Orthopedic specialists from six countries gathered in Bacolod to take part in the first AO Trauma Foot and Ankle Seminar in the Philippines during the weekend.
Dr. Juan Agustin Coruña IV, course chairman said, this is the first time that Bacolod hosted such an important gathering that brought in trauma and orthopedic experts from Australia, India, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and the Philippines.
“What we had was an utter celebration of the best faculty in the world meeting in the City of Smiles for relevant foot and ankle education for specialized learners from around the world,” Coruña said.
“AO is the world’s largest global trauma and orthopedic community fostering excellence in the surgical management of trauma and disorders of the musculoskeletal system,” Coruña said.
This bolstered the fact that “Bacolod is fast becoming a rich health teaching venue for allied health practitioners with the collaboration among our biggest local experts in medical education,” he added.
Three medical institutions joined forces to offer the program, Coruña said.
They were Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) headed by Dr. Julius Drilon, the University of St. La Salle College of Medicine (USLS COM) led by Dr. Radel Yvonne Cortes, and the CLMMRH Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology with Dr. Franklin Delano Tumaneng, “who all worked in synchrony to offer a robust program with high calibre mentors”, he said.
Chairman Emeritus, Dr. Jose Maria Coruña said, “this is among the highlights of the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology’s celebration of our 25 years of service in Negros Island and this collaboration with the AO Foundation is a milestone that marks years of realizing our vision of bringing in an AO course in Bacolod.”
“We have the faculty, an adequate number of cases, and the infrastructure to host this kind of teaching engagement. I am so glad that we have been successful in finally bringing it to our city with the AO country council,” he added.
The 2-day training brought in experts in the field of trauma and orthopedics, including Drs. Jean Pierre Leung (Baguio), Maria Adelwisa Belen (Manila), Frederic Diyco (Manila), Jose Antonio San Juan (Cebu), and Nathaniel Orillaza Jr. (Manila).
Drs. Mandeep Dhillon and Tanawat Vaseenon, both accomplished scientific authors, and highly sought clinicians and orthopedic foot and ankle surgeons in their home countries were among the international mentors while the national faculty included Drs. Dilbert Monicit (Cebu) and Bernardino Alpuerto II (Laguna).
The course was designed together with the Philippine Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society marshalled by Dr. Carlo Borbon, bringing in prominent names that are known in shaping relevant orthopaedic education and research in Asia Pacific and the Philippines.
Among the highlights of the course was a hands-on lower limb cadaver dissection at the USLS COM, allowing for greater learning by translating classroom principles into tactile skillful incisions the surgeon can further develop.
The younger Coruña said that while they have yet to know where the next foot and ankle course will be, the recent training showed, “we in Bacolod is very much ready to host another training and we look forward to sharing our knowledge and expertise to a global audience.”*