SICOT

Fellowship News

2018 HKU/SICOT Fellowship Report 

Introduction

The HKU/SICOT Fellowship in Orthopaedics is one of the most sought-after fellowships among SICOT fellowships. It usually has a long waiting period. I had applied in the year 2015-16 and the next slot available was for January 2018. Suffice to say that I was honoured and excited to have this opportunity.

Pre-arrival

The visa application process started as early as July 2017. The coordinators, Jenny Tam and Catherine Chiu, were constantly in touch with me through email and were very supportive. Before the arrival itself, all the necessary information such as accommodation, travel information, staff ID, HKU portal ID were given. Their planning and management skills are commendable.

Orthopaedic and Oncology team

I arrived in Hong Kong on 7 January 2018. I met the Chief of the Oncology team, Dr YL Lam on 8  January at Queen Mary Hospital and later was introduced to Dr Ho Kenneth and Dr Yau Raymond.

Activities in the department consist of 1 major OT at the Queen Mary Hospital, and 2 days of OT at the Duchess of Kent Hospital. They perform all kinds of musculoskeletal surgeries and reconstruction. The team consists of the most efficient surgeons who are highly motivated and dedicated to work and the patients. The surgeries are well planned beforehand and the meticulous dissection and tumor handling are impressive. A few of the surgeries are navigation assisted for precision. I could observe some complex surgeries involving hip and pelvic tumors and megaprosthesis reconstruction. I was also able to see the use of liquid nitrogen for osteosarcoma of proximal humerus.

In outpatient clinics on Fridays and Monday I had a chance to see the follow-up cases with good post-op results which included cases of complex reconstructions of pelvis and hip, and expandable knee prosthesis. I was very impressed by the way they counseled patients, especially Dr Lam, who gives a lot of time to patients explaining about the condition and the treatment.

Apart from this, the combined pathology meeting, combined sarcoma meeting and radiology meeting were very impressive. Difficult cases are discussed with the pathologist, radiologist, medical oncologist and radiotherapy team, thus ensuring a holistic approach to the patient. This provided me an opportunity to interact with them and learn more about sarcoma management.

I was also invited to give a talk at Lap-Chee college on Sports injuries.

The whole team ensured that I had a good and comfortable observership. I also got an opportunity to present a review on chondrosarcoma during one of the Wednesday teaching sessions in the department.

Accommodation

I was provided accommodation at Jockey Club III, at Kennedy Town. I found this place very comfortable. It is a short walk to the MTR, the light bus station, the market and groceries, park, gym, restaurants and coffee shops. 

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a beautiful place and this fellowship provided me a great opportunity to explore the city. It also gave me a chance to get to know other fellows in the department and I could explore this vibrant city with them. Be it the ‘city of lights’, as it is known as having one of the world’s best skyscrapers, or the islands with some wonderful trekking trails and picturesque views, Hong Kong has it all to leave an impression on you. 

Learning Points

This fellowship has helped me to develop my interest in musculoskeletal tumors. Apart from the new parts in orthopedics that I learnt, I am also greatly impressed by the professionalism, dedication, knowledge and team work of the entire oncology team.

I would like to thank SICOT and the entire department of Orthopaedics for giving this opportunity to overseas fellows like me to come and learn with them. My special thanks go to Dr Lam, Dr Ho and Dr Raymond, for always being very supportive and caring throughout the fellowship. I would also like to acknowledge the effort and professionalism of Ms Jenny and Ms Catherine.

I hope to come back here for another fellowship in Musculoskeletal oncology.

Thank you.