Page 37 -

YOUNG INVESTIGATORS SCHOLARSHIP & RESEARCH MENTORING PROGRAM REPORTS
Sunday Onimisi Salami, MBBS, FWACS, NIGERIA
I got one of the best mails in my life on February 24th this year from ISAKOS informing of award the of 2015 Young Investigators Award, I was excited and looked forward to attending the Congress and having an opportunity to meet great clinicians and scientists from all over the world.
Sadly for some reason I was refused visa to enter France. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. As surgeons we constantly try to make the best of every situation bad or good. Thanks to technology I was able to attend the meeting with ISAKOS Scientific Committee via Skype! Despite not being there physically I could feel the energy level in the room. All the surgeons who interviewed me felt passionately about arthroscopy and sports medicine. Their key concern seemed to be to select a candidate who would teach others, and help to spread and advance the practice of this very exciting specialty. I was also able to catch some high points of the conference such as Dr. Fu’s talk on the future of ACL surgery.
As a surgeon working in a developing country I feel getting a research scholarship will help in documenting the current practice of arthroscopy with the intention of changing behavior of surgeons. A properly done research project can also influence government to see the need to develop and fund more arthroscopy units, which would go a long way in improving and further spreading the practice of arthroscopy.
Some people say arthroscopic surgery in my country should only be for the rich who can afford to travel out of the country but we say no – arthroscopic surgery can be safely conducted in a developing country with good planning and resource utilization. Yesterday I saw a woman who had arthroscopic meniscectomy for a medial meniscal tear of 1 year duration 3 weeks back. She is a trader and has since returned to her job. She paid only 700 dollars due to our current programme of personally subsidizing the cost to expand the availability to more patients. When I looked into her eyes I saw the look of appreciation and amazement she told me people kept asking her where the “big” scar is, they could not believe she had a surgical operation – it was like magic to them! Our plan is to train more surgeons and also expand the programme to involve shoulder joint.
My main area of research will be arthroscopic treatment of meniscal Injuries hoping to demonstrate improved outcomes and low morbidity.
Other challenges I have identified is poor knowledge on the part of general medical practitioners and also orthopaedic surgeons on common sports medicine conditions and aetiology of joint pain with loss of joint space on plain radiographs. We hope going forward to organize educational activities aimed at this target audience. Early diagnosis will lead to prompt treatment and better outcomes.
I will be glad if I am chosen for the ISAKOS research mentorship program. I believe this will greatly improve my practice, help me become a better ambassador of our great society, leading to more converts to this very exciting field of medicine.
Thank you!
Apply for an
ISAKOS Arthroscopy Traveling Fellowship!
Dr. Masaki Watanabe developed the first device for minimally invasive surgery. Created in honor of Dr. Watanabe’s accomplishments, the Masaki Watanabe Arthroscopy Traveling Fellowship Award is a new traveling fellowship sponsored by the ISAKOS Arthroscopy Committee. The fellowship will provide funding for two young arthroscopic surgeons to learn more about the current practice of arthroscopic surgery from well-respected experts in
the field.
Application Deadline: January 31, 2016 Apply Today at www.isakos.com/awards
ISAKOS NEWSLETTER 2015: Volume II 35