News News from the AO Spine Center at Schulthess Klinik
Spine Surgery at Schulthess Klinik is one of four certified «AO Spine Centers» in Switzerland alongside the St. Gallen Cantonal Hospital and the University Hospitals of Bern and Basel. It is headed by Prof. Dr. med. Dezsö J. Jeszenszky, PhD. This certification is granted to only a handful of highly specialised centres in the field of spine surgery. Schulthess Klinik was successfully re-certified in November 2022. Commitment to training and development is an important criterion of the certification and aligns with Schulthess Klinik’s guiding principle of passing on the knowledge of its specialists and developing the next generation of medics. Below you can see some of our highlights from 2022.
Guest doctors from all over the world
After a pandemic-induced hiatus, the department for Spine Surgery, Orthopaedics and Neurosurgery has spent the past year once again welcoming guest doctors from all over the world. These included Dr Hiroyuki Nakarai from Tokyo, who spent three months at Schulthess Klinik as an AO Spine Fellow
«I was impressed by the meticulous and efficient treatment of numerous complex spinal disorders in the well-organized operating rooms. Furthermore, I was extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to work on research projects with cutting-edge researchers. I would like to thank Schulthess Klinik and AO Spine for this wonderful opportunity. I highly recommend a visit this hospital, one of the best orthopedic hospitals in the world.»
AO Spine training in Switzerland
Two AO Spine courses and an AO Spine seminar were held in Switzerland in 2022, with Schulthess Klinik strongly represented both as a faculty and amongst the participants.
On 2 and 3 May, the AO Spine Principles Level Specimen and Simulation Course ‘From Freehand to Navigation’ (Chair: PD Dr. med. Christoph Albers) was held in Bern.
PD Dr. med. Daniel Haschtmann showed the participants how pedicle screws are inserted into the thoracic and lumbar spine.
PD Dr. med. Markus Loibl showed the participants the surgical technique of transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF), which is performed around 450 times a year at Schulthess Klinik.
This was followed on 30 September and 1 October by the AO Spine Advanced Level Specimen Course «Challenging Spine Conditions in the Elderly: Evidence in Decision Making and Surgical Treatment» (Chair: PD Dr. med. Martin Stienen, St. Gallen), which was held in Bern. PD Dr. med. Markus Loibl was in attendance and showed the participants the surgical technique of pedicle subtraction osteotomy (PSO), which is performed around 25 times a year at Schulthess Klinik.
On 11 November, an AO Spine Basis seminar was held at Schulthess Klinik to prepare candidates for the specialist examination on spinal conditions. Twelve experienced spine surgeons from large centres in Switzerland took the time to prepare 32 specialist candidates for their upcoming examination.
Back row from left to right: Dr. med. Tamás Fekete (Schulthess Klinik), Dr. med. Lukas Urbanschitz (University Hospital Basel), Dr. med. Benjamin Martens (St. Gallen Cantonal Hospital), Dr. med. Harry Gebhard (Baselland Cantonal Hospital), Dr. med. Tobias Pötzel (SPC Nottwil), PD Dr. med. Kai Sprengel (St. Anna Lucerne), PD Dr. med. Christoph Albers (University Hospital Bern), PD Dr. med. Ralph Schär (University Hospital Bern).
Country Council meeting at Schulthess Klinik
In June, PD Dr. med. Ralph Schär of University Hospital Bern replaced PD Dr. med. Martin Stienen of St. Gallen Cantonal Hospital as the neurosurgery department representative (Neuro Officer) at AO Spine Switzerland. Following his election, the first meeting of the new Country Council of AO Spine Switzerland took place at Schulthess Klinik on 9 June 2022.
