David González Martín, resident medical intern for the fifth year of Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology at the Canary Islands University Complex (HUC), has been awarded a scholarship by the European Society for Trauma and Emergency Surgery, at the European Annual Congress recently held in Oslo.
To qualify for this award, he presented part of the results obtained from the line of research on periprosthetic hip fractures that led to his doctoral thesis, directed by doctors José Luis Pais and Mario Herrera, defended at the University of La Laguna at the beginning of this year and in which he obtained an Outstanding Cum Laude qualification.
Hip replacement is one of the most successful operations in orthopedic surgery and is increasing year after year. Due to the aging of the population and the increasing functional demands of lifestyle, this trend is expected to continue to increase. Periprosthetic hip fractures, that is, those that occur around one of the components of the hip prosthesis, have very serious consequences for the patient and a very important economic impact on health systems.
For this reason, professionals from the Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology service of the Canary Islands University Hospital Complex (HUC) have carried out a line of research on this topic. They have carried out several studies and published their results in the journals with the greatest impact in Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology worldwide (Journal of arthroplasty, Injury, Journal of Clinical Medicine, EFORT Open Reviews, among others).
This line of research has recently been recognized at the European Congress of Traumatology held in Oslo. During his residency period, Dr. González Martín has participated in multiple national and international research projects, highlighting his doctoral thesis, and has published more than twenty scientific articles in high-impact journals.
In his specialized training, it should be noted that he has passed the National Plan for Arthroscopic Training, directed by the Spanish Association of Arthroscopy and, recently, he has successfully completed the FIFA Diploma in Football Medicine.
Award-winning works
The techniques currently available for the management of certain periprosthetic hip fractures have been compared (Vancouver B2). Nowadays, the treatment of choice in this type of fracture is prosthetic revision, that is, removing the femoral component around which the fracture has occurred and inserting a larger one.
However, this study demonstrates that open reduction and internal fixation, osteosynthesis, maintaining the same femoral component requires a shorter surgical time, less need for blood transfusion, complications, requiring another reoperation and hospital stay than prosthetic revision in patients selected, without finding significant differences in the functional results or in the mortality rate between both techniques.
Second, they have described and published a new classification of periprosthetic hip fractures based on the fracture pattern, which will probably become a reference for other orthopedic surgeons worldwide. On the other hand, they have carried out the first study of the economic impact generated by these patients, identifying those factors that have the greatest impact on the final cost of admission and thus be able to seek strategies to optimize public resources, while still providing the best possible treatment. to the patient.
Finally, they have developed a treatment algorithm that has been accepted and will soon be published in another of the journals with the greatest global impact on orthopedic surgery, to help the rest of the surgeons in the world to carry out the best possible therapeutic approach with this type of surgery. patients.
José Luis Pais, head of the Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology Service of the HUC and director of this thesis, points out that this work points out that “osteosynthesis may be a better alternative for certain patients”. He adds that prospective multicenter studies should be conducted to obtain a higher level of evidence.
This recognition is the result of the high scientific and research level of the Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology service of the HUC, led, in this regard, by doctors José Luis Pais and Mario Herrera, to continue researching with the aim of always providing the best treatment. possible to their patients.
