The successful management of post-operative pain is a global challenge for those living with limb loss and for the multidisciplinary teams responsible for their care.
Thankfully, here at Sydney, we have a world-class pain management team dedicated to safely supporting our patients through their recovery. But the question of how best to achieve effective and safe pain relief in a way that takes account of every patient’s individual needs, preferences and personal circumstances, remains an absolutely critical one.
This topic formed the basis of the fifth meeting of the Polish Amputation Forum (Forum Amputacji), held in Krakow at the end of October, and a team from Osseointegration Group, including Prof. Munjed Al Muderis, was invited to share their experience.
Hosted by the Znowu W Biegu (‘On the Run Again’) Rehabilitation Centre, Poland Business Run and the Faculty of Medicine at Jagiellonian University ─ Poland’s oldest and most esteemed University ─ The Amputation Forum is a scientific conference and training event focused on improving care quality and outcomes for patients living with limb loss. It provides an opportunity for care professionals, including surgeons, nurses, physiotherapists prosthetists, therapists and psychologists, to network, exchange views and explore ways in which to integrate new, better and more effective modes of care into their provision.
Alongside clinicians, care staff and medical students, the audience included people living with amputation, women who had undergone mastectomy, support assistants working for those with additional needs and staff members from public bodies providing care.
Attendees were given the opportunity to hear from renowned experts who had been invited to speak on their experience , including our own team. Speakers addressed topics including the psychological impact of trauma and amputation and strategies to enable coping, the latest rehabilitation techniques, new approaches to the treatment of pain associated with amputation, and the effective treatment and prevention of post-operative complications.
Prof. Al Muderis spoke at length on the evolution and improvement of osseointegration technologies and techniques over the last 15 years, and recent developments in the surgical treatment of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), including the use of regenerative therapies for nerve pain, including Regenerative Peripheral Nerve Interfaces (RPNI) and Targeted Muscle Reinnervation (TMR), also chairing an open session for patients interested in osseointegration to engage and ask questions about the procedure.
For surgeons and associated specialists, Prof. Al Muderis also led a training course on the clinical practice of osseointegration, sharing his knowledge and experience to help increase awareness and adoption of the technique and its benefits.
