Professor M. A. Imam

15/06/2026

“Generalism isn't a lack of expertise. It's the discipline of seeing the whole patient.”

From the Deep Dive Ortho archive. New episodes weekly.

15/06/2026

Finger deformities.

Swan-neck: Key: PIP hyperextends, DIP flexes. Mnemonic: “High Swan, Low Beak” High PIP and Low DIP

Boutonnière: Key: PIP flexes, DIP hyperextends. Mnemonic: “Button Bends, Petal Pops”
Button (PIP) bends in
Petal (DIP) pops out/up

Mallet: Key: PIP neutral, DIP flexes. Mnemonic: “Mallet Tip Drops” DIP “drops” like a falling hammer head. PIP stays neutral

15/06/2026

Basics of suturing

15/06/2026

🔹 Teaching Communication Skills in Surgery: The Competency We Keep Undervaluing

A surgeon who cannot communicate clearly with a patient, explain a diagnosis with honesty and compassion, or navigate a difficult conversation about uncertain outcomes is missing a clinical competency as important as any technical skill. Communication is not a soft skill in surgery. It is a hard one — and it can be taught.

The evidence that communication quality in clinical encounters directly affects patient outcomes is substantial and growing. Patients who receive clear, comprehensible explanations of their diagnosis and treatment options have better adherence to rehabilitation programmes, experience less decisional conflict, report higher satisfaction with care, and — in orthopaedic surgery specifically — have better patient-reported outcomes after procedures like joint replacement and rotator cuff repair. These are not subjective measures of patient experience. They are objective markers of clinical effectiveness.

Communication training in surgical curricula is inconsistently embedded and variably delivered. At its best, it involves structured practice with simulated patients, video-recorded consultations reviewed with trained communication coaches, and systematic use of validated frameworks like the Calgary-Cambridge model. At its worst — which is more common — it consists of attending a one-day course early in training and thereafter learning communication "by osmosis" from senior colleagues, whose own communication habits may or may not be exemplary.

"The surgeon who explains a procedure beautifully, listens to the patient's concerns with genuine attention, and answers their questions honestly gives a gift that technique alone cannot. Excellent communication is excellent patient care."

💬 How is communication training embedded in your surgical programme — and what single communication skill do you wish you had been taught more systematically during training?

—
Professor Mo Imam | MD · PhD · FRCS (Tr&Orth)
| www.MoImam.co.uk

14/06/2026

Unlocking the fragment.

14/06/2026

The aging athlete podcast episode

New on Deep Dive Ortho: The Aging Athlete: Adjustment Without Abandonment. We cut through the noise to the clinical takeaways that matter.

Listen here: https://rss.com/podcasts/deepdiveortho/2787970

14/06/2026

Distal humerus attachments
An:anconeus
Br: brachialis
BrR:brachioradialis
CET:com Ext tendon
CFT:com Flx tendon
ECRB:ext carpi radial is brevis
ECRL:ext carpi radialis longus
LCL:lat collateral lit
MCL:med collateral lig
PT:pronator terse
Tri:triceps

https://mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/8/3431

13/06/2026

Scapular" muscles & their actions

Upper Trapezius👉elevation, upward rotation
Middle Trapezius👉retraction
Lower Trapezius👉depression, upward rotation
Serratus Anterior👉protraction, upward rotation
Rhomboid👉retraction, elevation



https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780128121627000114

13/06/2026

Median Nerve

Sensory fibres C6–C7👉thumb/first two & a half fingers
Motor fibres C6-C7👉forearm muscles
Motor fibres C8-T1 👉thenar eminence

Distal median nerve at wrist👉primary site involved in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome



https://clinicalgate.com/mononeuropathies-of-the-upper-extremities/

12/06/2026

Cervical Neurological Exam (C5 - C8)👇



https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-97952-6_7