Hip Replacement Surgery at Wellton Hospital

Hip Replacement Surgery at Wellton Hospital is quite different from the others for the following reasons.


(1) Minimally Invasive Surgery.

(2) Muscle & Tendon Sparing technique

(3) Early Ambulation

(4) Team of Professionals
   Radiology department has developed a proper radiographic reading method to diagnose and treat the disease.
   RNs at Wards has developed a patient management protocols for the patients during pre and post-op.

Farewell Dr. Allan Brabante

On July 22, 2014, Dr. Allan Brabante, graduated from Philippine Orthopedic Center, Quezon City, Philippines finished his last day at Wellton Hospital, Korean Orthopedic Specialty Hospital, Seoul, Korea.

Dr. Brabante was a Orthopedic fellow came to Wellton Hospital as a part of Wellton International Fellowship Program (WIFP) in Januray, 2014.  He spent last six months in Korea and participated in various meetings and conferences with other surgeons and observed Orthopedic cases, outpatient consultation, daily rounds and rehabilitation programs at Wellton Hospital.  He was impressed with the most advanced surgical techniques and rehabilitation program for hip replacement & knee replacement.

Dr. Brabante is also one of the co-authors of the paper regarding Early Dislocation Rate in Complete Short-External-Rotator tendon preservation posterolateral approach Total Hip Arthroplasty.   This paper is currently submitted to the Journal of Arthroplasty.

We sincerely hope Dr. Brabante can start Wellton's Minimally Invasive Total Hip Replacement with muscle & tendon sparing technique in his practice soon.

Wellton Hospital, Korean orthopedic specialty hospital, mainly focuses on treatments of hip, knee and shoulder.  Last year, Wellton Hospital was ranked as national top 3 hospitals for most hip replacement surgery done in 2013.  Wellton Hospital proves their clinical excellence through outstanding results and advanced technology. 

Welcoming new surgeons from Philippines and Nepal

On July 21, two international orthopedic surgeons joined Wellton Hospital, Korean Orthopedic Specialty Hospital in Seoul, Korea.

Dr. Mark Besa

Dr. Suman Shrestha

Dr. Mark Besa graduated from Philippine Orthopedic Center, Quezon City, Philippines.

Dr. Besa will be with Wellton Hospital for the next six months as an international clinical fellow.  Philippine Orthopedic Center is a national orthopedic hospital in Philippines and has a good relationship with Wellton Hospital as clinical partners.

Dr. Besa will observe Orthopedic cases, outpatient consultations, daily rounds, and participate in weekly and monthly meetings and conferences to further enhance his knowledge.

Dr. Suman Shretha is an orthopedic surgeon from Nepal, and is now doing his fellowship program at Hallym University Sacred Heart Medical Center in Chun-cheon City.  He also attended at the first Wellton Live Surgery Workshop on minimally invasive Total Hip Arthroplasty held on July 3, 2014 at Wellton Hospital and witnessed the novel technique of Hip replacement with muscle & tendon sparing approach.  After attending the workshop, he decided to spend more time to learn about the technique.

Surgery in Summer

Surgery in summer 

* this article was originally published at www.koreatimes.co.kr

By Song Sang-ho

During the rainy season, which this year begins earlier than usual, those with arthritis suffer from particularly painful knees. When it rains, the atmospheric pressure decreases and humidity increases by around 30 to 80 percent. Because the knee joint is sensitive to temperature and humidity, it expands, which causes pain.

Around this time of the year, many patients ask me “Is it okay to get knee replacement surgery in summer?” Because of the knee joint’s sensitivity, they think the surgical site won’t heal well and will get infected. In truth, however, there is no correlation between the surgery and the season.

Nowadays, a good surgical prognosis can be expected regardless of the timing of the surgery thanks to advances in surgery and surgical systems. According to research by Johns Hopkins University in the United States, the rate of infection after surgery is highest in the winter (January) and lowest in the summer (July and August).

One of the most important advances in surgery is the mini-incision. For patients in late-stage degenerative arthritis, which is especially painful during the rainy season, the mini-incision enables fast recovery and reduces the risk of infection and complications. In this procedure, the incision is reduced from the usual 20 centimeters to between eight to 10 centimeters. The smaller incision size minimizes potential damage to the muscle and tendon around the joint and risk of bacterial infection.

Patients can walk four hours after the surgery; they can freely go to toilet or sit on a wheelchair or a chair. This reduces the risk of complications. In the past, patients who have undergone hip joint replacement surgery have limited mobility for more than six weeks in order to prevent dislocation. However, this lack of mobility increases the risk of infection such as bedsores.

The mini-incision for hip joint surgery to preserve the external rotator involves a high level of difficulty because the smaller incision minimizes visibility. Therefore, patients should check a specialist’s experience and proficiency fully rather than worry about seasonal factors when planning to have knee surgery. In addition, they should check the hospital’s environment, such as whether it has a sterile operating room, which minimizes the risk of infection by filtering out the dirt or germs in the air through an air purification system.

Finally, patients should also check information about antibiotic use evaluation. The Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service provides such information on its website. Antibiotic use evaluation is conducted among patients to prevent surgical site infection and monitor potential abuse of antibiotics, which increases bacteria’s resistance to antibiotics.

Patients shouldn’t put off knee surgery because of incorrect information or lack of understanding. A painful joint isn’t healthy and affects one’s daily life. Some patients who have put off surgery become depressed because they are limited in what they can do. Patients should remember that when it comes to knee surgery, the season doesn’t matter and that improving one’s health is not something they should wait for.

Sang Ho Song, MD, PhD

The writer is the president of the Wellton Bone and Joint Hospital

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/culture/2013/07/319_139137.html

Wellton Hospital is an orthopedic Specialty Hospital in Seoul, Korea.

Wellton Hospital is well-known for its clinical excellency in hip replacement and knee replacement surgery.  Dr. Sang Ho Song is an orthopedic surgeon / consultant who has developed Minimally Invasive Total Hip Arthroplsaty with muscle & tendon sparing technique.

His study on over 1,000 cases of Hip replacement surgery is planned to be published at the Journal of Arthroplasty this fall, 2014.  

Is your body ready for summer? [Korea Times]

Original Article can be found at http://koreatimes.kr/www/news/culture/2014/07/319_160417.html

IS YOUR BODY READY FOR SUMMER?

The French word "vacance" is directly from the Latin root "vacatio," meaning "freedom." As the definition of the word explains, it is the only time of the year that everyone can get away from busy daily life and enjoy their freedom. In Korea, what most people do before summer is body shaping. The biggest problem with this condensed and intense workout is that it can hurt us. An increasing number of men are interested in making their bodies fit in time for the summer. Losing weight, building up muscles and body contouring are the main focuses, but the importance of keeping the inner-body healthy is often neglected. Severe weight loss and diets can ruin your joints. The most common way to lose weight is through a diet meal plan. It sounds fantastic to boost up the effectiveness of a workout by limiting the amount of calories we consume every day. However, having unconditional fasting or pino-therapy is quite risky for your joints. What we get most often from sudden change of diet is osteoporosis due to lack of calcium in bones. Our body tries to forcibly utilize the calcium stored in the bones when the calcium level in the body is extremely low. This leads to a decrease in bone-mineral density, and eventually our bones will become porous and fragile. Bone-mineral density, directly related to osteoporosis, reaches its peak during our 20s and 30s, and gradually decreases afterwards. That is to say, it is important to keep the bone-mineral density as high as possible while we are young to prevent osteoporosis in the first place. Especially for women, it is highly advised since the bone-mineral density level will drop sharply. Moreover, it is extremely difficult to restore bone-mineral density after loss. Therefore, it is important to avoid any unwanted bone-mineral density loss due to intense weight loss.It is recommended to eat healthy and do cardio exercises instead of fasting or pino-therapy for weight loss. In the case of men, it is advised to avoid excessive heavy lifting or workouts to build up muscles. Intensive workouts in a short period of time will harm your shoulders and knees. Running for too long or too fast on a treadmill will have constant impact on the knees, and this may cause injuries like anterior cruciate ligament rupture or a meniscus tear. What's more, it can develop into osteoarthritis. Besides, most of upper-body exercises have to do with the shoulders; in this case, the shoulder joint can be hurt due to either an unstable position or excessive strain during exercise. Most common lifting injuries are rotator cuff tears and torn labrums. When the shoulder is injured, there is pain in the shoulder and arms. In addition to pain in the injured area, mobility is also limited. In a mild case, physical therapy or medication will help, but surgical treatment is recommended for severe cases. Obesity is also not good for your joints. Healthy diet and regular exercise are always great, but be careful not to rush. Rushing into weight loss can harm your joints and ruin your physical fitness, especially in summer. Growing old and staying healthy is as important as looking gorgeous while young. To stay good and healthy as we get older, we should try to keep ourselves healthy in our 20s and 30s. Don't be fooled by young and beautiful celebrities on TV. I would hope all of us keep in mind staying healthy for old age should start now. The writer is the president of the Wellton Bone & Joint Hospital. Wellton Hospital is an Orthopedic Specialty Hospital located in Seoul, Korea.   Wellton Hospital focus on patient-centered care, and major interests are Hip&Knee Replacement and Arthroscopic procedures. Wellton Hospital has been ranked as National Top 3 hospitals for the most Total Hip Arthroplasty done in the year 2013.

Wellton Live Surgery Workshop

On July 3, 2014, there was the 1st Wellton Live Surgery Workshop on Minimally Invasive Total Hip Arthroplasty at Wellton Hospital, Seoul, Korea.  There were five orthopedic surgeons from different countries - Philippines, India, Nepal and Korea.

Program began with a set of lecture, slides and video presentation of technique by Dr. Allan Brabante, a clinical fellow / orthopedic surgeon at Wellton Hospital.   Participants also had a chance to do hands-on sawbone workshop at this event.

This workshop was designed to share our clinical experience with many other orthopedic surgeons.   Wellton Hospital is well-known for its clinical excellence in minimally invasive total hip arthroplasty with muscle & tendon sparing technique.

Participants had a hospital tour and visited various facilities of the hospital. 

The picture above is physical therapy specialist giving talks about rehabilitation protocols of hip patient.  At Wellton, the same-day ambulation is a big part of the rehabilitation program.

They also visited Radiology department.

There were four hip cases scheduled on July 3, and two cases were carefully selected for the live surgery demonstration - one Total Hip Replacement and one Hemiarthroplasty (Bi-polar).  Participants actually had chance to observe how we have modified the conventional technique to improve the surgical outcome.

During breaks, they had discussion on the cases and technique itself.

It was a great experience for everyone who attended this workshop, and they all were satisfied.  Wellton Hospital plans to continue with this live surgery workshop periodically.
The schedule for the next workshop will be announced in late July.