Department of Spinal Surgery Kai Zhu
During the past three months, I have learnt a lot in the hospitals of Montreal.
My tutor, Dr. Jean A. Ouellet is a very famous spine surgeon in Canada. He is good at diagnosis and treatment of the scolioses, especially the complicated and difficult ones. He is the chief of McGill Scoliosis & Spine Group in McGill University, and the clinical director of Scoliosis & Spine Surgery in Shriners Hospital. He is also a professor of surgery and the McGill Scoliosis & Spinal Research Chair in McGill University. During my study of 3 months following him, I deeply felt that he works very hard and rigorously. In addition, he always answers every question of every patient quite friendly and patiently.
In Canada, appointment is required for all patients when visiting doctors except for emergency, which means all doctors work in a planned and ordered way. The majority of patients visiting Dr. Ouellet suffer from scoliosis. Before he treats the patients, Dr. Ouellet first studies the radiological pictures and the current and historical data carefully. The scoliosis angles were carefully measured, the changes were presicisely observed and the effects of treatment were well eva luated. Then he would answer questions of patients and gave the treatment plan. Dr. Ouellet is so patient and friendly during the whole process that every patient, regardless of effect of the treatment, is grateful over him after the visit.
As we all know, the operation techniques are extremely important for every surgeon. Dr. Ouellet’s excellent surgery skills are quite acknowledged by his colleagues, fellows and residents. Expertised as he is, Dr. Ouellet is very meticulous during any operation. First of all, he makes a detailed plan before every surgery, including fusion segment, instrumentation levels, internal fixation type, mode of correction, the expected precautions and alternative measures, etc. It is commendable that Dr. Ouellet usually explains why he chooses this operation plan for the fellows and residents before the operation. Sometimes, he also askes the young surgeons some questions during the operation. If no one could answer him, Dr. Ouellet will make it clear to them patiently. Second, before each operation, the patient information is always checked carefully. The skin incision is made only when all information is undoubtedly checked. The surgical procedures are also required very strictly, e.g., the pedicle screws are implanted into the spine very carefully. During the whole process, the maximum safety and reliability can be ensured. So everybody who follows Dr. Ouellet likes him very much and all of us benifited a lot from him.
In short, I have been deeply impressed and touched by the rigorous work attitude and devotion of Dr. Ouellet and his colleagues, who constantly perfected their skills and treated every patient with extreme patience. Three months of study is short, however, what I learnt will affect and inspire me forever. In the near future, I will integrate what I have learnt into my clinical work and continue to make progress to serve the patient better.
