Fellowship News
Report of the B. Braun Aesculap/SICOT Orthopaedic Scholarship (in Short Stem Total Hip Arthroplasty) at Annastift Hospital in Hannover, Germany
 Sandeep KashyapSICOT Active Member - Chandigarh, India |
I am really privileged and honoured to have been awarded the 2015 B. Braun Aesculap/SICOT Orthopaedic Scholarship (in Short Stem Total Hip Arthroplasty) at Annastift Hospital in Hannover, Germany, from 22 June to 3 July 2015. Hannover is a beautiful, clean, and green town and is the capital of the Lower Saxony region of Germany with abundant forest cover in and around the city. The wonderful cities of Hamburg and Berlin are also in its vicinity.
I reached Hannover on 21 June 2015 and my fellowship started on 22 June 2015. The hotel room was very comfortable, spacious with all the amenities and was at a walking distance from the hospital. In the morning of 22 June, I met Prof Dr Henning Windhagen who is the Head of the Department of Orthopaedics and a very skilled, experienced and enterprising surgeon. He discussed the fellowship and interacted regarding our interests and experience with Total Hip Arthroplasty. Subsequently, Dr Marco Ezechieli introduced me to my new colleagues, department, wards and operation theatre. I went to the operation theatre on Day 1 and started observing surgeries.
The operation theatre started at 08:00 until 16:00-17:00 and sometimes even up to 18:00. I had a wonderful opportunity to observe short stem Primary Hip Arthroplasty as there were plenty of interesting cases to observe apart from a few interesting cases of Revision Hip and Knee Arthroplasty. On 26 June the hosts organised a Saw Bones and Cadaveric Hands-on Course at Hannover Medical School on Short Stem Total Hip Arthroplasty that was very beneficial and informative. Prof Windhagen and every other fellow at the department were very keen and prompt in responding to my queries. I often had a good interactive discussion regarding the treatment options, surgical approach and anticipated difficulties in the intervening period between the surgeries in the operation theatres. Prof Windhagen and his colleagues taught me the tips and tricks in difficult surgeries as well as the key steps in different surgeries. I had also the opportunity to assist Dr Marco Ezechieli in Arthroscopic-assisted Mini open Hip approach for Femoroacetabular Impingement and it was really very informative. I think that the procedures and techniques along with the approach to the patient was excellent and an experience of a lifetime for me. The experience gained from this fellowship is enormous and will go a long way in shaping and refining my capabilities and skills.
I would sincerely like to thank Prof Henning Windhagen for his kind support throughout this fellowship. He, along with the other faculty members of Annastift including Prof Dr Gabriela Lewinski and Dr Tilman Callies, also hosted a farewell dinner for both SICOT fellows.
The experience gained and the exposure has benefitted me a lot and I will incorporate this in my practice in India which would be beneficial to patients in the long run. I do not have the words to express my gratitude and thanks to my fellow colleagues in Annastift Hannover and other staff members of the department who were very hospitable and friendly and made me learn and experience new and different concepts. I was really impressed and exhilarated by the hospitality of the fellows at Annastift Hannover.
I wholeheartedly thank and compliment SICOT for providing this prestigious fellowship, without which it would have been impossible to have this experience. I sincerely believe that one should never miss such a priceless opportunity of a lifetime.
From left to right: Dr Sandeep Kashyap, Prof Dr Henning Windhagen and Dr Atul Panghate at Annastift Hospital
