David Abejón, head of the Pain Unit at Quirónsalud and one of the directors of the ‘Hands on Course on Corpse Interventionism in Pain’.
The Pain is not a medical specialty and, as long as it is not considered as such, its treatment is multidisciplinary. This is one of the reasons why the ‘Hands on Corpse Interventionism in Pain Course’ was born, directed by David Drone, head of the Quirónsalud Pain Unit, and Francisco Gómez Armenta, head of the Pain Unit at the San Juan de Dios Hospital in Córdoba and director of the Pain Unit at the Virgen del Puerto Hospital in Cádiz. This formation has celebrated this year its eighth edition and has been taught from June 3 to 5 at the Francisco de Vitoria University.
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David Abejón, head of the Quirónsalud Pain Unit. |
“In this course we try to make the Pain treatment have a multi-specialty approach. Usually, he had anesthesia and, in some cases, Neurosurgery. We here have rehabilitators, rheumatologistsFamily doctors… Pain is not a medical specialty, it is who treats it”, says Abejón. Specifically, one in five Spaniards suffer from chronic pain and, of them, three out of ten do not respond adequately to the drug therapies and require interventional techniques.
In this way, students delve into the anatomy and pathophysiology that interact in pain through the latest advances. As the expert indicates, the techniques have “evolved a lot” and knowing them can help treat patients. In this sense, the course has been divided into 12 stations ultrasound, fluoroscopy, anatomical dissection and surgical techniques. Practice is fundamental in this teaching and, for this reason, the students have been divided into groups of 5 or 6 to be able to handle all the techniques aimed at treating pain, such as use of cold radiofrequency and the occipital nerve implant, this year’s novelties.
Likewise, those responsible for the course highlight the level of the teaching staff, “formed by experts in headache hospitals and universities“that are responsible for explaining the different parts of the body.
Application of interventional pain techniques
In total, 50 professionals have registered for the course and 30 for the pre-course that has been carried out in the Surgical Simulation Center of the Faculty of Medicine Francisco University of Vitoria. An ideal space for this learning, according to Abejón, because the corpses are preserved in such a way that they maintain the texture, plasticity and flexibility necessary for specialists to be trained in this type of procedure.
“We have to rehearse the technique which we are then going to do on a live patient. In this university they are very careful with the preservation of corpseswhich allows us to intervene as if it were a living person”, he specifies. Along the same lines, Abejón shows his enthusiasm with the young doctors who enroll in this course hands on. “They come new generations and it’s exciting,” he says.
Carlos Fuentes Uliaque, neurosurgeon at Hospital Miguel Servet (Zaragoza), did not want to miss this training. The Profesional references of Abejón and Gómez Armenta, the program and the treatment of the corpse in a short period of time made him decide to sign up.
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Carlos Fuentes Uliaque, neurosurgeon at Hospital Miguel Servet (Zaragoza) and student of the course. |
“Here we can also exchange opinions and experiences with other colleagues and this gives us a lot professionally”, comments Fuentes. In fact, he adds that he takes all these techniques and knowledge to the hospital where he works. “I can apply everything I learnt, for example, the ultrasound management or radioguided techniques in the operating room”, he specifies.
Multicultural knowledge of pain management
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Juan Pablo Otálvaro, anesthesiologist at the Colombian Institute of Pain (Incodol) in Medellín. |
Some of these students will later become teachers. In fact, that’s what happened to Juan Pablo Otalvaro, an anesthesiologist at the Colombian Institute of Pain (Incodol) in Medellín, who following three years learning in this course has become part of the teaching staff. Specifically, he is in the lumbar area with techniques such as the discogel.
“It has been a great evolution for me. I think this course is very important because it has from most basic modalities from interventionism and management of chronic pain to advanced techniques. the latest is always included in the program,” he considers.
Another aspect that stands out as “an added value” is the feedback of the comrades from Colombia. “So we have a multicultural knowledge in order to get closer to the best management of our patients”, he concludes.
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