After a day in theatre
Dinner with Dr Hiro Sugaya, his colleagues, fellows and staff after a busy day of surgery. Sushi, of course.
The day's list covered shoulder instability, rotator cuff tears and shoulder arthritis.
Why surgeons visit each other
Spending a day in another surgeon's theatre is one of the most direct ways of learning technique. A published paper describes what was done and what was recorded afterwards. It does not show how the patient was positioned, where the portals were placed, how the tissue was handled, or what the surgeon did when something did not go to plan. Those details are visible only in the room.
A visit is also a two way exchange. The visiting surgeon asks why each step is done in that order, and the host has to put into words reasoning that has become automatic. Both tend to learn something from it.
The conditions on the list
The three groups covered that day account for a large share of shoulder surgery anywhere in the world. Shoulder instability is where the joint comes out of its socket, or comes close to it, usually following an injury. A rotator cuff tear is a tear of one or more of the tendons that hold the ball of the shoulder against the socket and allow the arm to be lifted and rotated. Shoulder arthritis is loss of the smooth cartilage surfaces of the joint, which causes pain and stiffness. Each has a range of treatment options, surgical and non surgical, and the choice depends on the individual patient and the individual shoulder. Individual results vary.
Related information
See our post on the day in theatre with Dr Sugaya, and our pages on shoulder instability, rotator cuff tear and shoulder arthritis.