Column Overseas Training Report – PODD Training in Italy ｜ILC International Back Pain Clinic (Osaka) Column
March 19, 2024
Buon giorno!
My name is Dr. Maruyama, and I am one of the doctors at ILC Clinic Osaka. We recently visited Italy to receive training in ozone therapy.
This hospital was the Bellaria Hospital in Bologna, the same hospital where personnel of the ILC Clinic Tokyo were received in the summer of 2022 (cf. our blog entry for Aug. 30, 2022).
*The exact location of the Italian hospital is marked by an H on the map below. It is located on the upper part of Italy.
Contents of the training program.
We gathered at around 8:00 a.m., for the first day of the PODD (Percutaneous Ozone Disc Decompression) which started at around 8:30 a.m.
A patient lying on a transfer bed was carried into the fluoroscopy room by two nurses and was then placed on the treatment table, either lying on its right or left side.
The nurses then disinfected the patient with red-colored chlorhexidine and stood by with a clean cloth. Although it seems that there are four or five doctors who are trained to perform the procedure at this particular hospital, they seemed to have other duties to perform elsewhere on that day, so it may be that they are taking turns and treat their own patients on a rotation schedule.
After the treatment, the patient is placed back on a bed in the recovery room next door, where he is placed under observation.
During the two days we were there, there were about 8 cases a day from morning to evening. Most of the treatments were performed for the back, but we were also able to observe two cases of cervical treatment. Ozone therapy is about 30 years old now, and there are about 800 PODD cases per year, as well as 1500 ozone intramuscular injections per year (250 patients x 6 treatments), and this has been in effect for just under 10 years.
After the PODD is finished, in the evening, about 6 to 10 patients start receiving ozone injections into their neck and back muscles. Since patients need to wait between one and a half to two years if the treatment is taken in charge by their medical insurance, many patients who instead choose to pay for their treatment by themselves also visit from all over Italy. There are two beds in the same recovery room, and patients are invited to lie down on their stomachs in turn. Some patients only had their necks done, some had only their backs, and some had both their necks and backs. They were injected with ozone in 6 places each in their necks and back. The patients were able to walk home as soon as the injections were finished.
On the first day, we had lunch at the cafeteria located inside the treatment ward.
Lunch on the second day was at the staff cafeteria in the hospital, the same place where the ILC Clinic Tokyo staff went when they were there.
For dinner on the first day, we went to a restaurant recommended by our Japanese interpreter who lives in Bologna, and we went together with our Italian supervising doctors (Dr. Cirillo and Dr. Ciro) and their spouses. It was quite a substantial meal to say the least!
On the second day, March 8, was International Women’s Day, and beautiful mimosa flowers were everywhere to be seen. Also, the wife of my supervisor, Dr. Ciro, made a cake called tenerina and brought it to me after the dinner party. It was delicious.
On the second day, we were also supposed to have dinner with the staff of our partner company in Italy, but unfortunately, I was not feeling well and had to stay at the hotel for the evening… ;-(
All in all, the two days of training were very productive and enjoyable.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the supervising doctors, staff members, interpreters, and our clinic for providing such an opportunity, and I will continue to work hard every day to provide the same level of treatment at our Osaka clinic.
This article was written by Dr. Yuko Maruyama.
