In Episode 13 of Inside The Shoulder, Dr. Kenneth Cutbush is joined by Dr. Mohammad Jomaa, an orthopaedic surgeon leading one of Lebanon’s first dedicated shoulder and thoracic outlet units.

Broadcasting from Beirut at sunrise over the Mediterranean, Mohammad reflects on his journey from excelling in mathematics and physics as a top-ranked student in Lebanon to making a decisive shift into medicine. What began as a pursuit of complexity became a career defined by innovation.

After completing his fellowship training, Mohammad returned to Lebanon to practise as the country’s first dedicated shoulder surgeon. A significant shift in a healthcare system where orthopaedic surgeons traditionally manage all subspecialties. He discusses the challenges of introducing subspecialisation, building multidisciplinary infrastructure, and elevating shoulder care within an established generalist model.

The episode also explores one of the most confronting cases of his career. A devastating shoulder injury with no precedent in the literature. Faced with the absence of published solutions, Mohammad had to design and reconstruct using first principles. Drawing directly on the foundational training gained during fellowship.

This is a conversation about innovation under pressure, leadership in emerging systems, and what it truly means to build something new in orthopaedics.