Instituto de Ortopedia e Traumatologia - HCFMUSP—Sao Paulo, Brazil

Center description

University of Sao Paulo (USP) is the biggest university in Brasil, with the higher number of peer-reviewed publications in the country. Our Orthopedic Department is located at the Hospital das Clinicas complex, a “city inside a city”. This complex has eight buildings, two thousand beds (expanding to 2500) and is a national and Latin America reference center for trauma, tumor, heart diseases, children and many others specialties, including spine surgery. One of the buildings is our department, with 250 beds, 10 UCI beds, MRI and CT-Scan just for orthopedic patients, 11 OR Surgical Center. There are other 8 MRI and 8 CT-scans in the complex.

Department of spine pathology

The spine unit has 25 beds, a multidisciplinary team for medullar lesion patients and a administrative area in the second floor including a fellow and resident room with internet, publications access and office (including locker) facilities. A meeting room (15 people) with wireless internet, presentation facilities are also available exclusively for the spine unit, as one administrative secretary and one research secretary. Our institution offers a statistics and research support. The head of the orthopedic department is a spine surgeon and also vice-director of the Medical School. Last year he was the president of the Brazilian Orthopedic Society. He will be our program director.

Most frequent pathologies

Degenerative, Trauma

Procedures

264 per year

• Degenerative: 115 per year
• Trauma: 71 per year
• Deformity: 49 per year
• Infection: 25 per year
• Tumor: 4 per year

Fellowship types

Observership, Short-term, Associate Fellow

Language requirements

English, Portuguese, Spanish

Vacancies per year:

Observership: 1 per year
Short Term: 2 per year
Associate fellow: 4 per year

Special requirements

No special requirements

Program Characteristic:

Objectives

At the end of our program the fellow should be able to:

1. Recognize, classification and give directions to treatment of patients with spinal trauma.
2. Complete a neurologic and orthopaedic exam in spinal trauma patients.
3. Evaluate a spine MRI Scan and CT-scan in Spine.
4. Recognize risks and possible complications in spine trauma surgery.
5. Operate less complicated cases of lumbar and cervical trauma. (posterior fixation with lumbar pedicle screws and cervical lateral mass screws).
6. Participate in our studies.

 

Methodology

1. Offices:

• Evaluate and understand clinical and behaviour pathologies in spine diseases.
• Indicate the best exam and indicate the appropriate treatment.
• Recognize surgical pathologies.
• The fellow will be allowed to participate in our appointments and discuss the treatment indication.

2. Spine unit patients 

• Observe post-op patients, complications and evolution.
• Participate in protocol registration and documentation.
• Recognize clinical and surgical complications and understand the initial treatment directions.

3. Operation rooms 

• “Scrub in” fellowship
• Assist simple and complex spine surgeries
• Perform patient positioning and preparation
• Perform less difficult instrumentation and surgeries (under supervision and depending on demand and surgical skills)
• Fill out protocols studies papers
• Indicate and sometimes perform surgical accesses.

 

Timetable

Full-time regime Monday to Friday 07.30 am to 19.30 pm. Saturday 08.00 am to 12.20pm Cadaver labs.