An innovative form of hip-replacement therapy, which cuts time in hospital in half, should be rolled out across the health service, an orthopaedic surgeon has said. Derek Bennett said the programme known as Rapid Recovery, which originated in Denmark, amounts to a…
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Man gets hospital appointment after waiting for 17 years
Barry Cummins, originally from Cappaghmore in Limerick, and now living in Sydney, was originally referred to Croom Orthopaedic Hospital in 1996 by his doctor. But it was not until last November that the hospital validation secretary wrote to him asking if he…
Keith Synnott: stem cell ‘breakthrough’ for spinal injuries is bullshit
Reports of a “breakthrough” that raises the possibility that paralysed people might walk again have been sharply criticised by the director of the National Spinal Injuries Unit. Orthopaedic and trauma surgeon Keith Synnott described reports that paralysed people treated with…
Doctors should ‘actively discourage’ garden trampolining
Young children in particular are at high risk of breaking or fracturing a bone or receiving a joint dislocation, warns the American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP). (Independent) >
Sports-mad children ‘face hip problems in their 40s’
Dr Patrick Carton said there was growing evidence linking regular participation in competitive sports among children as young as eight and hip problems in later life. “Because of increasing demands and stresses from more and more training sessions being placed…
Metal hip implants recalled by maker
The medical device maker Smith & Nephew has issued a recall for part of one of its hip replacement systems. The recall follows reports of increased levels of infections, fractures, and dislocations linked to the metal liner component of its…
Surgeons get moratorium lifted to fill nursing gaps
THE MORATORIUM on employing nurses has been lifted at a hospital in Galway after consultants there raised fears about orthopaedic surgery waiting lists. Consultants at Merlin Park hospital had written to Minister for Health James Reilly with concerns over the…
Tagged with: Orthopaedics, Staffing
Posted in Bill Curtin, Fintan Shannon (orthopaedics), Michael O’Sullivan (orthopaedics), Nursing, Stephen Kearns (orthpaedics)
Posted in Bill Curtin, Fintan Shannon (orthopaedics), Michael O’Sullivan (orthopaedics), Nursing, Stephen Kearns (orthpaedics)
DePuy hips scandal: ‘No one knows the effects of this blood poisoning’
The reality of the DePuy hips scandal can be summed up by Leo Armstrong in one simple irony. The 72-year-old father of four and grandfather of seven was told to have almost all of his teeth removed to ensure any…
Hip implant damages cases imminent
The first compensation cases linked to the fitting of thousands of flawed hip implants could be heard by the end of the year. Solicitor Peter McDonnell, who is representing more than 200 of the 3,282 Irish people affected by the…
Glove could transform treatment of arthritis
Scientists in Cork are working with counterparts in the North to develop a glove which could transform the way arthritis is diagnosed and treated. The electronic “data” glove could be worn by patients at home allowing their joint stiffness to…
Ex-HSE surgeon is flown back from Prague to work here every fortnight
A surgeon who left the HSE last December is being flown back from the Czech Republic to work two days every fortnight and being given free accommodation — all at the taxpayers’ expense. The HSE has confirmed the situation is…
Cork hospital to treat 2,000 child orthopaedic cases
The HSE South has confirmed the South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital in Cork City is now providing the support. Since 2007, children suffering from serious leg problems such as clubbed feet, hip deformities and cerebral palsy have had to travel…
Tagged with: Orthopaedics, Paediatrics
Posted in Colm Taylor, Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, South Infirmary-Victoria
Posted in Colm Taylor, Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, South Infirmary-Victoria
Irish research may prolong life of orthopaedic implants
RESEARCH CARRIED out by the University of Limerick could prolong the life of implants of orthopaedic patients, according to its findings. The information could also lead to improvements in patient recovery, reducing the risk of infection, and ultimately reducing the…
Hip operation woman loses action
The judge found no evidence of negligence by Dr Kieran O’Rourke and no evidence he had deviated from the general and approved practice in his performance of surgery on Ms McGowan. (Times) >
Faulty hip products were used despite US concerns
The latest information has emerged in confidential correspondence on the DePuy hip products, which were at the centre of a worldwide safety recall in 2010. DePuy Orthopaedics, part of Johnson & Johnson’s joint replacement section, had to recall products used on…
Two-thirds of faulty hips were fitted in private hospitals
As many as 1,114 patients were fitted with the DePuy products at the Waterford clinic, compared to the next highest figure of 339 at the Galway Clinic. (Examiner) >
Patients fitted with faulty hip implants to sue
Dublin firm McDonnell and Associates has been approached by at least 60 patients fitted with one of two faulty hip implants made by DePuy — part of the Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices and Diagnostics Group. In Ireland, 3,282 patients…
Orthopaedic waiting lists surge as nurses retire
CONSULTANTS AT a Galway hospital have warned the Minister for Health that the retirement of 30 per cent of nurses from the hospital’s orthopaedic department will mean half the beds will have to close and waiting lists for surgery will…
Review of hip surgeries after patients recalled
THE HSE is to carry out a detailed review of a particular type of hip operation carried out at Cork University Hospital after 4 per cent of patients had to be recalled for revision surgery. Between 2005 and 2008, 417…
Hip implants loosened after surgery
The HSE has confirmed it conducted an audit of the 417 patients fitted with the implant after concerns were raised by orthopaedic surgeons at Cork University Hospital (CUH). All those involved had undergone a hemiarthroplasty — an operation similar to…
HSE plans expected to cut waiting lists
SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS in waiting lists particularly for orthopaedic surgery were predicted yesterday when the Health Service Executive presented a progress report on the major reconfiguration plan for acute hospitals in Cork and the southwest region. The transfer of elective orthopaedic…
Surgeon holds Cork child clinic for free
A DUBLIN-based surgeon who travels to Cork to host a monthly clinic for children with severe physical disability has never been paid for the service. The clinic not been acknowledged by the HSE. Pat Kiely, a paediatric orthopaedic surgeon who…
Young footballer sues surgeon over ‘misdiagnosis’ of severe knee injury
A YOUNG Gaelic footballer from Co Galway who quit the game due to a knee injury suffered 10 years ago that has not healed, has claimed before the High Court the nature of his injury was initially misdiagnosed. Anthony McHugh…
Patients face extra surgeries over faulty implants
UP to 113 Irish patients have already endured two hip operations due to a worldwide recall of faulty joint implants, it has emerged. And another eight, who were also fitted with the faulty DePuy orthopaedic hip joints, are scheduled to…
Minister asked to intervene over orthopaedic cuts
HEALTH Minister James Reilly is to be asked to intervene after the HSE announced plans to close 50% of the surgical facility at Croom Orthopaedic Hospital in Co Limerick for eight months. (Examiner) >>>
‘Disastrous’ plan to shut Croom Orthopaedic Hospital facility
PLANS BY the HSE to close 50 per cent of the surgical facility at Croom Orthopaedic Hospital in Co Limerick for eight months will be “disastrous” for patients and significantly increase waiting lists for orthopaedic treatments, health unions have warned.…
53 patients affected by faulty hip implant recall
A TOTAL of 44 patients have been operated on and another nine are scheduled for surgery to replace a faulty hip implant recalled by the manufacturer last year. Legal health specialists Malcolmson Law, which represents some of the affected patients,…
Children’s hospital site ‘a political decision’
Philip Lynch told The Irish Times he had been “lured” into taking on the job as chairman of the hospital development board on a pro bono basis by former health minister Mary Harney and former HSE chief executive Brendan Drumm on the…
Elderly waiting three years for orthopaedic care
HUNDREDS of elderly orthopaedic patients are being forced to wait as long as three years to be treated at one of the country’s leading hospitals. The HSE has confirmed a shocking 791 people — the vast majority of them elderly…
New tool improving knee-replacement outcomes
A PRIVATE hospital in Cork is the first in the country to offer a new knee- replacement surgery technique, involving greater pre-operative planning, which is leading to more accurate outcomes, shorter hospital stays and faster recovery. Shanakiel Hospital has begun…
