Princess Basma opens 12th international orthopaedic conference in Amman

AMMAN — HRH Princess Basma on Wednesday inaugurated the 12th international conference of the Jordan Orthopaedic Association (JOA) at the Jordan Medical Association.

The four-day conference is witnessing the participation of 800 physicians from Jordan and across the world, who will be discussing specialised topics in orthopaedics, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.  

Princess Basma highlighted the importance of medical care in alleviating the suffering of patients, noting the role of orthopaedics in view of the fact that 40 per cent of visitors to general medicine clinics in the Kingdom suffer from bone and joint pains.

The princess said that low incomes and a shortage of specialised doctors in some fields, as well as lack of awareness and fear of surgical intervention, exacerbate the health conditions of orthopaedic patients.

The princess noted that the success rate in orthopaedic surgeries exceeds 90 per cent, which necessitates raising the awareness of patients. 

Princess Basma said that hundreds of cases with orthopaedic diagnoses during the field visits of the Goodwill Campaign, whose higher committee is chaired by the princess, are treated through voluntary efforts of doctors, surgeons, technicians, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies.

Health Minister Saad Jaber said that the ministry has introduced orthopaedic departments in its hospitals, where surgeries are conducted by “professional” surgeons, noting that in September alone, Al Bashir Hospital performed more than 271 bone surgeries. 

JOA President Wael Azzazi said that the conference is held with the participation of 14 US, European and regional associations specialised in orthopaedics.