SICOT e-Newsletter
Issue No. 41 - February 2012
Editorial by Jochen Eulert, SICOT Secretary General
Why you should attend the SICOT meeting in Dubai
Around 2,500 submitted abstracts vividly demonstrate the great interest of the international orthopaedic community in the upcoming combined SICOT/PAOA World Orthopaedic Congress in Dubai which will bring together orthopaedic surgeons and exhibitors from all over the globe.
The lectures of the four plenary speakers, Freddie Fu, Gamal Hosny, Chitranjan Ranawat, and Niek van Dijk, will without a doubt be the highlights of the meeting. However, the scientific programme has much more to offer.
About 50% of the presentations will be dedicated to trauma: 'Fractures around the ankle' is one of the main topics, but all other anatomical regions will also be covered including polytrauma and trauma due to natural disasters.
Several symposia with internationally well-known experts on cutting-edge topics will be presented, such as 'The Stiff Elbow', 'Tissue Engineering', 'The Painful TKR', 'The Young Arthritic Knee', 'Current Trends in ACL and Meniscal Surgery', 'Bearing Surfaces in THR', 'Osteochondral Defects', 'Osteonecrosis', 'Management of Delayed and Neglected Fractures', and more.
The instructional courses will be arranged throughout the whole day avoiding overlaps and allowing participants to attend several of them on each day. The main topics will be arthroscopy of the hip, knee, foot and ankle, shoulder and elbow. Arthroplasty of the hip and knee, clubfoot, degenerative disc disease, paediatric trauma and polytrauma will also be covered.
A few of our partner societies will join the meeting, such as the AO Foundation, Association for the Study and Application of the Method of Ilizarov (ASAMI), Association Research Circulation Osseous (ARCO), Association for the Rational Treatment of Fractures (ARTOF), GCC Orthopaedic Association, and World Orthopaedic Concern (WOC).
The conference will be held from 28 to 30 November and will be preceded by an Educational Day about the knee. The idea behind this Educational Day is to present, in a compact form, the main orthopaedic problems related to the knee. This initiative started last year with the hip and will cover the whole area of orthopaedics and traumatology over the next few years.
Like at every SICOT meeting for the last nine years, a SICOT Diploma Examination will also be organised in Dubai for a maximum of 36 doctors. This exam consists of a written part with 100 multiple-choice questions and an oral part comprising an interview on different topics by two international experts at a time.
A conference is also an opportunity to extend your personal network. The social events are particularly suited for this. Two events are being organised, namely the Opening Ceremony on Wednesday, 28 November, which will be followed by a Welcome Buffet, and the Dubai Meydan Night on Thursday, 29 November. The Meydan hotel complex hosts the Dubai Racing Club and during our party we expect also to have the opportunity to follow the horse races taking place on that same evening.
Life is movement and movement is life â this saying is especially true for our specialty. To meet this aim, a charity 2.5 km walk and 5 km run will be organised on Thursday morning. A golf tournament is also being planned for the day before the meeting on Tuesday afternoon.
Dubai itself has many tourist attractions to offer you and your family. Amongst many other sights, the highest tower in the world, the Burj Khalifa, is not to be missed. This building is a masterpiece of engineering and is of outstanding beauty.
Please have a look at the accommodation list available very soon on the SICOT website. Besides luxurious hotels, you will also find some less expensive but very well-adapted hotels and even rooms in hostels. Early booking is recommended.
SICOT also has a special offer for doctors from the SICOT Friendship Nations, namely all member countries of the PAOA and all SAARC member countries. New members from these countries can join the Society at a very low annual fee of EUR 20 for Associate members under 40 and EUR 50 for Full members over 40. This membership will allow them to attend the Dubai meeting at the significantly reduced registration fee for members.
Dubai is worth a trip and the Combined SICOT/PAOA World Orthopaedic Conference will be a highlight on the international congress scene. We promise you a great event, so please donât miss it.
We are looking forward to meeting our colleagues from around the world. See you in November in Dubai!Â
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