Guest Speaker: Dr Ankur Thapar
Ankur Thapar FRCS (Gen Surg), PhD, FHEA, PG Cert Med Ed. is an endovascular fellow who has been working in Adelaide. His clinical interests are carotid, renal access, lower limb vascular disease and humanitarian surgery. He was previously based at Imperial College, London.
A year ago Ankur finished his surgical training in England and decided to take up a fellowship with the Flinders Medical Centre. He reflected on the difference in approach adopted in Australian hospitals which are more flexible than those in the UK.
Always interesting...today he collaborated with an orthopaedic surgeon to move an artery complicating the bone repair of a patient from Alice Springs.
His areas of focus include:
- bleeding arteries and aneurysms
- blocked arteries
- strokes caused by blocked arteries
- dialysis conductivity
- varicose veins
- leg ulcers
He has enjoyed and learnt much from his time at Flinders as there are more resources available than back home and there is the ability to dabble in new technology on a trial basis. Key hole surgery is more prevalent here than the UK, and In the UK the big difference in training is the requirement for more research.
He mentioned 5 cases which he had treated with successful outcomes using less invasive techniques:
- A belly aneurysm in a 92yo fixed with a stent inserted through the groin
- A 65yo with an eye stroke caused by an artery block....fixed with a stent inserted through the groin (very popular access) while chatting to the patient
- A 75yo with pain in his left foot due to a blockage in the groin artery.....cleaned out and stent inserted
- A 42yo who suffered deep vein thrombosis which left her on crutches following a skiing accident with the clot cleared and a stent inserted in the belly artery.
- An 80yo with swelling and gangrene on the sole of his foot....the cause was fixed by cleaning out the arteries but the large hole remaining meant that the foot was likely needed to be amputated. The burns unit at the RAH came to the rescue with artificial skin.....remarkable.
The old adage of sex makes the world go round is perhaps misplaced...we should substitute the groin for sex as it covers other contingencies as well..
Ankur will be heading back to England, after more Australian sightseeing with his wife, to take up a hospital posting. It has been a year with plenty of fun and learning. He has been inspired by the humour of the nursing staff.
Ankur was thanked by acclamation.
Spots
Stephen Baker reminded members about Carols feedback.
Heather Kilsby reminded that the next coffee chat at the Unley Shopping Center will be 10.30am this coming Friday
Finale
Trevor McGuirk again won the filthy lucre.....we need a Royal Commission.....and John Peacham the chocolates. Graham Beckett was very pleased that his cardiac surgeon had given him a clean bill of health and that he had trounced the kids at putt-putt golf. Christina was pleased to be heading off to Melbourne to provide further training for her young grand-daughter to motorise forwards rather than backwards. Di Clements was happy to reveal the secret of the new Rotary theme "Rotary opens doors/windows/opportunity".....definitely opens something.
Jason cracked it and closed the meeting with 4 minutes to spare....holiday did him the world of good.
Christmas Lunch at the Unley Salvos
Bob Mills reports that Christmas lunch 2019 at the Salvos was again a wonderful occasion. He, Maria and son Andrew, together with Valerie Bonython and Graham Ey and other volunteers helped Reno provide a great meal together with Christmas hampers for 130 guests. Joy, smiles and laughter from those who often have so little……it was a heart-warming day. Valerie, Graham, Reno, Bob, Maria and Andrew below.
ROTARY
Event brings together Peace Fellows, Nobel laureates
Rotary Peace Fellows at the Nobel Peace Summit (from left to right): Lauren Coffaro (University of Bradford); Summer Lewis (University of Queensland); Rosalvina Otálora (Universidad del Salvador); Jorge Meruvia (International Christian University)
It’s not often that you get to spend International Peace Day, 21 September, surrounded by more than 30 Nobel Peace laureates and 1,200 young peace-builders. But thanks to my network of connections with Rotary Peace Fellows, I was able to do just that and bring 30 Rotaractors, Rotarians, and Peace Fellows from the United States, Mexico, and Colombia with me to the
17th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates.
Former Peace Fellow Lauren Coffaro, director of Global Programs for the PeaceJam Foundation, and I met back in 2014 and reconnected during the Rotary International Convention in Hamburg, Germany. Her organization connects Nobel Peace laureates to youth, and she mentioned the Nobel Peace Laureates Summit was taking place in Mérida, Mexico, near where I live. She invited me and those involved in the Rotary and Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) Positive Peace Workshops to attend. It would be a chance for these young peace-builders to learn from Nobel Prize laureates and meet others working towards peace.
I had less than two months to organize 30 delegates from three countries. So I started by contacting Rotary Peace Fellows, Rotarians, and partners from IEP who were involved in Positive Peace Workshops in Mexico and Colombia: Jorge Meruvia, Carlos Juarez, Amparo Buendía, and Rigo Ciceri. They helped find stellar young peacebuilders who wanted to attend the summit and present on Positive Peace in their communities.
Pillars of Positive Peace
In addition to the Peace laureates, several international celebrities attended the summit. They presented in massive panels, sometime with thousands in attendance, describing how peace intersects with gender, the arts, economic development, tourism, and more. One of the best things about the summit was an intensive youth program, Leading by Example, where our delegates got to work directly with the laureates, while networking and collaborating with other young peace-builders.
Our delegation put their training from the Positive Peace Workshops into action by hosting an interactive workshop attended by 80 people about the Pillars of Positive Peace and how these pillars intersect with our daily lives.
“We went from being students of Positive Peace to teachers, sharing with the rest of the Summit how to create Positive Peace in their communities,” said Selene Esquivel, a Rotaractor and participant in the 2019 Mexico Positive Peace Workshop.
The power of connection
The opportunity to connect young leaders with Nobel Peace laureates and other peace-builders doesn’t happen often. But it does speak to the power that Rotary has to bring together people who are committed to a common cause.
Peace is something not just relegated to young leaders, Rotaractors, or Rotary Peace Fellows – it’s something all Rotarians can get behind. This is why the Rotary and IEP partnership exists: to provide tools for Rotary members to use in order to take action around (Positive) Peace.
In the words of the Nobel Peace laureates: Everyone can make a difference – our daily actions matter.
Our Upcoming Meetings
Tuesday 28 January 2020 6 for 6.30pm at Damien on Fisher
Guest Speaker: NYSF student and eMbrace...support for new mothers
Chair: Bob Mills..........Set-up, Welcome and Apologies: Brendan Kenny & Heather Kilsby
Tuesday 4 February 202 6 for 6.30 pm at Damien on Fisher
Guest Speaker: Richard Venus Forensic Heritology and Charles Todd
Chair; Bob Mills..........Set-up, Welcome and Apologies: Leonie Kewen and John Kikkert
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