Dr Jan De Vos – Orthopaedic Specialist in Arthroscopic Procedures and Arthroplasty
Recognised in South Africa and internationally as one of the leaders in his field, Dr Jan De Vos is an experienced orthopaedic specialist who conducts a private practice in the Pretoria suburb of Lynnwood Ridge. The particular medical discipline he has chosen to pursue focusses on the treatment of the various injuries and disease processes that affect the musculoskeletal system.
In the past, this discipline was rather more limited than it is today. It mainly focussed on setting fractures, although, in keeping with the ancient Greek origin of its title meaning “straight child”, its initial, primary focus was on straightening deformities in the spine and bones of children. Although procedures such as these continue to remain among the cornerstone of the discipline today, an improved understanding of skeletal anatomy and bone physiology, together with parallel advances in material science, have led to procedures for the implantation of prosthetic joints.
The Pretoria practice specialises in the replacement of joints in the shoulder, the hip and the knee, with various prosthetic implants, conducted by the skilled and experienced hands of Dr Jan De Vos, its consultant surgeon. Known collectively as arthroplasty, the demand for these joint replacements has been growing steadily in most countries of the world and, sad to say, South Africa appears to be no exception.
The practice’s orthopaedic specialist is South African by birth, and gained his primary medical degree from the University of Pretoria in 1980. Then, after an internship at a hospital in Nelspruit, several years in private practice as a GP, followed by a spell as a registrar in the university’s surgical orthopaedics department, went on to obtain a Master’s Degree in that field from his alma mater in 1991. After a brief period as a consultant at the university department and H F Verwoerd Hospital, he moved, first to a part-time and later to a full-time role in private practice as a consultant surgeon in his chosen field. It was at this juncture that his focus began to move away from trauma cases, and began to focus more on elective procedures.
Just as today, his career has been marked by a record of success that has served to make his Pretoria practice a centre of excellence that routinely attracts referrals from all over South Africa, as well as from numerous international sources. His early years in practice also earned him some important accolades. In 1991 alone, the year in which Dr Jan De Vos qualified as an orthopaedic specialist, he received two prestigious academic awards. The first was a travelling fellowship awarded by Smith & Nephew, and the second, the George Dommisse Prestige Award from the University of Pretoria that confirmed his status as the “best registrar” in that year.
This surgeon’s ongoing participation in clinical research and its surgical applications, and in continuing professional development, have served to help hone the specialised skills that have enabled him to bring lasting relief to so many sufferers with the aid of a prosthetic joint. In addition to arthroplasty, his skills also extend to the field of arthroscopy. The term refers to the minimally invasive procedure enable in-situ examination of a damaged joint using an endoscope inserted via a small incision, and in some cases, to conduct the keyhole surgery required to treat it.
The facilities available at this Pretoria-based surgical facility are on a par with the best in the world, and the procedures employed by Dr Jan De Vos and the support team are at the cutting edge of specialist orthopaedic surgery – no pun intended. When not scrubbed in the OR, the consultant surgeon plays an active role in professional affairs. As well as authoring numerous papers, he is also the elected President of the Arthroplasty Society, the co-author of the local guidelines for hip and knee replacements, and founder of the South African National Joint Registry.