Orthopaedist Dr. Davor Duvančić has joined the team of the International Medical Center Priora and will be available to patients at our newly opened clinic in Zagreb.
He is a specialist in orthopaedic surgery and traumatology, a member of the Croatian Medical Association, and of professional associations of orthopaedists, traumatologists, spine specialists (vertebrologists), and paediatric orthopaedists. In the following Q&A, he explains what patients at Priora can expect.
What will be your main focus at IMC Priora in terms of conditions and patient groups?
– At Priora, my work will focus on deformities and diseases of the major joints, the spine, as well as medium and small joints; traumatic and post-traumatic injuries of the musculoskeletal system and peripheral nerves. In outpatient care, I am also prepared to work with children up to 16 years of age, except for neonatal pathology. For many years of practice, I have also treated sports injuries and the consequences of post-traumatic sports conditions; my focus will also include the aftermath of sports-related injuries.
What concerns do patients most often come to you with?
– Depending on age and pain intensity, patients come to me either due to musculoskeletal conditions or due to the consequences of injuries/trauma. Also, depending on the psychological status of the patient and/or injured person, it is to be expected that those whose pain, limited movement, or difficulties in everyday life, work, and sport are such that they feel a specialist’s opinion is necessary will seek help.
How can a patient recognize that it is time to see an orthopaedic specialist?
– Each patient’s decision is individual and depends on their pain level and psychological state. For some, even mild pain is enough to prompt immediate help-seeking. In contrast, others tolerate pain for a long time, until a limited range of motion or dysfunction in daily life leads them to a specialist in the musculoskeletal system.
You worked for two years in the United Kingdom. What experience did you bring back and ultimately apply in Croatia?
– I worked at Dundee Royal Infirmary, a leading trauma hospital in Scotland’s Tayside region. Within its jurisdiction, I worked at five additional hospitals across the region, performing both surgical and outpatient duties. As it is a university hospital, I also had the opportunity to give lectures on bone and joint pathology and spinal pathology to final-year medical students. Naturally, the experience from Scotland is invaluable. I adopted certain methods that I liked in practice or that I felt were simpler and more suitable than those I had used previously. Before moving to the United Kingdom, I worked for more than ten years at the Military Medical Academy in Belgrade.
There, we had the opportunity to follow the most modern global trends in both conservative and surgical care. Hence, the British experience later proved valuable for comparison with the knowledge I already had. Subsequently, I continued my work at the Clinic for Traumatology in Zagreb, the Šalata Orthopaedics Clinic, and other institutions. In essence, I combined previously acquired knowledge while mastering new approaches prompted by the introduction of new and different (better) implants and other technological advances.
In what ways is the patient–doctor approach in the UK most different from what we are used to in Croatia?
– There are significant differences in mentality, behaviour, and communication between doctors and patients in Croatia and in the UK. Here, the approach is more familiar, warmer, and more personal compared with the UK. In the UK, patients treat doctors with great respect and with a certain degree of restraint in contact. A tie is mandatory for male doctors.
In the UK, the presence of a nurse during the examination is essential, not as assistance to the doctor but as a silent witness to the examination and the doctor–patient interaction. A reserved but somewhat detached politeness on the part of physicians is the standard manner of communication with patients, regardless of the patient’s social background. I mention this because I had the opportunity to treat both agricultural workers from Scottish farms and a member of the royal family. The standard must be the same for everyone.
