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Staff Profile

Oday Al-Dadah

Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer

  • Address: Translational and Clinical Research Institute
    Faculty of Medical Sciences
    3rd Floor William Leech Building
    Framlington Place
    Medical School
    Newcastle University
    NE2 4HH
Background

Personal Information

I am a Consultant Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgeon at South Tyneside Hospital with a special interest in Reconstructive Knee Surgery.

I'm from Ayrshire and graduated from Dundee University Medical School. I completed my higher surgical training as a specialist registrar on the Cambridge training programme. I then completed sub-specialist fellowship training at the Professorial Knee Unit – Southampton, Avon Orthopaedic Centre – Bristol, London (training in cartilage transplant) and Belgium (training in meniscus transplant). 

My consultant practice includes all aspects of knee surgery ranging from sports injuries to joint replacement surgery. I perform arthroscopic knee surgery and meniscal surgery including partial meniscectomy, meniscal repair, collagen meniscus implant replacement and allograft meniscus transplant. I also perform cartilage transplant surgery of the knee. My ligament surgery armamentarium includes anterior and posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction as well as medial collateral ligament and postero-lateral corner reconstruction. For young adult patients with arthritis I perform peri-articular knee realignment osteotomies including high tibial osteotomy and distal femoral osteotomy. I perform a high number of partial knee joint replacements using minimally invasive techniques encompassing medial and lateral uni-compartmental knee replacement, patello-femoral joint replacement and bi-compartmental knee replacement. I have developed innovative patient pathways which allow for lower limb joint replacement surgery to be undertaken as a day case procedure with high patient satisfaction and success. I perform primary and complex primary total knee replacements as well as total hip replacements for arthritis. I also perform revision total knee replacements for both mechanical or infective aetiologies. My consultant practice also includes general trauma with a particular interest in complex knee trauma (i.e. tibial plateau fractures, peri-prosthetic knee fractures, knee dislocations, etc) as well as paediatric knee injuries. I also perform surgery for patella instability including medial patello-femoral ligament reconstruction, tibial tuberosity transfer and trochleoplasty.

I completed my Doctorate Thesis on the topic of Reconstructive Knee Surgery during my research fellowship within my time as a specialist registrar. 

I am the Editor-in-Chief of The Knee Journal. 

I am an executive member of the British Association for Surgery of the Knee (BASK). This is the overarching professional body that oversees clinical practice of all aspects of knee surgery including the development and implementation of national guidelines, chairing and delivering national conferences and promoting and disseminating clinical research throughout the UK.  

Roles and Responsibilities

• Programme Director - South Tyneside Basic Surgical Rotation

• Former Deputy Clinical Lead - Department of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery

• Lead for Orthopaedic Research

• Lead for Orthopaedic Education 

• Lead for Junior Doctor Teaching Programme

• Educational Supervisor (Foundation Doctors / Registrars / Clinical Research Fellows) 

• Former Foundation Programme Tutor

• Former MBBS 4th Year Undergraduate Lead - Wear Base Unit



Qualifications

MB ChB, FRCS (Eng), MD, FRCS (Tr & Orth)


Memberships

• British Orthopaedic Association 

• British Association for Surgery of the Knee

• British Orthopaedic Research Society

• European Orthopaedic Research Society

• European Society of Sports Traumatology Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy

• International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine

Research

Journal Appointments

I am the Editor-in-Chief of The Knee Journal. It is the official publication of the British Association for Surgery of the Knee (BASK), the Australian Knee Society (AKS), the German Knee Society (DKG), the Sociedad Española de la Rodilla (SEROD) and the South African Knee Society (SAKS). 

I was previously a reviewer for The Bone and Joint Journal (formerly known as Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (British); JBJS (Br)).


Doctorate Thesis

Title

Soft Tissue Knee Injuries: Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Proprioception and Clinical Outcome Measures

Summary

1) Newly developed Static Stress MRI techniques were conducted with the use of specially designed fibreglass splints. They were shown to significantly accentuate the ancillary signs of ACL rupture and improve the overall diagnostic accuracy of MRI scans in the context of knee injuries. The kinematics of the ACL deficient knee was also radiologically evaluated to demonstrate the specific pathological pattern of tibio-femoral translation following knee injuries. 

(2) Longitudinal analysis of knee proprioception using Stabilometry in subjects with knee injuries including ACL ruptures and meniscal tears who were compared to healthy normal controls. Over 150 subjects were recruited which constitutes one of the largest studies in the literature relating to the topic of knee proprioception. 

(3) A total of 9 clinical outcome measures including clinician completed, patient administered, disease specific and generic instruments were evaluated in patients with knee injuries. Mathematical formulae were produced from liner and multi-linear statistical regression analysis which will facilitate the conduct of future meta-analyses in the field of soft-tissue knee injuries.

Research Grants / Awards

Gwen Fish Charity Trust

NNUH Research Fund

Action Arthritis Charity Trust


My Doctorate research has been published and presented at national and international scientific meetings and has won prizes and gold medals for best podium presentations including Medico-Chirurgical Society Carlile Gold Medal Winner and East Anglia Orthopaedic Club 1st Prize Winner - twice. 


Research Training

I have completed postgraduate research training in the fields of Medical Statistics and Research Methodology, including Randomised Controlled Trials, Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses at Oxford University. This included training from Professor Doug Altman (founding director of the Centre for Statistics in Medicine (CSM), Oxford University), Dr Marialena Trivella (senior medical statistician CSM, Oxford University) and Professor Mike Clarke (director of the UK Cochrane Collaboration Centre and editor of the Cochrane Methodology Review Group).


Academic Roles

I am the lead for research in the department of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery. I currently supervise clinical research fellows in the department. 


Research Interests

I have previously published research under the auspices of the past president of the British Association for Surgery of the Knee and the past president of the British Trauma Society, the latter being on the topic of compartment syndrome in the context of tibial diaphyseal fractures. 

My current research interests include:

- Clinical outcomes following knee arthroplasty and soft-tissue knee reconstruction

- Day case joint replacement surgery

- Musculoskeletal radiology applications of the knee joint

- Infection prevention in fracture neck of femur surgery

- Mortality rates and predictors in fracture neck of femur patients

- Nuclear Medicine / Medical Physics


Research Supervision 

- I'm currently supervising 4 intercalating MBBS students doing an MRes degree

- I'm currently supervising 3 medical students doing research (including a private SSC in Research)

- I'm currently supervising 2 post-graduate clinical research fellows

- I'm currently supervising 1 research registrar


MCh Surgery Dissertation supervision - Academic year 2017 - 2018

Management of Distal Femur Peri-Prosthetic Fractures

Award: Pass


MRes Dissertation supervision - Academic year 2020 - 2021

(1) Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty vs High Tibial Osteotomy: an analysis of patient-reported health outcomes

   Award: Distinction


(2) Clinical Outcome of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

   Award: Distinction


(3) Arthroscopic Meniscectomy vs Meniscal Repair: comparison of clinical outcomes

   Award: Merit


(4) Comparison of Clinical Outcomes for Total Hip Replacement vs Total Knee Replacement

   Award: Pass



MRes Dissertation supervision - Academic year 2021 - 2022


(1) Evaluation of Surgical Outcomes and Radiological Patello-Femoral Angle Measurements in Patients with Patella Instability   

   Award: Distinction


(2) Evaluation of Bone Mineral Density in Patients with Hyperparathyroidism   

   Award: Merit


(3) An Epidemiological Study on Injury Incidence at a Premier League Football Club  

   Award: Distinction



MRes Dissertation supervision - Academic year 2022 - 2023


(1) Clinical Comparison of Unicompartmental and Patellofemoral Knee Arthroplasties against Total Knee Arthroplasty   

   Award: Distinction


(2) Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: Evaluation of early to mid-term clinical outcomes   

   Award: Distinction



MRes Dissertation supervision - Academic year 2023 - 2024


(1) Relationship Between Prosthetic Component Malalignment and Post-Total Knee Arthroplasty Pain   

   Award: Distinction




Research Course Convenor 

I am the founder, chairman and course convenor of the Newcastle Research Methodology Course.

This is a pan-speciality course for all ST trainees who are specialist registrars in surgical specialities in the Northern Deanery that is considered mandatory for their ARCP. 


Teaching

Teaching Roles

Undergraduate Teaching

I have taught and lectured at the following Medical Schools:

- University of Dundee School of Medicine

- University of Leeds School of Medicine

- Norwich University Medical School

- University of Cambridge School of Medicine

- Southampton University Medical School

- Bristol University Medical School

I currently teach, lecture and examine Newcastle University medical students.

I was the Year 4 lead for undergraduate studies at Wear Base Unit.

I supervise SSC students doing Trauma and Orthopaedic surgery placement.

I supervise medical students doing summer elective placements in Trauma and Orthopaedic surgery.

I supervise 4th year students in their clinical placements for their Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship. 


Postgraduate Teaching

I am the former Foundation Programme Tutor and supervised and co-ordinated the whole Foundation Doctor Training Programme for all the FY1 and FY2 junior doctors at South Tyneside Hospital.

I am the founder and programme director of the South Tyneside Basic Surgical Rotation.

I am the lead for orthopaedic education in the department of Trauma and Orthopaedic surgery.

I am the head convenor of the junior doctor teaching programme and devise the entire Trauma and Orthopaedic syllabus.

I am an educational supervisor for Foundation Doctors, Registrars and Clinical Research Fellows.  

I regularly update and teach G.P.'s, physiotherapists and allied health professionals on the current advances of knee surgery.


Publications