S5E01 – COVID-19 on the Front Lines – Italy: Eye of the storm (Prof. Luigi Zagra, Italy, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Galeazzi , Milan)
How does it feel to be a healthcare professional in one of the worst-hit regions of the Covid19 pandemic? In this episode, we hear the moving story straight from Dr. Luigi Zagra, Senior Orthopedic Surgeon at IRCCS Galeazzi, in Lombardy, Italy. Lombardy was the center of the coronavirus outbreak in February, and it has the highest number of deaths because of COVID-19 in Italy.
Dr. Luigi recounts the harrowing experience of living in Milan and being a healthcare provider amid the continually rising number of deaths. He shares the impact of Covid19 on his hospital’s clinical practice, the restrictive measures to curb the spread of the virus, and the temporary hold on elective orthopedic surgery, total joint arthroplasty, and other operations. Dr. Luigi also relays the massive need for testing and extraordinary communication levels on the various medical teams. Most importantly, he brings to our attention the number of medical colleagues who lost their lives in the service and raised an important question: “Why did I choose to be in the helping professions?”.
This is one podcast interview you don’t want to miss, so listen to the full episode!
About today’s Guest:
Luigi Zagra is the Head of the Hip Department at IRCCS Galeazzi Orthopaedic Institute, Milan, Italy, and Adjunct Professor at Università degli Studi of Milan.
He is the president of the Società Italiana dell’Anca (Italian Hip Society), and the past president of the European Hip Society (EHS). He’s also the Vice Chairman of the Educational Committee of EFORT (European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology), a member of the International Hip Society (IHS), and an honorary member of AE (German Arthroplasty Society), of the Egyptian Pelvis and Hip Society (EPHS), of the Serbian Orthopaedic Trauma Association (SOTA) and has been International Corresponding Member of the Argentinian Orthopaedic Association (AAOT). For all these activities, he was nominated a member of the International Committee of the Italian Orthopaedic Society (SIOT).
Dr. Zagra is a renowned orthopedic surgeon with over 5000 major orthopedic surgical procedures performed. He focuses on complex total hip and knee arthroplasty.
Key Takeaways:
● Stringent clinical procedures mitigate the spread of the virus in hospitals and orthopedic facilities
● Exceptional communication among the healthcare teams is necessary to support the front liners
● Find the right treatment procedure that will lessen the chance of patients going to the hospital to prioritize those who are affected by the coronavirus.
● Always involve the patient in the discussion.
Resources:
https://www.gsdinternational.com/facility/istituto-ortopedico-galeazzi/medici/zagraluigi.html
