Education and Training Opportunities

The University Orthopaedic Hand & Reconstructive Microsurgery Cluster (UOHC)  is responsible for the training of both undergraduate medical students, basic and advanced surgical trainees. Our cluster is at the forefront of advanced surgical techniques and we have the largest number of Singaporean patients who have undergone thoracoscopic "keyhole" scoliosis surgery, hip surface replacement, advanced cartilage repair using autologous cartilage implantation or mesenchymal stem cells, and artificial spinal disc replacement. This has attracted regional and international fellows who are seeking subspeciality training in their respective areas of interest to train with us and we have had a long and successful history of having trained international surgeons in the areas of Spine, Joint Replacements, Paediatric Orthopaedics, Microsurgery, Trauma and Sports. We have also recently started a well-subscribed musculoskeletal oncology fellowship for international fellows with the aim of improving care in this area in the region.

Fellowship programmes

Workshops and courses

We also frequently conduct workshops and courses to impart advanced surgical techniques to both local and international surgeons and some of these recent courses include:

1. The Division of Spinal Surgery successfully completed a course on Artificial Disc Replacement for cervical and lumbar disc disease
2. The Division of Adult Reconstruction conducted Singapore's first cadaveric Hip Surface Replacement Course in the NUH STAR laboratory
   
3. Adolescent Spinal deformity Course conducted by the Division of Spinal Surgery
   
4. Asia's first International Cartilage Repair Society Surgical Skills Course
5. Photos of past courses

The department is also active in the continuing medical education (CME) of our Family Physician partners and we frequently conduct CME lectures and updates for them. We recently completed the 6th in a series of cadaveric workshops for local GPs on office procedures and suturing and also recently hosted a GP Symposium entitled "Non-operative management of Osteoarthritis".

Finally, we also conduct frequent public symposiums on various topics related to bones and joints to empower our community with the knowledge to lead an active and healthy life.

This course covers the design rationale, preoperative planning, and technical principles of primary total knee arthroplasty. It also introduces participants to the use of computer navigation in knee arthroplasty. It consists of interactive lectures, slide presentations, small group discussions and practical workshop sessions using sawbones.

The course is directed at trainee medical officers, registrars and fellows, and participation is limited to 15 individuals to maintain an effective faculty-student ratio. Participants are given the opportunity to practise both standard and navigated total knee arthroplasty.

The course is held twice a year, in May and in November. The Course Director is Dr Lingaraj Krishna, who is also the Associate Programme Director of the NUHS Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Programme.

 

 

 

 

Orthopaedic Tumour Weekends - 21 to 22 May

Professor Kumta giving a lecture on Pitfalls in Bone Tumour Management

 

Musculoskeletal Oncology is highly specialised and rapidly evolving branch of orthopaedic surgery. The R W H Pho Lectureship is held every year to honour the lifetime contributions of Emeritus Professor Robert W H Pho to the field of Musculoskeletal Oncology and Reconstructive Microsurgery.

This year, the Division of Musculoskeletal Oncology, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, hosted Professor Shekhar Madhukar Kumta, from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, as the RWH Pho lecturer for 2011. Professor Kumta is an eminent personality in the field of musculoskeletal oncology with a special interest in allograft and biological reconstruction of large bone defects, giant cell tumours and the use of computer navigation in limb construction surgery, Professor Kumta also shared his research symposium held in the department.

 

Professor Kumta and the Musculoskeletal Oncology Division at Pulau Ubin

 

Signing of departmental guest book by Professor Kumta 

 

The lectureship was not all work and no play. The exchange of ideas continued more informally over a cycling trip at Pulau Ubin on Sunday afternoon, and the day ended with a sumptuous seafood dinner at the Ubin Jetty hosted by Associate Professor Suresh Nathan.

The 2011 R W H Pho lectureship was a highly successful event and formed a platform for exchange of knowledge and translational research in the challenging, highly specialised and rapidly evolving field of musculoskeletal oncology. This event also witnessed the formation of new friendships and collaborative work between the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. 

 

V K Pillay Lectureship

Date: 21 - 23 Nov 2011 

Guest Lecturer: Kazuhisa Takahashi, MD

                             Professor and Chairman

                             Department of Orthopaedic Surgery

                             Graduate School of Medicine

                             Chiba University, Japan 

 

Synopsis

Recent basic science studies on discogenic low back pain have provided new knowledge about this condition. Review some of these results and presented an overview of the following findings. The rat lumbar intervertebral disc may be innervated non-segmentally through the paravertebral sympathethic nerve and segmentally through the sinuvertebral nerves, and also by dichotomising sensory fibres. The exposure of the nucleus pulposus (NP) to the outer annulus fibrosus (AF) may induce nerve injury and ingrowth into the disc. Nerve growth factor (NGF)-sensitive neurons are predominant in the rat intervertebral disc, which indicates that hyperalgesic responses can be induced by inflammation. NGF in the NP may promote axonal growth. Lumbar fusion may inhibit nerve ingrowth into the degenerative disc and reduce the percentage of calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP)-positive neuron.

 

Programme

21 Nov

0700hrs     Meet Head of Department and senior staff

0715hrs     Lecture: "Low Back Pain in Children" by Prof K Takahashi

0820hrs     Tea

0845hrs     Clinical Case Presentation - Paediatric spine condition (4 cases)

1200hrs     Lunch

                     Free Afternoon

1730hrs     Reception

1800hrs     2011 VK Pillay Lecture Programme

1930hrs     Private Dinner 

 

22 Nov

0715hrs     Lecture: "Neuroprotective Study Using G-CSF for Spinal Cord Injury" by Prof K Takahashi

0800hrs     Tea

0900hrs     Spine round

1100hrs     Lecture: "Lumbar Spinal Stenosis - Historical Review and Perspectives" by Prof K Takahashi

1200hrs     Lunch

1400hrs     Resident Teaching - (3 patients with spine conditions)

 

23 Nov

0700hrs     Lecture: "Treatment of Non Specific Low Back Pain" by Prof K Takahashi

0830hrs     Tea

0900hrs     Research Presentation

1100hrs     Tour of research facilities

1200hrs     Lunch

1400hrs     Debrief and signing of guest book