Kia Teng Lim, a junior surgeon from Singpaore, joined us at the ROH for two weeks in May for an internship within the Orthopaedic Oncology department.
“Having been actively involved in translational research in cancer from medical school, I cultivated an interest for orthopaedic oncology which inspired me to pursue an internship with ROH, one of the largest sarcoma centres across the western world.
“As a medical student, one of my main research endeavours was lab work on the profiling of Wilms tumour in Asians versus non-Asians. Experimenting on the basic sciences behind paediatric solid tumour furthered my passion for cancer work, where I got to venture in Orthopaedic oncology at Johns Hopkins University Hospital, Baltimore; Mayo Clinic, Rochester; and most recently, JiShuiTan Hospital, Beijing.
“Attaching to Mr Scott Evans in ROH was enlightening. Beyond the exposure to the vast breadth of oncology cases in ROH, participating in extremely challenging surgeries allowed me to appreciate the importance of thinking quickly on the spot and having contingency plans whilst relying on basic principles. One of the most memorable cases was the parascapular myxofibrosarcoma resection – the MRI scans showed lesions in close relation to the axillary artery. Even though the lump was more evident posteriorly when performing pre-operative markings, we stuck to the basic principles of identifying the important neurovascular bundles anteriorly first. However, there was no tumour identifiable there unlike its appearance on the MRI. Realising that our visualisation was possibly narrow, we decided to excise the tumour from the back where the lump could be palpated then work our way gradually to the front, leading to a successful dissection.
“The exposure to orthopaedic oncology was phenomenal. With the high volume of sarcoma cases here, it was inspiring to witness how ROH prides itself as the leading centre of sarcoma discussions across Europe. I have also immersed myself in the prestige of a highly specialized centre for orthopaedic oncology – the collegiality and teamwork across different disciplines (orthopaedic surgery, pathology, radiology, plastic surgery, anaesthesia) in this pure orthopaedic hospital has facilitated the consistent delivery of world-class oncology care.”
Mr Scott Evans added: "Entertaining visitors from abroad is a real joy for me. I can pass on knowledge from the great work we do within the orthopaedic oncology unit to colleagues who can hopefully help their own patients back home. And I can learn about the great variety of life from people who share the same passion I have for caring for patients unfortunately afflicted by musculoskeletal tumours."
