The Orthopedic and Traumatology department at Al Ahli Hospital in Qatar is considering providing services to the victims of road traffic accidents and worksite injuries. These are both two significant sources of bone fractures .
Currently, victims of road traffic accidents and worksite injuries can only get treatment at Hamad Medical Corporation. According to a recent statement by consultant orthopedic and spine surgeon Dr. Emmanuel Tolessa, the department is looking into expanding its treatment services to include the treatment for trauma, such as dislocated joints and fractured bones.
The department has recently purchased the newest equipment for trauma and folllow-up surgery. They also have successfully treated isolated trauma cases. The orthopedic and traumatology department at Al Ahli was established about a year ago and currently receives about 600 cases a month, with patients ranging in age from 28 to 45. They expect to get close to 1,000 cases a month by November.
According to Dr. Tolessa, the most common cases are spine problems and that back and neck injuries make up about 45% of the cases in that department. The hospital is also seeing an increase in the number of young people with back injuries and knee problems. The most common causes of back pain are inactivity, strain, and obesity. More and more people are managing back pain with surgery rather than more traditional methods of taking pain relieving medication. Current spine procedures handled by the department include discectomy, decompression, instrumented fusion, facet joint injection, dynamic stabilization, selective nerve block, radiofrequency ablation, caudal epidural injection, and precultaneous decompression.
Source: Gulf Times- “Hospital looking to handle bigger cases”- Sept. 9, 2009