News published by La Voz de Galicia
- In his more than 35 years of service at the Ribera Povisa hospital, Dr. Pintado has seen how the center has adapted to technological advances and incorporated new techniques, with the aim of offering patients quality healthcare.
The traumatology and orthopedic surgery unit of Ribera Povisa hospital It is currently made up of a team of 20 specialists and 10 resident doctors, who work under the direction of Dr. Antonio Pintado.
Dr. Pintado, who began working at the Vigo hospital in 1988, has witnessed the changes in the population's healthcare needs and a remarkable evolution in his specialty. During these years, he has been part of the center's transformation, adopting new technologies and techniques to provide a healthcare of the highest quality.
Dr. Pintado, what would you highlight about the work done in your department?
In our service, a very large service, we treat all areas of the specialty, performing arthroscopic surgery, hand surgery, sports traumatology, fracture treatment, prosthetic surgery, etc., and all of them are carried out by subspecialists with high qualifications and years of experience.
We are one of the leading centers in Galicia, serving many patients for many years. We work closely with the hospital's plastic surgery department.
The high quality of our service has allowed us to be accredited as a hand surgery training center by the European Federation for Surgery of the HandThat is why we regularly receive professionals from other geographical areas, both national and international, to train in this field.
El traumatology service It has been reinforced with the arrival of several specialists, what is the reason for these hires?
In the last two years, we have hired four more doctors to meet the needs of the population we serve.
There has been a significant increase in hip and knee replacement surgeries, which are being performed at increasingly younger ages because patients do not want to see their activity or quality of life diminished and are not postponing these procedures. We are the private center in Vigo that performs the highest number of surgeries in our specialty, with excellent results, as evidenced by the praise from our patients and the growing demand.
Has the progressive aging of the population had any impact on your service?
We've noticed an increase in the number of hip fractures we treat in recent years. For example, we treat slightly more than one hip fracture per day, and they are generally elderly patients.
Two years ago, the service added an orthogeriatrician, a professional specializing in trying to improve the clinical situation of these patients before and after surgery.
Hip fractures, provided there is no medical problem preventing it, are operated on within 24 hours of occurring, and the orthogeriatrician takes care of monitoring and follow-up in the postoperative period.
At this stage, we always have the support, if needed, of other services, such as neurology, internal medicine, rehabilitation, etc. At Ribera Povisa, there is excellent collaboration and teamwork between services, and we work efficiently when we need a multidisciplinary approach.
How does the traumatology service at Ribera Povisa work?
We start with an early morning session, in which the admissions from the previous day's shift are presented and the scheduled cases for the day are discussed in order to address as a team any issues that may arise.
Currently, we are performing 38 operating room sessions per week, which means we are treating an average of 120 patients per week. Our service operates evenings and Saturdays to reduce waiting times and improve patient care ratios. always looking out for the health, safety and well-being of all the patients we serve.
It should be noted that in our hospital, we have two doctors on call physically present in the hospital, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, which in case of emergency makes us prepared for any incident at any time.
The trauma unit has a long and distinguished history within the hospital. One of the founding physicians, Dr. José Troncoso, was a trauma surgeon, and this specialty has always been a cornerstone of the center's healthcare services. This extensive experience is a key factor in attracting young talent.
Indeed. In our unit, we have always been very committed to training and teaching. We are the only private center in Galicia that has residents who choose us for their training as traumatologists, and this choice is due to the high level of professionalism of the team and its recognition in our country at the teaching level, and also, very importantly, the excellent camaraderie that exists among all the team members.
We have weekly clinical sessions specifically designed for the training of these residents. And in recent years, a very high percentage have decided to stay and develop their professional careers here after their training.
In her case, she has been working at Ribera Povisa for almost 40 years. She has seen many changes and experienced very different times. How does she assess the current situation at the center?
I am very pleased to be part of this hospital, which provides me with solid job stability and the opportunity to offer high-quality medical care.
I work alongside a team of highly qualified professionals, with a wonderful atmosphere of camaraderie both within my unit and with other services.
In recent decades, we have experienced very complex labor situations, and I would like to emphasize that currently, staff mobility is not at all noticeable, nor different from what happens in other hospitals in our country, with the very advantageous difference for us, which is that at Povisa we have more professionals than any other private center in the Vigo area.
At this time, after the signing of the new agreement, the hospital management, which has been working in collaboration with all of us since day one, gives us the assurance that we have no doubt about the stability of the hospital and its positioning as a leading private hospital in the Vigo health area.
Povisa is a great hospital, with great professionals and wonderful colleagues, and has been a healthcare reference in our community for more than 50 years.
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