Shoulder and Elbow Surgery

An almost insatiable thirst for knowledge and the motivation to pass on acquired knowledge were already the credo of Prof. Norbert Gschwend, pioneer and former director of Schulthess Klinik. This is also the driving force behind our specialists in shoulder and elbow surgery, all with the aim of ensuring that treatments are constantly improving. So, in addition to their main task of helping patients regain pain-free movement, our specialists also carry out numerous research projects, which means scientific research can be incorporated directly into everyday clinical practice and, in turn, practical experience can influence research results.

We also share our knowledge with colleagues in Switzerland and abroad through our publications, in-clinic teaching activities and conferences. Fittingly, the year 2022 was characterised by teaching and research.

At the annual congress of the D-A-CH Vereinigung für Schulter- und Ellenbogenchirurgie e. V. (DVSE), members of our shoulder and elbow surgery team gave a number of lectures and had the pleasure of receiving two awards. The Jochen Löhr Award was presented in recognition of a study concerning the assessment of acromioclavicular joint injuries.

The Best Paper Prize was awarded to a multicentre study on the treatment of posterior shoulder instability. In this study, the research team showed that a novel form of therapy based on movement-activated electrostimulation leads to significantly better results than conventional therapy. It was developed by Prof. Moroder, Senior Consultant for Shoulder and Elbow Surgery at Schulthess Klinik. The study was also awarded the Best Paper Prize at the Congress of the European Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Association (SECEC/ESSSE) in Dublin.

The first “HSS-Charité-Schulthess Shoulder Conference” took place in May. The conference saw specialists from the HSS Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Schulthess Klinik jointly share their knowledge with shoulder surgeons from all over the world in an online training session. The focus was on inverse shoulder prostheses. Prof. Dr. med. Markus Scheibel, Dr. med. Fabrizio Moro, Prof. Dr. med. univ. Philipp Moroder, Dr. med. Florian Freislederer and David Endell of Schulthess Klinik spoke at the conference.

The Schulthess Clinic Academy on shoulder surgery was held in November with around 270 participants. The first day was a “basic day” aimed mainly at referring professionals and focused on basic diagnostic and therapeutic techniques for use in daily practice. On the second day, the “expert day”, we looked at shoulder instability, rotator cuff injuries, shoulder endoprosthetics and traumatology of the shoulder girdle together with shoulder and elbow surgeons from all over Switzerland. With a mixture of lectures, live and replayed live demonstrations, we not only shared theoretical knowledge with the participants, but at the same time demonstrated the applied practice.

The Paris International Shoulder Course (PISC 2022) took place in July. The event was chaired by our Head of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, Prof. Dr. med. Markus Scheibel, together with Dr. med. Philippe Valenti from Institut de la main in Paris. PISC is the world’s largest specialist conference on shoulder replacement and is aimed at both qualified shoulder experts and junior surgeons. In addition to Prof. Dr. med. Markus Scheibel, Dr. med. Fabrizio Moro and Prof. Dr. med. univ. Philipp Moroder were also among the speakers.