Press Release: 15th Seminar on Applied Hand and Upper Limb Surgery from the Athens Medical Center
Press Release
15th Seminar on Applied Hand and Upper Limb Surgery by the Athens Medical Center
The Anniversary 15th Seminar on Applied Hand and Upper Limb Surgery was held with great success at the “George Apostolopoulos” amphitheater of the Athens Medical Center, organized by the Department of Upper Limb Surgery – Microsurgery, which this year celebrated 30 years of operation since its establishment in 1993.
The Seminar is pioneering for Greece, as it includes live demonstrations of surgical cases, lectures and practical training on cadaveric hands. A total of 75 trainees attended the seminar, 55 of whom participated in the cadaveric hand exercises. There were 35 speakers – trainers from across Greece, the United States and Europe, who delivered 40 presentations.
The Directors of the clinic, Panagiotis Giannakopoulos and Diamantis Misitzis, performed 11 procedures of varying degrees of difficulty, while 12 surgical procedures were analyzed during the practical training, including the surgical anatomy of the wrist with emphasis on the most modern minimally invasive techniques, such as wrist arthroscopy.
The Seminar received a positive response and excellent evaluations from the trainees, and preparations for the next one have already begun.
“We have now successfully reached the 15th year of the Seminar, which has become an established conference that contributes to the transfer of medical knowledge and the exchange of experience, with the aim of providing patients with the highest standard of healthcare services,” emphasized the CEO of Athens Medical Group, Dr. Vassilis Apostolopoulos.
The organizer of the Seminar, Director of Upper Limb Surgery-Neurosurgery at Athens Medical Center, Panagiotis Giannakopoulos, stated: “The seminar consists of three sections: the first concerns the demonstration of surgical cases and gives trainees the opportunity to ask questions and resolve their queries during Surgery. The second includes selected presentations by distinguished scientists from Greece and abroad, while the third consists of practical training on real hands, with trainees following specific instructions from the trainers”.
For his part, the co-organizer of the seminar, Diamantis Misitzis, Orthopedic Surgeon, Upper Limb Surgeon/Microsurgeon at Athens Medical Center, emphasized: “After 15 years of holding the Seminar, we have gained extensive experience, comparable to the experience we have in the practice of Orthopedics and Traumatology in our country. The need now lies in training doctors close to patients and providing them with the opportunity, during their training, to leave public hospitals and also receive training in private hospitals. In this way, not only will patients in these private healthcare institutions be examined, but the experience of the doctors treating them will also be evaluated”. Dr. Misitzis also referred to the “excellent medical infrastructure of the Medical Center”, noting that a state-of-the-art microscope was recently acquired, “with incredible capabilities and benefits for the physician and, ultimately, for the patient”.
“We are here to congratulate the organizers of the 15th Upper Limb Surgery Seminar at the Athens Medical Center, which features live broadcasts of extremely difficult and sophisticated procedures, important lectures and much more. It is an honor for the Athens Medical Center to have these scientists within its medical community,” stated Dr. Konstantinos Konstantinidis, Scientific Director of Athens Medical Group.
The Department of Hand and Upper Limb Surgery, Orthopedic Reconstructive Microsurgery of Athens Medical Group was established in May 1993 by a group of doctors trained in this specialized field, with the aim of providing organized treatment for injuries and disorders of the Upper Limb, for the first time in a private hospital in Greece. This year, it celebrates 30 years of operation at the Athens Medical Center. Working collectively, the doctors of the department have already treated thousands of patients with Upper Limb conditions, as well as complex cases requiring expertise in Microsurgery.
