A prestigious international exchange program brought leading orthopaedic surgeons from France, Italy, Croatia and the Netherlands to NorthShore for surgical training sessions with Orthopaedic Surgery Chairman Jason Koh, MD, and colleagues.
Selected by the esteemed European Society for Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy (ESSKA), the Sports Medicine Fellows had the unique opportunity to participate in a meniscus transplant on a cadaver in the advanced Surgical Skills Lab at NorthShore’s Center for Simulation and Innovation in Evanston Hospital. The European visitors also took part in grand rounds and live surgical observation.
“NorthShore is honored to have these outstanding surgeons come to our institution to visit and learn from our physicians,” said Dr. Koh. “We’re pleased they had an opportunity to see some of the exciting regenerative work we are doing.” While cartilage transplantation procedures have been around for a while, they are technically challenging and not performed very frequently, he explained.
The fellows crowded around Dr. Koh as he demonstrated parts of the procedure, and then took turns with the sophisticated instrumentation, asking questions about everything from the technique to the rehabilitation process for patients following surgery.
“This was a great experience to work with Dr. Koh in this amazing lab. Every young surgeon should have the opportunity to learn in this setting. As a surgeon, we must always be learning, and I wish that we had resources like this in Croatia,” said fellow Nik Darabos.
“To be able to try this technique with the proper instrumentation and learn from such an experienced surgeon in a beautiful facility was an absolutely excellent experience,” said Francesca Vannini of Italy.
The group also visited the motor skills training center and had the opportunity to visit with former NorthShore Orthopaedic Chairman Howard Sweeney, MD, a pioneering leader in arthroscopic skills and education. “The fellows had a deep interest in the virtual reality simulators and program for surgical skills education. They were very impressed with Dr. Sweeney whose dedication to training the next generation of leaders in orthopaedic medicine remains strong,” said Dr. Koh.
NorthShore’s orthopaedic surgeons have earned national recognition for offering the most advanced and comprehensive care. The department is committed to ongoing innovation and academic excellence by teaching the future leaders of the profession.