The business of innovation in surgery
BMJ 2014; 349 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/sbmj.g5569 (Published 09 October 2014) Cite this as: BMJ 2014;349:g5569
- Fraser Brown, third year medical student
- 1University of Edinburgh
Roland Partridge is cofounder and managing director of award winning surgical simulation company eoSurgical, a paediatric surgery registrar, and a PhD candidate. He studied medicine at Oxford, moving to Edinburgh for the clinical years of medical school. His basic surgical training included posts in Edinburgh, Stornoway, London, Cambridge, and Manchester, before a registrar post in paediatric surgery in Scotland. Three years in Glasgow were followed by three years studying for a PhD in developmental biology at the University of Edinburgh. He is currently completing his registrar training in Edinburgh.
Are there challenges for paediatric surgeons that do not arise for other surgeons?
Paediatric surgery deals with a wide range of surgical diseases, techniques, and communication challenges. This makes for a varied and engaging clinical practice. In a single day’s on-call one may encounter everything from an 800 g premature neonate with necrotising enterocolitis to a teenager with major trauma. Minimally invasive surgery has great benefits to our patients but presents substantial technical hurdles—sometimes described as “like operating inside a matchbox.” Effective communication is particularly important—for example, reassuring a 5 year old while simultaneously explaining the operation they need to their parents. Children can …
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