Loyola University Medical Center hosts top orthopaedic surgeons from Southeast Asia

On June 12th, Loyola University Medical Center hosted four of Southeast Asia's top orthopaedic surgeons.

They are Hein Latt Win, MD, of Myanmar, who specializes in hip replacements; Istan Irsan of Indonesia (orthopaedic tumors); Azura Mansor of Malaysia (orthopaedic tumors); and Chia-Liang Ang of Sinapore (orthopaedic tumors and hip and knee replacements).

The physicians are participating in a Traveling Fellowship program sponsored by the American Orthopaedic Association and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

"We feel privileged to host some of the best and brightest orthopaedic surgeons from Southeast Asia," said Terry Light, MD, chair of Loyola's Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation. "They each have huge responsibilities for very large patient populations. It was an eye-opening experience for our residents to see the challenges these surgeons face and the great work that they do."

There are about 20,000 orthopaedic surgeons in the United States serving about 320 million people. By comparison, there are only 600 orthopaedic surgeons in Indonesia serving 250 million people.

"It puts American practice in perspective," Light said.

The visiting surgeons gave Grand Rounds talks, attended the Chairman's Hour and toured Loyola's campus. They also found time to take a Frank Lloyd Wright architectural tour in Oak Park.

"We learned a lot of things here that we will bring back home," Ang said.

In addition to Loyola, the surgeons are visiting the University of Iowa, University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin, Northwestern University and University of Nebraska. They also will attend the 2014 combined meeting of the American Orthopaedic Association and Canadian Orthopaedic Association in Montreal.

"The entire trip has been a great experience," Mansor said.