Welcome Ceremony

On the morning of July 29, 2024, the Welcome Ceremony for Prof. Herbort’s academic exchange project in Henan No. 3 Provincial People's Hospital was conducted. The Party Secretary CAO Xiaoqiang, President LI Huawei, Vice President YUAN Qidong, Assistant President and Chief Expert in Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery ZHOU Honggang, Director of the Medical Affairs Department LIU Changming, Director of Orthopedic Department, SHA Yu, Director of the Health Management Center, YU Yuandong, Director of Rehabilitation Medicine LIU Qiang, and Director of Sports Medicine WANG Yuanxin extended a warm welcome to Prof. Herbort.

The ceremony was chaired by Vice President YUAN Qidong, who extended a warm welcome to Prof. Herbort and other distinguished guests. He also introduced the leaders of Henan No. 3 Provincial People's Hospital, as well as the experts from the Orthopedics, Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, and Rehabilitation Medicine departments in the venue.

The Party Secretary CAO Xiaoqiang delivered a speech, extending a heartfelt welcome to Prof. Herbort and his team who traveled from afar. He presented an overview of Henan No. 3 Provincial People's Hospital, including its basic situation, specialties, and the path of specialty development. He hopes that both sides will engage in in-depth discussions on the cutting-edge development of the Orthopedic Department, explore future specialty development, and continue to enhance its strength and research academic level, thereby advancing Orthopedic Department to new heights.

President LI Huawei highly commended this academic exchange, stating that specialty development should blend international perspectives with local conditions. He emphasized the importance of aligning with global standards in both academic and technological advancements while addressing the specific needs of Henan province. Henan is a province with significant medical demands, and this high-level exchange and cooperation are anchored in meeting the needs of the people. The exchange comprehensively covers clinical, academic, and technical areas, with a particular focus on the diagnosis and treatment of knee osteoarthritis, contributing to the advancement of Orthopedics in the hospital to a higher level.

Subsequently, Prof. Herbort and Director SHA Yu briefly introduced their hospitals and departments alternatively and then had in in-depth discussions on key topics related to this academic visit, including major specialty development, standardized diagnosis and treatment, and clinical research.

After the welcoming ceremony, Prof. Herbort, accompanied by Director SHA Yu’s team, toured the Sports Medicine Center and the OR of Henan No. 3 Provincial People's Hospital to know about the daily routines of the Orthopedic and Rehabilitation Center.

Department Meet-and-Greet

In the afternoon, Prof. Herbort, together with Director SHA Yu’s team, discussed challenging cases covering topics such as clinical examination standards and treatment methods for recurrent patellar dislocations, options of open or arthroscopic reduction for posterior tibial plateau fractures, and the indications and alignment correction for HTO, UKA and TKA. Following this, Prof. Herbort, along with the department's doctors, conducted a comprehensive ward round to assess the condition of inpatients and review the management of the hospital's departments and medical staff. This provided a solid foundation for gaining a thorough understanding of the department's daily operations and offering constructive suggestions for their improvement.

Prof. Herbort's exchange visit not only advanced academic collaboration between hospitals in China and Germany in the field of knee preservation but also provided new ideas and insights for advancing specialty development and standardization, as well as improving clinical treatment levels at Henan No. 3 Provincial People's Hospital.

Expert Outpatient Clinic at the East Campus

On the morning of July 30, Prof. Herbort, together with Director SHA Yu’s team, conducted pre-op discussions and surgical planning for surgical case on Friday’s live surgery broadcast at the hospital's East Campus, followed by outpatient activities. Prof. Herbort performed thorough physical examinations and consultations with patients to understand their major complaints. During the examination, he showed the Chinese colleagues some practical autonomous function exercise techniques on the knee joint, which are particularly useful after ACL injury or during the UKA rehabilitation phase, allowing patients to effectively improve knee extension through autonomous strengthening of the hamstring muscles.

During the morning’s outpatient consultations, Prof. Herbort provided accurate physical diagnoses for patients with bilateral femoral head necrosis affecting the knee joint. He emphasized that hip joint involvement should be considered in cases with knee joint issues and that a differential diagnosis is crucial before proceeding with knee treatments. Prof. Herbort then conducted thorough physical examinations for patients with patellofemoral joint issues, medial meniscus injuries, knee varus deformity-induced pain, and ACL tears, and subsequently provided diagnosis and treatment recommendations.

Specialized Seminar on Orthopedic Clinical and Research Projects

In the afternoon, during the seminar on orthopedic clinical and research projects, Prof. Herbort presented a comparative analysis based on actual research projects. He evaluated the post-op outcomes of ACL reconstruction using hamstring tendons versus quadriceps tendons by comparing three large multi-center randomized controlled trials, meta-analyses, and single-center studies. Prof. Herbort used this analysis to illustrate the rationale and methodology of his own clinical research so that the Chinese colleagues could gain some inspirations. Following the research-focused lecture, Prof. Herbort and Director SHA Yu’s team discussed the development direction of the department’s clinical projects, contributing to the advancement of the department's research.

On the morning of July 31, Prof. Herbort, together with Director SHA Yu’s team, conducted outpatient consultations at the hospital's East Campus. Prof. Herbort performs approximately 400 ACL reconstructions annually, including 100 ACL reconstruction combined with MCL treatment. His pioneering concept for restoring overall joint stability following ACL injury is considered leading of global standards. During his visit to Henan No. 3 Provincial People's Hospital, Prof. Herbort shared this concept with the Chinese colleagues. If adopted in clinical practice, it could significantly enhance the success rate of ACL reconstructions and achieve more effective knee preservation.

Surgical Hands-On Demonstration and Guidance

In the afternoon, Prof. Herbort had surgical demonstrations for the Chinese team at Henan No. 3 Provincial People's Hospital. He showcased the posterior approach one-way anchor fixation of ACL insertion avulsion fractures with the patient in prone position and the partial synovectomy under arthroscopy. The Chinese colleagues learned many practical and effective surgical techniques from Prof. Herbort's demonstrations, and this hopefully could help their improve their surgical skills. Following this, Prof. Herbort provided surgical guidance on UKA for the team, offering new insights and references for their approach.

Expert Outpatient Clinic at the West Campus

On the morning of August 1, 2024, Prof. Herbort's guest professor visit continued in a new location, the West Campus of Henan No. 3 Provincial People's Hospital. At this campus, Prof. Herbort attended to patients in the Orthopedic Outpatient Clinic, bringing updated diagnostic concepts to the Chinese colleagues. That day, many patients with sports injuries or degenerative knee joint conditions came and sought treatment from Prof. Herbort. Prof. Herbort examined and provided treatment recommendations for various cases including a patient with impaired ACL function accompanied by medial arthritis, a patient with significant tibial deformities with knee joint instability and a marathon runner with cartilage damage with valgus deformity in the left knee, a patient with knee osteoarthritis persisting for over ten years, a patient with loss of lateral meniscus function following ACL reconstruction, bilateral lower limb varus deformities affecting the ankle joints, a patient with synovial fold syndrome after medial meniscus resection due to a football injury, and a patient with joint instability after LCL reconstruction, a retired professional volleyball player with pain after meniscectomy and ligament reconstruction following traumatic ACL rupture, etc.

During the outpatient, Prof. Herbort shared his examination techniques in detail. He covered how to guide patients in self-stretching to relax muscles in cases of muscle stiffness following a knee injury, the course of treatment and key considerations for intra-articular injections of hyaluronic acid, clinical indications for UKA/TKA and HTO, and how to perform differential diagnoses when there is suspected involvement of the hip joint in knee pain or the knee joint in ankle pain.

Subsequently, Prof. Herbort, accompanied by Director SHA Yu’s team, visited the inpatient wards to check patients, with a focus on those who were to undergo surgery on Friday. He conducted physical examinations and then returned to the conference room to plan the preoperative strategy and outline key points for surgical procedures.

Master Open Class Day & 34th Knee Preservation Workshop on Osteotomy and Cartilage Repair Regeneration Techniques 

On August 2, 2024, the Sino-German Joint Surgery & Master Open Class Day & 34th Knee Preservation Workshop on Osteotomy and Cartilage Repair Regeneration Techniques was successfully held. At the beginning of the open class, President LI Huawei presented a guest professor letter of appointment to Prof. Herbort. Prof. Herbort then commenced the theoretical lecture session with a talk entitled Indications and Surgical Techniques for HTO, focusing on the management of cartilage, meniscus, ligaments, and joint alignment in knee preservation treatments.

Regarding HTO indications, Prof. Herbort emphasized that, in addition to considering osteoarthritis and cartilage conditions, it is essential to assess knee joint stability and perform preventive evaluations of other factors, such as bone marrow edema. He also shared insights on HTO cases with ACL injuries, highlighting the need to adjust the posterior tibial plateau angle and providing the range and criteria for such adjustments.

Following this, Director SHA Yu delivered a presentation on HTO Surgical Techniques, analyzing the steps and key considerations involved in HTO surgery. Afterward, Prof. Herbort and Director SHA Yu’s team conducted a hands-on demonstration of HTO surgery. The pre-op preparations included a 3D guide plate, which enabled precise osteotomy during the surgery. The surgery was a highly accurate and efficient live demonstration, during which Prof. Herbort meticulously detailed each step and emphasized the importance of protecting certain medial nerve in the tibial side to avoid post-op pain. Prof. Herbort’s surgical skills were exemplary, and he worked seamlessly with Director SHA Yu’s team throughout the surgery.

The successful completion of Prof. Herbort’s visit to China marks a new milestone in the collaboration between Chinese and German experts in knee preservation surgery. It has also injected new momentum into the development of the Orthopedics Department at Henan No. 3 Provincial People's Hospital. This event has not only advanced the hospital’s orthopedic technology and diagnostic capabilities but also brought hope to more patients.