DOHA: A medical break-through at the Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has won an orthopaedic surgeon the Best Publication Award for the year 2007 bestowed by the Medical Research Center (MRC).
Dr Mohammed Waleed Chaarani's ground breaking procedure to correct fractures in the humerus is becoming a major hit in the orthopedic branch of medical science.
The humerus is a long bone in the arm that runs from the shoulder to the elbow. Long incisions have to be made to correct fractures when using the traditional method of utilising screws and plates.
"Fractures just above the elbow are very difficult to be dealt with," said Dr Chaarani. "Internationally, the only treatment was to open the fracture extensively with an incision up to 14 cm. All the tissues and muscles had to be dissected during the procedure that usually lasts over one hour. The complications are very common with three major nerves and blood vessals running through the region and the elbow usually become stiff much to the dissatisfaction of the patient," he told The Peninsula.
The humerus has a large medullary canal which extends along its whole length. "This canal was never utilized before. The newly invented procedure, a single antegrade Rush nail is inserted into the canal and the tip of the nail is bend. The nail jams the canal and stablises the fracture. There will not be any movement while rotating the elbow. This will help in joining the bone." The procedure, called ante grade rush nailing for fractures of the distal humerus or Chaarani Procedure is a simple procedure with very good result. The incision which is just one centimeter is below the shoulder and nail is inserted through it. The fastest procedure took less than eight minutes. This gives immediate stability to the bone. All the fractures are united without residual stiffness of the shoulder or elbow. The nail is usually 3.2 mm in diameter for children and in elders 4.8 mm.
"The procedure is easy to learn and do. It is less expensive. So far around 80 procedures has been done at HMC," said Dr Chaarani. The MRC scrutinized 34 research publications by the HMC staff. Of this, 18 were shorlisted and Dr Chaarani's paper which was published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery in July 2007 won the award. "As medical research center we are promoting, facilitating all medical researches at HMC," said Dr Al Hareth M Al Khater, Chairman, MRC. "Approximately 270 research proposals were submitted in 2008. This number publication is on rapid raise with support of the Qatar government."
By Huda N V
© The Peninsula 2009
