Back to News.

Latin American surgeons exchange experiences with Hughston Clinic surgeons

By Raquel Rodriguez, WRBL

Click here to view the original story and video.

COLUMBUS, Ga. --This is the 15th year that the Hughston Clinic in Columbus is opening up its surgery doors for fellow Central and South American orthopaedic surgeons. 

“You have hands on, you have discussions and this is everything you have in medical education today,” said Brazilian orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Joao Barrtto.  

Dr. Barrtto said it’s been a great experience learning more about total joint replacement surgery of the knee and hip especially when they can train on cadavers. 

“It’s nice and the preparation is quite perfect you know it looks like a patient with the soft tissue,” said Dr. Barrtto.

Dr. Carlton Savory, one of the event organizers at Hughston Clinic, said it's refreshing to discuss different surgical techniques.

”These are surgeons that are coming up to share ideas with us and to learn from us. As I say, I think we sometimes learn more from them than they do from us. It's a nice interchange of ideas,” said Dr. Savory.

Dr. Savory said some of the Latin American countries are ahead of the U.S. in some medical aspects.

“I think sometimes its regulatory, sometimes the medication and the drugs are more available to them earlier than they are to us,” said Dr. Savory.

Dr. Fabio Orozco, another instructor who’s originally from Columbia, said he has seen the transformation of Central and South American countries in the medical field.

“Years ago in the 80's and 90's Latin America was really behind in terms of technology, access to implants, general knowledge but that [gap] is getting significantly closed,” said Dr. Orozco.

On Wednesday the surgeons used cadavers for knee replacement training. The Latin American surgeons will leave Columbus on Friday.