AADO Asian Fellowship Programme 2015
Report from Dr Prateek Behera

28 Aug - 25 Sep 2015

It is a report from Dr Prateek Behera, 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.

I got selected for the AADO fellowship Program for the months of August-September 2015. The information that the fellowship was open was provided by the regular e mails which I get for being an  AADO member. This fellowship program is intended for training of the candidate to gain exposure and get acquainted with new ideas on dynamic osteosynthesis in orthopaedic trauma.

Once selected, the fellowship letter was sent well in advance and as a result, there was enough time to plan the trip and get the required permissions from my institute authorities. The training visa was also arranged and was sent by the AADO office. Ms Terry did a terrific job of communicating the details of the trip. Also, I was informed about the other two Indian fellows who were visiting during the same time period. Each one was informed about the others email address, thus enabling effective communication between us and we booked the same flight.
I arrived on morning of 27th August 2015 at the Hong Kong International Airport along with two of my co-fellows. We reached Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) at Kowloon, Hong Kong, by taking bus number A22 from airport. On arrival we checked in our comfortable accommodation as per instructions provided by AADO office. On the same day our identity cards were also issued. After that we proceeded to nearby Chungkin mansion in Tsim Sa Tsui to get a local SIM card. We had a telephonic conversation with Dr Iwan Ip who took time off from his busy schedule and briefed us regarding the schedule of my training period and the daily routine to be followed.

Next two days we were arranged to  attended 24th AADO-OLC advanced trauma course on pelvi-acetabular fractures at Prince of Wales Hospital,Hongkong.It was a great learning experience since the course covered every aspect of pelvi-acetabular trauma right from basic anatomy to advanced navigation principles including cadaveric workshops. I am  greatful to AADO that it sponsored my attendance in the course. During the course we met our chief instructor Dr WY Shen. I believe that the course was an added benefit to me and my
co fellows.

Next morning, I went to the hospital at 8 AM to meet our guide Dr. Shen W Y. He is an international authority on dynamic Osteosynthesis and has vast experience in managing different types of fractures especially with nails. He was kind enough to arrange operation theatre (OT) lockers and access security cards for us all by himself. The training programme started every morning at 8.30 with interesting discussion in Dr Shen’s office.I was impressed by the importance given by Dr. Shen in preoperative planning and the type of implant to be used in each case. The effective use of technology for planning and execution of the plan for trauma surgeries was amazing. Dr. Shen with his experience discussed the problems which might occur and also explained how to come out of them. His experience in interlocking nails is amazing. He has solutions to all the problems faced by us during nailing of difficult fractures. The operation days used to be on Monday, Tuesday,and Thursday. Dr. Shen starts to operate by 9.30 AM and continues till late evening. I had the opportunity of observing a variety of cases being performed. Most of the patients were geriatric patients with fractures of the hip and lower limbs being the commonest. Exposure to the latest nails and their proper use was the highlight of this training. I also had the opportunity to see some difficult ankle, few proximal tibia fractures and few distal humerus fractures. The surgeries were performed in a very efficient manner and 4-5 cases were performed in one operation theatre everyday. I was deeply impressed with the preoperative planning and the efficient way of performing the surgeries. I had the opportunity to be exposed to all sorts of trauma surgeries including percutaneous Ilio sacral screw and Reverse sural flap both were performed by Dr K B Lee and Dr Shen had arranged for observing them.

The out patient services were on Wednesday and Friday and started at 9.00 AM with a team meeting where we interacted with the team headed by Dr Shen and discussed cases. The way Dr. Shen took care of the patients who were mostly elderly individuals in the OPD needs special mention. He has a very cordial and friendly way with his patients. During OPD we had the opportunity to go through the powerpoint presentations of Dr Shen which he has planned and prepared for the fellowship and it covers almost  all the aspects of adult Orthopaedic trauma. The slides were really informative and up to date. At the end of fellowship I was handed over the certificate and fellowship money.

On weekends we had ample time in our hands to visit the Peak, Avenue of stars,
Tian Tan Buddha among the many places which make Hong Kong a tourist attraction. The restaurant at the QEH provided good, healthy yet economical food. The availability of seven eleven store in the campus was also a big plus point.

I was very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to work as a Trauma Fellow at Queen Elizabeth Hospital under Dr. Shen. All the doctors and staff members were very co-operative during my training and making my stay and period of fellowship comfortable. It was a wonderful and enriching experience both professionally and personally. Many thanks to Dr. Shen and his team.I would also like to thank AADO for giving me this opportunity to work as a trauma fellow in one of the most reputed hospitals in Asia. I returned from Hong Kong with fond memories, enriched experience and also many new friends including Dr Prabhu and Dr Vivek who were my co-fellows during this duration.

Dr Prateek Behera