Covid-19 EHS December Update

EHS Secretary General, Professor Eleftherios Tsiridis

As with many cities throughout Europe, my home city of Thessaloniki (Northern Hellas), is suffering a second wave of the pandemic which is far more extreme than the first, and we are under lockdown again. However, the vaccine is here and hope is on the horizon.

Since the pandemic broke out in Europe, EHS has been publishing the literature and data via its Covid-19 Update Page which supplements the monthly Newsletter and keeps our hip surgeon members informed on the ever growing virus. Thanks to our active experts, who have published excellent scientific literature on operating during the pandemic, as well as the EHS SciCom’s collaboration with EKA to produce excellent surveys specific to Covid-19 and total joint arthroplasty which most of our members took part in. Please scroll down and click on the links for the latest articles.

We also feature a personal report from an esteemed member each month to highlight how Covid-19 has effected hip surgery in their country:-

• Switzerland, Prof Thomas Ilchmann (May 2020)
• Italy, Dr Nicola Santori (June 2020)
• Belgium, Prof Thierry Scheerlinck (July 2020)
• USA, Prof Ran Schwarzkopf (August 2020)
• Spain, Prof Jose Cordero-Ampuero (September 2020)
• Australia, Prof Riaz Khan (October 2020)
• The Netherlands, Dr Stephan Vehmeijer (November 2020)

This month you may read below our report from our Nat Rep for Germany, Prof Fritz Thorey. Thanks to him.

Finally we summarize the Johns Hopkins University data each month for Covid-19 in our member countries, both in Europe and Internationally.

Please contact the EHS Secretarial Office via our Membership Secretary (samstokesehs@gmail.com) with reports on the COVID-19 developments in your area which you would like to share directly with our fellow hip surgeon members. Thank you.

COVID-Experience of a hip surgeon in Germany, by EHS Nat Rep, Prof Fritz Thorey

Dear members of the EHS,

The last months have demanded a lot from many of us due to the Covid pandemic. Orthopedic and trauma surgeons have been helping in other disciplines to cope with the number of sick patients and thus contributing to the fight against the pandemic.

Italy has been hit very hard in Europe at the beginning of 2020, as evidenced by the infection rates and deaths. As a result, the rest of Europe in particular has realized that the infection poses a very great danger to all of us. Germany responded relatively quickly with appropriate measures, which in combination with the possibility of testing may have led to a lower incidence than in other countries.

Currently, there is again an increase in infection and death rates, which many infectiologists have already predicted for the winter months. The incidence has again led to various actions such as lock-down, contact restrictions, special concepts for schools and universities etc. become necessary, which demands a lot of discipline from the population.

The elective surgeries could be performed normally again during the summer months in Germany, as the incidence and number of deaths during this period were very low. Currently, the incidence has risen significantly again, forcing us surgeons to select patients and discuss the urgency of elective surgery with them. In some hotspots in Germany, hospitals are again being urged to postpone elective surgery in order to assign staff to care for patients suffering from Covid-19.

The national congresses have been held either digitally or as seminars with fewer participants. As a result, the personal exchange between colleagues on site has also suffered. If one wants to see something positive in this situation, one can perhaps highlight digitization in the area of education. Many industrial organizers and orthopedic societies have found that the number of participants was even higher in some areas, because it was possible to join in for some seminars from hospital operations and did not have to plan for absences from work and absences from the workplace. Therefore, I assume that we will see a rethinking in the area of further education in the next years and that most congresses and seminars will be hybrid.

The announcement that a vaccine can be made available in the foreseeable future by Biontech and Pfizer, as well as other companies, gives the world a sigh of relief. It is certainly not yet possible to estimate how quickly the effects will be seen worldwide after vaccines have been approved. We can only hope that this will allow us to return to a normal life in which we can once again enjoy normal interaction with family, friends and colleagues without restrictions.

I am really looking forward to the next EHS meeting. It will certainly be a opportunity to tighten our great community.

My very best wishes to you all,

Fritz Thorey

National Representative for Germany