Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) donates IONM equipment to FOCOS Orthopedic Hospital
The Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York, has donated an Intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) equipment as well as a pair of isolation transformers for the Evoked Potential (EP) devices worth over $ 30,000.00 to the FOCOS Orthopedic Hospital.
A common complication of Spinal Surgery is post-operative neurologic deficit which includes, weakness or paralysis in the affected limbs known as paraplegia, hence the need for intra-operative neurophysiological monitoring during spinal surgery.
The donated IONM equipment which would be operated by ABRET credentialed IONM technologists at the FOCOS Orthopedic hospital (the first to be trained in the West African sub-region) will serve as a guide to the Spine Surgeons at the hospital to better monitor the functional integrity of certain neural structures such as the spinal cord, nerve roots, and parts of the brain during complex deformity spinal surgery which is one of the core business of the hospital.
Additionally, this Evoked Potential device (Cadwell), which gives real time feedback about spinal cord function during surgery, will also allow the Spinal Surgeons to perform maximum correction of spine deformities such as scoliosis, and kyphosis while significantly reducing associated risk of neurologic injury to patients.
The donation was facilitated by Dr. Ronald Emerson, Neurologist and Director of the Intraoperative monitoring program at HSS, who believes it would make significant improvements to the delivery of quality orthopedic care at FOCOS.
Since 2015, FOCOS Orthopedic hospital, Ghana has been an official international affiliate of HSS. FOCOS presented a Humanitarian Award to HSS at the recently-held fundraising gala in New York, on September 17, 2018. The two hospitals have annual Service Trip initiative agreement, where HSS sends personnel with diverse expertise to collaborate with their counterparts at FOCOS Hospital, ever year.