Restoring abilities of individuals who have completely or partially lost their functions, rehabilitation is of the utmost importance now a days. Canadian Specialist Hospital Rehabilitation Department acknowledges this concept and focuses on driving patients out of their illnesses through education and advanced, highly skilled care. With more than 4700 inpatient and almost 19000 outpatient procedures done in 2016, Rehabilitation Department is one of the leading centers in Dubai for rehabilitation inorthopaedic, cardiologic, neurologic, and neurosurgical patients. Also, services include postpartum, oncologic, and endocrine rehabilitation, as well as occupational therapy and psychologic assessment and support for both children and adults. Relevant initiatives of social interest are also encouraged and supported: Rehabilitation Department recently took part to the World campaign for autism awareness, both in-house and on field community events. Dr Paolo Cellocco is Head of Rehabilitation Department at Canadian Specialist Hospital, whilst he is also a highly skilled European trained Orthopaedic Surgeon, mostly focusing on knee and trauma surgery. “Nearly all surgical procedure” -dr. Paolo says- “benefit from post-operative physiotherapy protocols, and I usually tell my patients that 50% of an excellent outcome after surgery relies on early and intensive post-operative rehabilitation”. “Surgical techniques evolve with time, and we can nowadays effectively address most of knee conditions via minimally invasive surgery, which in turn helps in restoring knee function earlier and with less pain” – doctor states. “Recreational sports activities like football, cricket, tennis, as well as skiing, skating, or even running, expose people to knee injuries. Anterior Cruciate Ligament reconstruction is one of the most frequently performed procedures in orthopaedic surgery, especially in young and active people. Minimally invasive techniques allow for less painful post-operative early rehabilitation, which normally starts immediately after surgery. My patients usually reach 90 degrees of knee flexion during the first post-operative day”. Knee injuries may also result in fractures, though.“Traditionally, fractures can be detected by plain x-rays, and they may need either conservative or operative treatment, including opening fracture site, putting bony fragments back in place, and fix them usually through plates and screws to secure proper healing” – dr. Paolo says – “but sometimes minor trauma may cause micro-fractures that can only be detected by MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging). These micro fractures are also referred to as intraspongeous fractures, or‘ bone bruising’ and may be missed in early x-ray assessment. Similar conditions may be found in osteoarthrits, where mechanical changes may determine localized excessive loads and subsequent small intraspongeous bone failure”. A novel technique called Subchondroplasty has been introduced in USA and approved by FDA in order to treat these conditions. Can you explain that?“I am glad I recently performed the first surgery of this kind in the UAE” – explains dr. Paolo. “It is done under loco-regional anesthesia, and it includes a less than 1 cm incision to insert a metal needle through the bone until the lesion is reached and a small amount of biologic cement is released in it. Patients normally experience pain subsiding 24-36 hours after surgery.” Subchondroplasty is safe and effective, although when age-related degenerative processes are too advanced, knee replacement may still be an option.“It is right, but even in such cases we have less invasive techniques, including unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA), which is intended to preserve intact areas in knee while replacing the most damaged ones” – doctor says. “Neither all conditions are the same, nor all techniques are suitable for all patients. Only knowledge, experience, commitment and passion will guide surgeon in discussing patients’ needs and expectations, thus finding the solution that really suits for that specific case”.
Be Treated by Qualified Hands
