It was a great honor to be awarded
the 2015 AAOS International Scholarship supported by Dr. Richard Gayle of Palo Alto. The 27-hour trip to Rosemont
involved about 16 hours of flying from my home town of Nairobi in Kenya. My
first day at the OLC started with a meeting with the staff at the AAOS new headquarters, and I
got a chance to put a face to many people whom I had previously only
communicated with on email. The staff was very interested to hear about the
patients I take care of and the challenges I face. I also got a chance to
better understand the workings of the huge organisation that is the AAOS. 
I had a tour around the AAOS new building and visited the 'hall of fame'
where I saw the profile of great orthopaedic surgeons whom I had previously
only come across in the orthopaedic books I have read. It was a very humbling
experience.
Later that afternoon I participated
in the hip surgery course where the course directors Dr. Douglas Padgett and Dr. Scott Sporer made sure I was comfortable during the whole course. The lecturers
were delivered by very experienced surgeons many of whom have authored many papers
in highly regarded journals. I was extremely humbled to be in the presence of
such great minds. The lectures were delivered with a great emphasis on the
current evidence while also tapping on the vast experience that the speakers have.
The speakers took time to explain the various tricky aspects of each surgery
and presented real case examples to drive their point home. They also fielded
questions from the audience to ensure that we all left the lectures very clear on
how to handle difficult hip surgeries. The audience also came up with appropriate questions and shared their experience and challenges
faced.
My highlight of the course was the
cadaveric lab sessions. The laboratory is a state of the art facility that
could have held triple the number of participants. The student to faculty ratio
was one of the best I have seen anywhere at about 3:1 and there were no more
than four people in one table. The organizers went to great lengths to make sure
that surgeons were as much as is possible exposed to the implant systems they
use in their daily practice. The icing on the cake was when we were also
grouped according to the approach of the hip we preferred. This saw a few of us
who use the lateral approach attended to by a faculty member who also uses that
approach. This is very important given the vast majority of surgeons in North
America use the posterior approach. I got to try out all the different
techniques that I will need for my practice including exposure for primary surgery,
cementing techniques, extended trochanteric osteotomies and how to deal with
acetabelar defects. I thoroughly enjoyed the laboratory sessions.
At the end of the second day, the
course came to an end and I prepared to travel to Palo Alto in California. My
stay at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation was hosted by Dr. Richard Gayle a very dexterous
sports medicine specialist. The first two days were spent observing at the
clinic where I was exposed to a wide variety of patients with hip, knee and
shoulder ailments. I got to see the clinical examination of patients with sports
injuries and appreciate the process of pre operative planning. I also witnessed
various outpatient procedures while also reviewing post operative patients. 
Wednesday and Thursday were spent
in the OR. Here I got to witness the gentle hands of Dr. Gayle as he counseled
the patients and their relatives before surgery and explained to them the
outcome of surgery. I also witnessed the surgical procedures with Dr. Gayle
taking me through all the steps from patient positioning, portals and the
techniques of the various surgeries. He also guided me through the difficulties
that may arise with each surgery and how to avoid this. Though I got a chance to
scrub in some cases, this was not possible in some centrers denying one an
invaluable exposure. Nevertheless, I am grateful for the experience gained. On
Friday I also got a chance to observe Dr. Ecklund another sports medicine specialist
who works with Dr. Gayle. It was enlightening to see different ways to approach
the same problem. I am eternally grateful to Dr. Gayle and Dr. Ecklund for giving
me the opportunity to observe with them and for entertaining all my queries as the
surgeries went on.
I am especially grateful to Dr. Gayle for sponsoring my scholarship
and for taking the time to pick me up in the morning and drop me to the hotel
in the evening.
I would like to thank the staff at Dr. Gayle's Clinic and at
the ORs where I observed for extending every courtesy possible to me.
I also would like to appreciate the
efforts of the staff at the AAOS International office especially Ms. Anna
Gurevich who through her meticulous planning ensured that all aspects of my
visit were in sync like a symphony!
The staff at the skills lab
deserves congratulations for ensuring the cadaveric specimens were extremely
well prepared so our surgeries were as close as possible to real live
surgeries.
I would also like to acknowledge
the efforts of the course directors and faculty of the course for their time and
for delivering an exemplary course.
In conclusion, I would like to recommend
the course to all orthopaedic surgeons in my country and beyond. To paraphrase
a popular Swahili saying, 'He who hasn’t traveled thinks that his mother is
the best cook!'
