Brisbane’s international centre of excellence

24/08/22

When Dr Nagmani Singh leaves Australia, he hopes to start performing procedures never seen in his home country Nepal.

Thanks to the tuition of Greenslopes Private Hospital orthopaedic surgeon Professor Ashish Gupta in Brisbane, he is learning skills that will not only benefit patients – but also help him train new generations of shoulder and elbow specialists.

“The training is going to be extremely useful for me in my country,” said Dr Singh, who is one of three international surgeons studying under Prof Gupta and Associate Professor Kenneth Cutbush as part of a fellowship with the Australian Shoulder Research Institute (ASRI).

“While other subspecialties have developed satisfactorily over the years in Nepal, shoulder and elbow surgery is still in its infancy,” he added. 

“Only a handful of surgeons, with limited training and experience, are operating on patients with shoulder ailments and many of the complicated and difficult cases are still being referred to neighbouring countries for management.”

Prof Gupta has now trained nine international orthopaedic surgeons as part of the voluntary program – the other two in this intake are from Lebanon and the Netherlands.

“We have trained fellows from all over the world who have gone back to their individual countries and are working as subspeciality orthopaedic shoulder surgeons,” he said.

“Over the course of the last few years, we have established an international reputation as a centre of excellence for shoulder training in Brisbane. 

“The fellows come here to learn advanced skills in arthroscopic techniques along with gaining exposure to shoulder arthroplasty, especially revision shoulder arthroplasty.”

Dr Singh said Prof Gupta’s international reputation had played a big part in attracting him to the program.

“He is one of very few surgeons to dedicate his time only to shoulder ailments. He has rotated with the pioneers of shoulder surgery in Europe and Canada.  

“I am not only getting exposure to methods used in Australia, but I am also learning from his insights working across other continents,” Dr Singh said.

“The complex nature and variety of shoulder surgeries he performs are exciting. I am getting to be part of surgical procedures which I’d previously only seen on videos.

“Also, Professor Gupta’s consultation demeanour with patients is detailed and friendly and I am extremely impressed by it.”

Mr Singh said he was looking forward to helping change lives in Nepal and passing on his newfound knowledge.

“This training is going to help me in approaching a patient more confidently, and I will be able to perform several new procedures, many of them being the first of their kind in my country,” he said.

“I will be involved in teaching and shaping the future of shoulder surgery in Nepal. Although it might sound ambitious, I am also aiming to help in establishing a shoulder and elbow society in my country.”