JOURNEY AS AN ORTHOPAEDIC SURGEON, RESEARCHER, SURGICAL SITE INFECTION CONTROL & BONE LOSS EXPERT Associate Professor Kevin Tetsworth, Orthopaedic Surgeon
As an orthopaedic surgeon, Associate Professor Kevin Tetsworth, is widely recognised for his expertise in managing orthopaedic infections, chronic osteomyelitis, limb salvage, and reconstruction. He holds clinical appointments at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, the Wesley Hospital in Brisbane, Macquarie University in Sydney at the Limb Reconstruction Centre.
His credentials encompass a fellowship in the American Academy, a fellowship in the Royal College in Australia, and membership in the Australian Orthopaedic Association and the International Orthopaedic Trauma Association. Associate Professor Tetsworth’s clinical focus revolves around the comprehensive management of orthopaedic infections, segmental bone defects, high-energy trauma, limb salvage and reconstruction, deformity correction, limb lengthening, and prosthetic joint infections.
In tandem with his clinical practice, Associate Professor Tetsworth is deeply engaged in orthopaedic research, with a keen interest in infection management, infection control, limb salvage, bone defect reconstruction, biomarker development for infection, bone growth hormone delivery, and the use of 3D printed models for reconstructing segmental bone defects.
His professional journey has been profoundly shaped by training under esteemed mentors like Professor Dror Paley and Dr George Cierny in the United States. This formative training has equipped him with a high level of expertise in addressing complex orthopaedic conditions, particularly those related to bone loss and infection. Having practiced in the United States, notably at the University of Maryland and the shock trauma hospital in Baltimore, Associate Professor Tetsworth relocated to Australia in 2000 and has since played a pivotal role in advancing orthopaedic surgery at the Royal Brisbane Hospital.
Associate Professor Tetsworth’s unwavering commitment to advancing orthopaedic knowledge and his exceptional proficiency in managing challenging orthopaedic conditions have earned him widespread recognition within the field.
In this Australian Health Journal interview, Assoc Professor Tetsworth talks about his clinical and research career journey and gives advice for those in medicine considering a career in orthopaedic surgery,
Assoc Prof Tetsworth concludes with a discussion on ways infection control is handled in preoperative, intraoperative and post operatively for orthopaedic surgeries.
He discusses the techniques started in the 19th century with understanding of hand hygiene, surgical instruments being sterilised and discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century, to present day practises of patient modifiable factors such as prescreening patients, lifestyle adjustments such as BMI or weight management, checking HbA1c levels for those who are diabetic and use of triclosan coated sutures in wound dressing in the early post operative period.
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Bridging the orthodontic knowledge gap
In recent years, the orthodontic sector has been growing rapidly due to success in B2C marketing and companies like Invisalign reaching the consumer, but there has also been a lack of knowledge sharing among general dental practitioners and specialists.
General dentists require mentorship and guidance from orthodontists to feel confident in providing orthodontic treatment to their patients, ultimately improving the quality of care in the community.
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Nuclear medicine funding a win for men with prostate cancer
Australian men with higher risk prostate cancer now have access to a nuclear medicine scan to help detect and treat metastatic disease, after it was listed on the Medical Benefits Schedule (MBS) from 1st July 2022.
In 2021 over 18,000 Australian men were diagnosed with prostate cancer, resulting in over 3,000 lives being lost – and making prostate cancer Australia’s second most common cause of cancer death in men.
Australian Health Journal spoke with AANMS President Associate Professor Sze Ting Lee and Dr Geoff Schembri on the MBS listing and the efforts to get it listed.
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Improving access to osteopathic services and integrated care models
The Chief Executive Officer of Osteopathy Australia, Antony Nicholas spoke with Australian Health Journal about:
– Involvement in the Strengthening Medicare Task Force
– The unique skills osteopaths have that can address the chronic disease burden
– Current workforce issues around osteopaths and if enough are coming through via student placements
– How uploading data to My Health Record by osteopaths could assist team-based care of patients
– How the value of osteopaths in Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACFs) could be better understood and better access for residents
– The recommendations around aged care access to allied health services, including osteopathy
– The recommendations around consumer access to osteopaths and GP referrals
– Other osteopathy recommendations in the upcoming Federal BudgetIn the lead up to the Australian Federal Budget in May 2023, Australian Health Journal reached out to peak health industry bodies to hear about their priorities, either noted in pre-budget submissions lodged with Federal Government in January 2023 or in recent forums such as the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce.
