What do we do?
Currently, the Department has four Subunits.
Each of these Subunits is managed by one or two ‘Heads’. Each Unit is assigned a trainee assistant. By rotating between these Units every four months, they are given the opportunity to experience all of the specialism’s components during the last two years of their tuition. This, moreover, applies to the many students who enter into contact with the Department. They too are given the opportunity to do the rounds in this system, albeit only during one or two weeks per Subunit. This helps to optimise their tuition and it gives them exposure to the Department’s varied activities: procedures in the Operating Ward, Consultations and Plaster Room activities and work in the Hospitalisation Units. The far-reaching ‘super specialisation’ approach makes it possible to retain the leading edge in scientific terms, but also to gain experience with rare diseases. Thanks to effective communications within the Department, difficult cases which are covered by different areas of expertise, can be reviewed and treated by a variety of relevant “experts”.
As a university department and training centre, the Orthopaedic Department covers a wide range of diseases. This ranges from simple cases, significant mainly for their didactic features, to highly complex diseases for which the Department can count on a vast number of highly specialised doctors and paramedics. Since early 2007, the capabilities for functional rehabilitation during hospitalisation have been expanded. Besides two specialist Physiotherapists, the Orthopaedic Department now also counts an Occupational Therapist and it has equipped a multifunctional Rehabilitation Ward. In this ward, group therapy is offered whereby patients who so wish are encouraged to exercise together with their fellow patients. This creates a group dynamic which helps speed up rehabilitation and patients’ discharge from hospital. In complex cases requiring a multidisciplinary approach, the Orthopaedic Department can count on the cooperation of several other departments at UZ Brussel. This mainly includes the Departments for Anaesthesia, Radiology, Oncology, Radiotherapy, Microbiology, Internal Medicine and Rheumatology-Physical Medicine.
As one of the largest Trauma Centres in Belgium, the Orthopaedic Department has gained significant experience in the field of Orthopaedic Traumatology. This not only covers the care of acute cases but also the after-treatment of residual lesions and complications. This is usually offered jointly by the Orthopaedic Traumatologist and the ‘Expert’ within the Orthopaedic Subunit specialised in the disease.
Over the years, as a result of the large number of trauma cases presenting themselves, the Department has also developed a solid reputation concerning the medical-legal aspects of Orthopaedics and Traumatology. This experience is offered to patients by providing them with invaluable support and backing in cases of work-related or other accidents. This experience is now widely recognised, to the extent that several of the Department’s experts are regularly invited to provide counsel to legal courts and insurance companies.
The Orthopaedic Department also maintains significant research activity. As such, research is undertaken into patient satisfaction related to back disorders, shoulder instability and the results of varying shoulder procedures. In recent years, two hip prostheses, one knee prosthesis and a shoulder prosthesis have been developed in conjunction with industry. Fundamental research into the cement cape surrounding hip prostheses is also being conducted jointly with the Radiology Department, the Faculty for Applied Sciences and two research groups abroad. Ultimately, the Department is involved with several multicentre studies into new medication, such as that concerning the prevention of deep vein thrombosis, commissioned by pharmaceutical companies.