AOTK Experts Symposia 2018

13th European AOTK Experts Symposium 2018 - Mainz, Germany

The 13th European AOTK Experts Symposium was held at the Medical University Mainz, Germany and chaired by P Rommens, from the University Medical Centre of the Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz, Germany.

During the one-and-a-half-day session, ten faculty from four countries and 43 participants from 20 countries took part in discussions and learned from each other. 

The event was divided into four sessions:  

• Calcaneus: Open or minimal invasive?
• Corrections of malalignment with external fixation
• A traditional implant for revision surgery in proximal femur fractures
• Double plating osteosynthesis on the distal femur 

In total, 27 cases were presented and Max Hartel (Germany), was declared the winner for his presentation during the session on 'double plating osteosynthesis on the distal femur.' The AOTK has now invited him to attend the next Lower Extremity Expert Group Meeting. The event is designed to attract surgeons from different stages in their careers, and appeals to both young, newly qualified health care professionals, and established leaders in their field.

Rommens and Giselheid Parent have hosted the AOTK European Experts Symposium for eight years, and this event was held in Mainz, their home city, as a gesture of thanks.  

Next year the 14th European AOTK Experts Symposium will be held in Tuebingen, Germany on October 11 – 12 and chaired by Ulrich Stöckle und Dankward Höntzsch. Following this, starting in 2020, the Experts Symposium will travel to different destinations around Europe. 

The AOTK would like to thank all participants and faculty who attended this excellent Experts Symposium. The output from the event will be developed into concrete results that will be shared with participants and the broader AOTK community.

 

1st Spine AOTK Experts Symposium 2018 - Montreal, Canada

The 1st Spine AOTK Experts Symposium was held in Montreal. International faculty and participants discussed a variety of topics during the event while participants made numerous case presentations.

The one-and-a-half-day Experts Symposium was chaired by M Spruit from Sint Maartenskliniek, Netherlands, attracted ten faculty from seven countries and 22 participants from 11 different countries. 

The event was divided into five sessions: Upper Cervical Fractures, Cervical Deformity, Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis, Anterior Deformity Correction, and Early Onset Scoliosis. During these sessions' participants made thirty case presentations.

The winners of the case presentations were Qian Bangping from China for his case on cervical deformity and Moyo C Kruyt from the Netherlands for his case on early onset scoliosis.

During the discussions, participants and faculty uncovered some challenges for the AOTK and the industry, which the AOTK research community will work to address.

Building on the success of this event the second Spine AOTK Experts Symposium is being planned for fall, 2019 and it will be chaired by M Spruit.

AOTK would like to thank all attendees who made this first spine Experts Symposium a success. 

 

12th Asia Pacific AOTK Experts Symposium 2018

On May 13, 2018, in conjunction with the AOTrauma Asia Pacific Current Concept Courses, AOTK was proud to host the 12th Asia Pacific Experts Symposium in Hong Kong, China. The one-day Experts Symposium, Chaired by T Apivatthakakul from Chiang Mai University Hospital, attracted around 50 participants. The program was divided into four sessions: Periprosthetic Fractures at the Femur, Proximal Tibial Plateau Fractures – Implant Portfolio and Surgical Approaches, Femoral Neck Fractures, and Challenges in Subtrochanteric Fractures. Complete with an international faculty, the Experts Symposium successfully delivered a variety of topics along with case reviews provided by participants.

One of the prerequisites for attending is the participant's submission of a challenging clinical case in any of the Experts Symposium's clinical areas. Many exciting cases were received for this AOTK Experts Symposium, however, not all cases can be presented. We would like to thank those who submitted cases and congratulate Surasak Jitprapaikulsarn from Thailand for winning his case presentations in Proximal Tibial Plateau Fractures and Subtrochanteric Fractures.

 

3rd Latin America AOTK Experts Symposium

The first AOTK Experts Symposium of 2018 was held in Panama City, Panama.  Dr R Pesantez from the Fundacion de Sante Fe de Bogotà successfully chaired the 3rd AOTK Latin America Experts Symposium which attracted 25 participants.  The program was varied and divided into five sessions. Each session was presented by a different member of the carefully selected regional faculty and included discussions on External Fixation, Geriatric Pelvis and Acetabulum fractures, Tibial Platea Fractures, Periprosthetic fractures of the femur and challenges in proximal femoral nailing/role of augmentation.  Faculty encouraged interaction amongst the participants and involved several case discussions. Many interesting conclusions were reached at the end of each session regarding the remaining clinical need in specific areas of fracture fixation.  Participants completed the two-day event with important learnings; including the following highlights:   

• A combination of locking plate and intramedullary device when fixing periprosthetic fractures seems to be a favorable option amongst many surgeons. 
• Fibular osteotomies in combination with the use of flexible plates is a common approach in Latin America when fixing posterolateral tibial plateau fractures.
• The approach to fixing pelvic fractures could differ according to the mechanism of injury.
• Every external fixator system has its own application. 

The AOTK would like to thank all faculty and participants who attended at this event and would like to congratulate Fabio A  Suarez Romero and Renny A Cardenas Quintero for winning their case presentations in External Fixation and Challenges in Proximal Femoral Nailing/Role Augmentation.