Orthopaedic Department
University of Cape Town
Orthopaedic Trauma Unit
The Level 3 trauma unit has a total of 53 acute admission beds for Trauma and Emergencies, providing a predominantly adult orientated service. Two additional beds are allocated to young adults who do not qualify for Red Cross Children’s hospital. Owing to the local demographics this is an extremely busy unit with drainage of complex Level 3 trauma cases from Victoria, Somerset and GF Jooste Hospitals and further afield sometimes as far as the Eastern Cape.
There is a rolling trauma list which deals with most of the straight forward emergencies with additional surgical lists available in the weekdays for complex consultant managed cases. The unit is run by different firms, each with a subspecialty interest.
A trauma fellowship is available with exposure to all aspects of subspecialty trauma (pelvic and acetabular surgery, foot and ankle, limb reconstruction, etc) and the opportunity to individualise according to the trainee’s interests.
Clinics
General orthopaedic and Fracture clinics Monday to Thursday (GSH J-Floor OPD)
Spine Unit
The Spine Unit evolved and managed under Professor Dunn after the Conradie Spinal Unit was decommissioned. The acute spine injuries were incorporated into Groote Schuur Hospital under the ASCI Unit and the stabilized low care patients deferred to the Western Cape rehabilitation department. The drainage area is vast and encompassed the entire Western Cape.
The Spine Unit has since grown into a leading centre of excellence with Adult elective spines being done at Groote Schuur Hospital and a Pediatric Deformity service at Red Cross Children’s Hospital. There is a 5 bed dedicated TB spine ward reflecting the demographics of pathology in the Western Cape.
The Acute Spine Injuries Unit is a dedicated spine ICU comprising 6 acute care beds with ventilator capacity as well as an acute care ward of 15 beds and 3 isolation cubicles. Adult spine elective cases are managed in the shared 27 bed adult reconstruction ward which has a 4 bed high care facility (D5) for post operative patients.
There are 2 AO Spine fellowship posts in the unit.
Clinics
PAOH adult spine clinic Thursday GSH (D6 GSH)
ASCI Clinic Thursday (D6 GSH)
General Orthopedic and fracture Clinic Thursday (J-Floor OPD GSH)
Spinal Deformity Clinic Friday (Red Cross Hospital)
Booking: 0214045338
Reconstructive Unit
Princess Alice Orthopaedic Unit
The Adult Reconstructive Unit is comprised out of the old Princess Alice Orthopedic Hospital which was relocated to Groote Schuur Hospital. It currently runs from the D6 PAOH level in the main hospital. It is comprised of Upper limb Unit, Lower limb Unit, Foot and Ankle Unit as well as the Orthopedic Oncology and Reconstruction Unit.
There is a 27 bed dedicated ward and a 4 bed post op high care unit.
The Unit performs level 3 orthopedics from complex revision hip arthroplasty to Taylor spatial frame management of lower limb deformities. The Oncology reconstructive unit pioneers state of the art major bone and joint prosthetic replacement with locally designed prostheses.
Clinics (D6 GSH)
Rheumatology Clinic Monday PAOH GSH
Shoulder Clinic Monday PAOH GSH
Hip Arthroplasty Tuesday PAOH GSH
Juvenile Arthritis and Knee clinic Wednesday PAOH GSH
Spine Clinic Wednesday PAOH GSH
Spine Clinic Thursday PAOH GSH
Pediatric Clinic Thursday PAOH GSH
Foot and Ankle Clinic Thursday PAOH GSH
Oncology and reconstruction clinic Thursday PAOH GSH
Martin Singer Hand Unit
The Martin Singer Hand Unit headed by Dr Mike Solomons has a large patient load and is run in combination with Plastics and orthopedic registrars under guidance of Consultants and Hand Fellows. There is a dedicated hand theatre servicing the elective hand procedures. Emergency procedures are performed in the trauma unit theatres as well as the main hospital theatres.
A hand fellowship is associated with the unit.
Clinics (J-floor OPD)
Emergency clinic Monday to Friday GSH
Brachial plexus clinic Wednesday GSH
Congenital Hand clinic Wednesdays RXH
Paediatric Orthopaedic Unit
The Paediatric Orthopaedic Unit headed by Dr Stewart Dix-Peek (HOD) and Dr Anria Horn has a vast drainage area including the Western, Northern and Eastern Cape. This results in a diverse spectrum of pathologies and clinical conditions often unrivalled anywhere else in the world. The Red Cross Children’s Hospital (RXH) is recognized as a centre of excellence and the Orthopaedic Unit has 6 emergency beds as well as 12 trauma beds available in the hospital. There is a 24hr emergency theatre where all orthopaedic trauma and sepsis is managed.
The Maitland Cottage Children’s Orthopaedic Hospital (MCH) based in Newlands is an island of paediatric excellence which harks back to the golden years of orthopaedic surgery. There are 80 beds available for the multitude of paediatric conditions which are treated there. There is a busy paediatric orthopaedic theatre as well as a new purpose built physiotherapy rehabilitation unit. This hospital provides the facility for prolonged inpatient care which is often required in paediatric orthopaedic surgery and has 2 dedicated teachers and a multitude of international volunteers that oversee the patients’ educational needs
Outpatient clinics (at RXH unless stated otherwise):
Elective Paediatric Orthopaedic clinic Monday am and Thursday pm.
Emergency Hand clinic Monday am.
Fracture clinic Tuesday and Thursday pm.
Congenital Hand Wednesday pm.
Combined Myelomeningocele clinic Wednesday am.
Club foot clinic Friday am at MCH.
Spinal Deformity Clinic once a month Friday.
Multidisciplinary Cerebral Palsy Clinic Friday am and last Wednesday of the month.
Cerebral palsy school outreach clinics
• Eros School
• Vista Nova School
• Bel Porto School
• Agape School
Limb Reconstruction Unit
The service at the unit encompasses all aspects of limb reconstruction, including:
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Deformity correction
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Limb lengthening
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Treatment of non-unions
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Treatment of bone infections
Multiple reconstructive orthopaedic techniques are used, including the use of external fixation devices.
Clinics
Wednesday GSH J-floor C-firm General orthopaedic and Fracture Clinic
Wednesday GSH J-floor Frame Clinic
Specific Referral Criteria
Any adult / adolescent (>12yrs of age) with:
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Limb deformities
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Limb shortening
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Non-union of fractures
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Bone infections
Orthopaedic Oncology Unit
The Orthopaedic Oncology unit, in affiliation with the Faculty of Health Sciences at UCT, is part of the Princess Alice Orthopaedic unit at Groote Schuur Hospital and also provides expertise to Red Cross Childrens Hospital. The unit manages a variety of bone and soft tissue sarcomas as well as bony metastatic disease. The head of the unit is Dr Thomas Hilton. The unit runs combined sarcoma meetings every 2 weeks with the Oncology, Surgical, Radiology and Pathology departments.
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For more information: www.coru.co.za or www.capesarcoma.com
Knee Unit and Sports Orthopaedic Service
Our Knee Unit focuses on all aspects of knee surgery including treatment of sports related injuries of meniscus, ligaments and cartilage as well as treatment for joint destroying conditions like osteoarthritis. A special focus is put on knee dislocations as well as complex knee replacement surgery. A combined clinic and fast-track service is set up with the Sports Science Institute is set up for sports related injuries of young athletes who will benefit from surgery. ​
Clinics
Wednesday AM at Groote Schuur Hospital D6
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Specific Referral criteria for the knee clinic.
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