EYES ON CHINA GOLD - Qatar Olympic Committee

o o o o o o o o o
HEALTH
AND SOCIETY
Aspetar delivers best-in-class
ORTHOPAEDIC treatment
Aspetar’s reputation for orthopaedic surgery is growing in the Gulf
as it leads the region in ground-breaking surgical procedures
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Aspetar, Qatar’s Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine
Hospital, is to stage a world-class conference on
orthopaedic surgery in the Aspetar Auditorium on
19-20 November 2008.
The 1st Annual Aspetar Arabian Gulf Sports Medicine
Meeting will be organised by Peter Fowler and Craig
Bottoni, Aspetar’s chief medical officer and chief of surgery
respectively, and is supported by ISAKOS – the International
Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Orthopaedic
Sports Medicine.
Camera (arthroscope) surgery is a key procedure in the
treatment of sporting injures, in particular those affecting
an athlete’s knee and shoulder, and Aspetar is now a
leading regional centre for this careersaving
surgery.
In April, Aspetar
become the first hospital in Qatar to carry out a
‘double bundle arthroscopic posterior cruciate ligament
(PCL)’ reconstruction. PCL injures are less common
than those affecting the anterior cruciate ligament
(ACL), but can be equally destructive.
The operation was led by Dr Bottoni, who developed
this new surgical technique in 2003 and has used it in
over 100 operations before joining Aspetar. “This is a
relatively new technique but we believe it makes a
difficult operation slightly less challenging,” said Dr
Bottoni. “It is our intention at Aspetar to become a
PCL referral centre for the region.”
Dr Bottoni was involved in another landmark
procedure this year, when, with the assistance of Dr
Mohammed Al Ateeq, he performed the ‘first double
row, arthroscopic rotator cuff repair’ at Aspetar.
The arthroscopic technique allows the shoulder injury
to be repaired through very small skin incisions through
which a camera (arthroscope) and surgical instruments
are passed.
Dr Bottoni has received several international awards for
his sports medicine research in knee and shoulder injuries
and their surgical repairs. Among his many accolades, is
the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine
(AOSSM) Excellence in Research Award, which he won in
2005 for research on arthroscopic shoulder surgery.
In 2007, he won AOSSM the O’Donohue Sports
Injury Research Award for research into optimal
timing of ACL surgery.
He is the programme director
for this November’s
conference and
along with Peter Fowler, a world leader in all
areas of orthopaedic sports medicine, patient
care, research and teaching, will host a group of
prominent sports medicine specialists.
These will include Dr Richard Hawkins,
the former team physician for the 1998 and
1999 Super Bowl Champions, the Denver
Broncos, and co-founder of the Steadman
Hawkins Clinic; Dr Charlie Brown, a knee
specialist from the Harvard Combined
Orthopaedic Services and Dr Peter Pascal, a
US-based orthopaedic surgeon and sports
medicine specialist.
The meeting will include expert lectures and
live surgery demonstrations within the brand
new Aspetar facility.
Above: Dr Craig Bottoni
performed the first ‘double
bundle arthroscopic
posterior cruciate ligament
reconstruction’ surgery in a
Qatari Hospital.
Special
achievements
A SPECIAL PAralympic FESTIVAL
iN doha CONFIRMED THE GULF
STATE’S COMMITMENT TO sport
for all its people AHEAD OF
THE 2008 BEIJING GAMEs
The Sport Affairs Department of the Qatar Olympic
Committee (QOC), in association with the Qatar Sport
Federation (QSF) for Special Needs, has held its first
paralympic sports festival at the Qatar Sports Club.
“We want to bring these people closer to the society
and make the society accept them,” said Khalil Al Jaber,
Director of QOC Sport Affairs Department. “There is an
active participation from people in paralympic sport these
days - and two of our athletes will be competing in javelin
and weightlifting at the Beijing Paralympics this year.”
Dr Hassan Mohammed Al Ansari, Secretary General,
QSF for Special Needs stressed that those with special
needs are provided with training by specialist coaches.
Q3.08 QatarSport 29