovely city Hong Kong. You really have to be here to experience the magic of this great city.

It is a mix of the orient and the west and holds many surprises if you are willing to explore.
I would really like to thank Prof. Shen and his team at QEH and my friends Dr. Vivek and
Dr. Prateek. Thanks to the almighty as well without whom nothing is possible.

Regards,

Dr. Dhanasekara Prabu