AADO Asian Fellowship Programme 2015
Report from Dr Vivek Singh

28 Aug - 18 Sep 2015

It is a report from Dr Vivek Singh , 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 - 18 Sep 2015.

I was awarded the AADO Asian Fellowship Program during the months of August-September 2015. 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.

I was given the fellowship letters well in advance and as a result, there was ample time to plan the trip and get the required permissions. Also, I was informed about the other two Indian fellows who were visiting during the same time duration. Each one was informed about the others email address, thus enabling effective communication between us. I arrived on morning of 27th August 2015at 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 Sha Tsui to get a local SIM card and Indian food. We had a telephonic conversation with Dr Ivan 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 attended 24th AADO-OLC advanced trauma course on pelvi-acetabular fractures at Prince of Wales Hospital,Hong Kong. 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.

Next morning, I went to the hospital at 8 AM and was welcomed there by my 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. 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 seeing 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 and few proximal tibia 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. Though my training period was for three weeks, I had the opportunity to be exposed to all sorts of trauma surgeries.

The out patient services were on Wednesday and Friday and started at 9.00 AM. 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 covering all the aspects of Orthopaedic trauma.The slides were really informative and up to date.

Academic meetings with other residents were conducted every Wednesday at 8 AM, wherein the cases operated in the previous week were reviewed with relevant discussions.

I was very fortunate to be 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 family.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 Prateek who were my co-fellows during this duration.

Dr Vivek Singh