20 Jahre EFORT NEU Brochure - 20 Years_FINAL_small si… · ciations for orthopaedics and...

EFORT –20 Years of JOINT EFFORTS

EFORT – JOINT EFFORTS

2 EFORT - JOINT EFFORTS

Who we are

“EFORT works on behalf of the European orthopaedic and traumatology community to secure mobility, musculoskeletal health and quality of life.” This is EFORT’s mission statement. It expresses EFORT’s function as the umbrella organisation of the European national orthopaedic scienti�c societies.

EFORT was established by the national asso-ciations for orthopaedics and traumatology of 20 European countries. The federation was founded in Marentino, Italy, in 1991 and now has 42 national member societies from 40 member countries and six associate scienti-�c members. As regards its legal structure, EFORT was established as a non-pro�t orga-nisation, all funds are used exclusively in the pursuit of the federation’s aim.

What we aspire to & what we o�er

EFORT has established itself as a pan-European partner for international organisations, authorities, universities, the orthopaedic industry, scienti�c bodies, and professional and patient organisations. As a non-pro�t professional association, EFORT provides important services and bene�ts in terms of economics, healthcare policy and social issues.

The major objectives of EFORT include the following:

• Represent state-of the-art orthopaedicsurgery in Europe

• Promote research, science and training inorthopaedics and traumatology in Europe

• Exchange scienti�c experience and knowledge and improvement of education

through training• Work out EFORT standards and guidelines

for the various areas of activity pursued byour members

In pursuit of its aims, EFORT today organises yearly European conferences and instruc-tional courses. It also initiates and supports basic and clinical research. For many years now, EFORT has been arranging travelling and visiting fellowships in which the di�er-ent national associations alternate to host a group of young orthopaedic surgeons.

It promotes the exchange of experience, knowledge, education and research Europe-wide. In support of this work, the EFORT Journal “European Orthopaedics and Trau-matology” was established and an EFORT Textbook is currently in the drafting stage.

How we work

EFORT’s legislative body is the General Assembly, which comprises the delegates from the national member associations. The General Assembly suggests and decides upon the federation’s policy, issues guidelines and sets objectives. As the federation’s highest body, the General Assembly elects the mem-bers of the EFORT Executive Committee for a period of two years.

The Executive Committee is responsible for the day-to-day running of the federation and comprises eight voting and several co-opted members from across Europe. There are also various specialist committees that are structured to provide a democratic plat-form for discerning common interests from among the speci�c needs of the individual national associations.

The regular exchange of information and experiences in the Executive Committee ensures that the individual areas are e�ci-ently networked, thus enhancing the ope-rational e�ciency of the organisation as a whole. The Head O�ce, which is based in Zurich, Switzerland, is the communications hub of EFORT and serves as an information pool to ensure the smooth �ow of informa-tion between the Executive Committee, the di�erent committees, and the national soci-eties. EFORT is also now collaborating with other European speciality and international societies.

Contact usIf you have any further questions, please contact the EFORT Head O�ce. Our sta� will be happy to put you in touch with the member of the Executive Committee responsible for the area you are intere-sted in.

EFORT Head O�ceTechnoparkstrasse 18005 ZurichSwitzerlandPhone: +41 44 448 44 00Fax: +41 44 448 44 11E-mail: o�[email protected]

Harmonising Training for Highest Possible Standardsby Prof. Maurilio Marcacci, Cjhairman EFORT Education Committee

About EFORT

Europe organising for better orthopaedic and traumatology care

EFORT Head O�ce, Technopark Zurich, Switzerland

EFORT - JOINT EFFORTS 3

Foreword

Dear EFORT Member,dear Reader,

The year 2011 is very special in the history of our organisation. We celebrate the 20th anniversary of the “birth” of EFORT, the European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology. It was in 1991 that the so-called “Marentino Group” inau-gurated the federation, based on an idea earlier that year of two delegates from di�erent European countries, Professors Michael Freeman and Jacques Duparc. We have dramatically evolved since then and are now an umbrella organisation for 42 national societies from 40 countries.

The brochure before you contains recollections of our Past Presidents, including their fee-lings today about the difficulties and successes of the early years. Unfortunately Professors Morscher and Langlais tragically passed away before they could share their memories, but we keep those late colleagues fondly in our own. In other articels of the booklet, Executive Committee members share their insights into the very broad spectrum of EFORT’s activities and plans for our organisation’s future.

Hopefully you will recognise yourself in some of the many pictures we selected covering the different scientific and social events. Whether you do or not, we wish you an enjoyable and informative reading experience.

Miklós SzendröiEFORT President 2010 to 2011


Harmonising Training for Highest Possible Standardsby Prof. Maurilio Marcacci, Cjhairman EFORT Education Committee

Genesis of a pan-European EFORT: Its foundation and the �rst two presidenciesby Prof. Michael Freeman, EFORT Past President

EFORT was founded over a period between 1989 and 1992. All those who were then European national presidents or their repre-sentatives agreed to take this step in 1991 at a meeting in Marentino, Italy, arranged under the auspices of COCOMAC (Commité des Societés d‘ Orthopédie du Marché Com-mun). The 20th anniversary of this meeting will be commemorated in 2011 in Copen-hagen. Below is an account of the founding events followed by a short description of my involvement during the period 1993 to 1995. The former was originally described in the �rst EFORT Bulletin in 1994 (see EFORT Portal, www.efort.org and EFORT Bulletin December 2002).

The founding of EFORT:1989 to 1992

1989. At a meeting of the International Hip Society in New York (4 to 8 April) I conceiv-ed the idea of a combined meeting of the European orthopaedic societies in Paris in the spring 1993 – the date of the Single European Act. On my return to the UK I dis-cussed this possibility with Jacques Duparc. He thought the idea a good one and agreed to plan the meeting with SOFCOT (Socié-té Française de Chirurgie Orthopédique et Traumatologique), speci�cally with Bernhard Glorion, the 1993 SOFCOT President. SOFCOT agreed to underwrite the costs and to can-cel their normal autumn meeting in favour of the proposed Spring Combined Meeting.

Erwin Morscher, later a President of EFORT, chaired the Scienti�c Committee. A plan for a combined European meeting in Paris in 1993 now existed and SOFCOT formally can-celled their autumn meeting.

1990. In a conversation I had with Wolfhart Puhl at a Zurich meeting of the DGOT (Ger-man Society for Orthopaedics and Traumato-logy) at the beginning of August, he agreed to broach the combined meeting idea with the DGOT. He later obtained their agreement.

1991. Early in 1991 I asked Paolo Gallinaro, the then-President of COCOMAC and later a President of EFORT, to seek the agreement of

Photo: The Marentino Working Group: 1st line, back row (heads only), left to right: Nikolaus Böhler (Austria), Lászlo Bucsi (Hungary), Andreas Burckhardt (Switzerland), Jim van Horn (Netherlands), Pär Slätis (Finland), Ludvig Fjeld Solheim (Norway); Middle row, left to right: Richard Bouillet (Secretary COCOMAC), Peter Frandsen (Denmark), Wolfgang Pförringer (Germany), Wolfhart Puhl * (Germany), Ivan Kempf (France), Jacques Duparc * (France), Roger Lemaire (Belgi-um), Eoghan Lavelle (Ireland), Alexandru Pop (Romania); Seated, left to right: Paolo Gallinaro * (Italy, Host & Chairman of COCOMAC), Luis Munuera Martinez (Spain), Ioannis Dimitriou (Greece), Michael Freeman* (UK, Working Group Chairman), Mario Randelli (Italy), Ian Goldie (Representing Iceland and Sweden); Present but not in photo: Halldór Baldursson (Iceland), Szucli (Poland), Kubat (Czechoslovakia); Apologies for absence: Portugal; No record of their presence: Bulgaria, Yugoslavia* “The Founding Fathers”

Italy. The agreement of the UK, France and Germany had already been obtained. I sug-gested that the Presidents of the European national associations should meet to form a society which would then be responsi-ble for a series of combined meetings (not just a single meeting, as then planned). Paolo Gallinaro proposed to host such a meeting under the auspices of COCOMAC in Marentino, near Turin. The meeting of presi-dents, or their representatives, took place on 23 November 1991 in Marentino (see EFORT Bulletin December 2002). The host was Paolo Gallinaro and at his request I acted as the Chairman for working sessions. It was decided that a federal society of all

EFORT History


Genesis of a pan-European EFORT: Its foundation and the �rst two presidencies- continuation from page 4

EFORT History

From an idea during a 1989 meeting in New York to its 1991 inauguration in Marentino, Italy, EFORT has become Europe’s indispensible institution bringing together the vast human and technical resources of the national orthopaedic asso-ciations. Prof. Freeman was present at the creation, with other “Founding Fathers” ushering the process of turning an early draft of the Marentino statutes to the federation’s legal foundation, registered in Munich, Germany in late 1992. In Paris weeks later, the old COCOMAC was subsumed into the new EFORT, and Prof. Jacques Duparc of SOFCOT was named the federation’s �rst President. Scienti�c congresses were initially organised every two years, and the number of participants soon doubled to 6,000. Instructional courses and materials were put together. The years spent creating and nurturing the organisation were time well spent.

European national societies of orthopaedics and traumatology should be formed and called EFORT. Trauma was to be con�ned to musculoskeletal trauma; the members were to be the national societies; the language was to be English. A �rst draft of the sta-tutes was written. A Steering Committee was created to progress the project which I was asked to chair.

1992. On 25 April a meeting of the Steering Committee was hosted in Munich by DGOT (hosts were Wolfhart Puhl and Wolfgang Pförringer). Eoghan Lavelle was appointed Secretary to the Committee and I continued as its Chairman. This meeting �nalised the Marentino draft statutes which were then re�ned by telephone, particularly with the help of Peter Frandsen (Denmark). The fede-ration was legally registered in Munich, Ger-many, on 15 October 1992 by Wolfhart Puhl, although its domicile was later moved to the Canton of Basle, Switzerland. At a mee-ting of COCOMAC in November in Paris with representatives from EFTA countries, inclu-ding Nikolaus Böhler (Austria) and Erwin Morscher (Switzerland), it was agreed that COCOMAC should be wound-up and that the funds of COCOMAC would be taken over by EFORT when it was founded. The Chair-man of COCOMAC, Paolo Gallinaro, and the permanent General Secretary of COCOMAC, Richard Bouillet (Belgium), were in agree-ment with this step. At the same meeting DGOT o�ered to underwrite a second EFORT Congress in Germany in 1995. The last mee-ting of the Steering Committee was held on 11 November in Paris. I had the pleasure of formally proposing that EFORT should be created with its agreed statutes and that Jacques Duparc should be the first President (for 1992 and 1993). These proposals were

accepted unanimously. I was appointed Vice President; Eoghan Lavelle (Ireland) Secretary; Paolo Gallinaro (Italy) Treasurer; Peter Frandsen (Denmark) and Esteve de Miguel (Spain) members of the Executive Committee. EFORT and its �rst Executive Committee were now in existence.

The �rst two presidencies: 1992 to 1995

In 1993, under Jacques Duparc’s presidency, the General Assembly decided that EFORT should have the following four objectives:

1. Organise a scienti�c congress every two years2. Arrange instructional courses every one to two years3. Publish the instructional courses and various other materials4. Arrange the exchange of orthopaedic surgeons between European countries for training

purposes, a task previously undertaken by COCOMAC

It was my pleasure and privilege to assist Jacques Duparc to implement these objectives as his Vice President in 1993 and as the President from 1994 to 1995. This period ended with the 2nd EFORT Congress organised in Munich by Wolfhart Puhl. The first two congresses averaged 3,000 registrants. In 2007 (the last of the comparable biennial congresses) there were 6,000. Big is not beautiful but perhaps the growth of interest in EFORT can be taken as a vote of approval in the concept. Thus I believe that the six years spent creating and nurturing the organisation were time well spent.

Space does not allow me adequately to thank my colleagues, especially the other „Founding Fathers“, for giving me the pleasure of working with them. I trust that – as I am sure will be the case – EFORT will continue to prosper in the future: it is certainly in good hands.


EFORT History

Helping European orthopaedics get back on its feetby Prof. Jacques Duparc, EFORT Past President

Three obstacles identi�ed at EFORT’s founding were easily overcome: the multiplicity of languages; the di�erent European conceptions of orthopae-dic surgery and the diversity of each country’s health care systems. Still, the role of COCOMAC - the forerun-ner of EFORT in those years - is all too often forgotten. The contribution of SOFCOT, which helped organise the �rst EFORT meeting in Paris, is also worth noting. In cooperation with the British Journal of Bone and Joint Sur-gery, EFORT began publishing its own scienti�c presentations and lectures, as well as the EFORT Bulletin that went on to play an important role in helping EFORT realise its objectives.

We can take much pride and satisfaction in the extraordinary evolution of the federation over the past twenty years. In the May 1999 EFORT Bulletin, we wrote of three obstacles to overcome in order to achieve the necessa-ry harmonisation of orthopaedics and trau-matology in Europe. The �rst was the mul-tiplicity of languages; the second was the di�erent conceptions of orthopaedic surgery throughout Europe; and the third was the diversity of health care systems prevailing in each country. Overall, the three obsta-cles were easily overcome. The information and documentation provided by the EFORT Bulletin played a positive role in that respect.

The objectives outlined in the federation´s statutes have been largely ful�lled. Moreo-ver, EFORT is now among the world’s most important orthopaedic associations. The status of orthopaedics in Europe had been miserable in the years following World War

II, despite the presence of some remarkable leaders. In the decades between 1960 and 1990, we had been fascinated by the USA. The excellent annual meetings of the American Acade-my of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) seemed to be the “non plus ultra” in orthopaedics and traumatology. At that time, attendance at the AAOS meetings was practically a must for young European orthopaedic surgeons. We could admire the perfect organisation, the new techniques, the new material and above all the quality of education. European orthopaedic surgery progressively recovered its place, however, through hard work and creativity. With the American model in mind, the need for Europe to organise its own meetings was clear.

The story of EFORT has been very well covered by Michael Freeman and Wolfhart Puhl in the new EFORT Journal. I’d like to take the opportunity here to congratulate EFORT’s Executive Committee for their innovation, and to extend my best wishes for continued suc-cess. My position as elder “depositaire de l’histoire” also prompts me to brie�y emphasise the too-often-forgotten role of COCOMAC, the forerunner of EFORT whose curious acronym stood for “Comité de Coordination Orthopédique du Marché Commun.” COCOMAC members were representatives chosen by their respective national associations. The organisation had a President, Paolo Gallinaro, and a permanent Secretary General from Brussels, Richard Bouillet, who had been performing a considerable amount of work. When Michael Freeman and I proposed a meeting to expand the activity of COCOMAC, they readily agreed that

The EFORT founders going strong: J. Duparc, M. Freemann, P. Gallinaro at the 10th EFORT Congress Vienna, 2009


EFORT History

Helping European orthopaedics get back on its feet- continuation from page 6

it was time to create a new pan-European organisation.

Paolo Gallinaro organised the founding meeting at Marentino in the Italian coun-tryside near Torino. The meeting brought together COCOMAC members as well as representatives of other European national orthopaedic associations. After long and fruitful discussions about the structure and future of the new association, it was propo-sed that SOFCOT organise the �rst meeting in Paris, in spring 1993. SOFCOT enthusias-tically accepted, agreeing as well to assume the �nancial risk in case the meeting were a failure. The meeting was organised by Bernard Glorion, SOFCOT President, and Erwin Morscher, Chairman of the Scienti�c Committee. Some of you will surely recall what a great success it turned out to be.

After my term as President of EFORT (1992 to 1993), I remained in the Executive Com-mittee as Editorial Secretary responsible for publications. In that position, I had the great pleasure of working with the British Edito-rial Society of Bone and Joint Surgery and its Journal, which became EFORT’s o�cial publisher for scienti�c presentations, lec-tures and the Bulletin. With a circulation of 16,000 copies, the Bulletin became a lively forum for presenting the historical develop-ment of orthopaedics in Europe as well as for addressing present and future problems. We owe a debt of gratitude to the chairmen of the British Editorial Society, Sir Rodney Sweetnam and David Hamblen, and to the successive editors, John Goodfellow, Philip Fulford, Frank Horan and the current James Scott. In July 1997, EFORT and Elsevier (of France) signed a contract to produce the

Textbook of Surgical Techniques in Ortho-paedics and Traumatology. With much help from Assistant Editor Roger Lemaire, the book was published in 2000. An updated edition is planned.

I’d like to close these comments with a quo-te from Erwin Morscher: EFORT will remain successful as an independent and strong society only if it remains open to the rest of the orthopaedic world and, in particular, to the developing countries. We must show that enthusiasm for new contacts does not end at the borders of Europe. EFORT has now acquired a strong position which gives it the duty to help many countries still seeking material means and education.

M. Freeman and J. Duparc at the Presidential dinner during the 9th EFORT Congress Nice, 2008

4th Congress of the European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology

June 3 - 8, 1999BrusselsJune 3 - 8, 1999Brussels

Third Announcement & Preliminary Programme

E F O R T


Minor growing pains: EFORT 1991 to 2011by Prof. Paolo Gallinaro, EFORT Past President

The history of our origins has been writ-ten already by Mike Freeman. As one of the organisation’s four “Founding Fathers,” however, I noticed a few things I thought worth adding after looking back at docu-ments from over 20 years ago.

We cannot speak of our origins without going back to COCOMAC, a curious name given by Prof. Debeyre, a Parisian, to the “Commité des Societés d‘Orthopédie du Marché Commun” from the 12 countries of the former European Common Market. Prof. Debeyre was the organisation’s founder, while Prof. Bouillet, a Belgian, became the permanent Secretary General. When I was elected President by COCOMAC delegates in Paris on 19 May 1990, two important deci-sions were taken. Thanks to the initiative of Jacques Duparc and Mike Freeman (neither was a delegate) a major e�ort was made to organise a European congress in Paris in April 1993. SOFCOT, the French National Society, and its President, Prof. Michel from Lyon, agreed to undertake the risks involved in such an adventure. It also had been deci-

ded in Paris, after some discussions about geographical borders for this new European organisation, that the Scandinavian coun-tries should be invited to join.

I shared the idea of replacing COCOMAC with a more powerful “European Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery” in a letter sent to all COCOMAC delegates on 16 July 1990, as well as to the presidents of the national societies of the Common Market, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and to Jacques Duparc and Mike Freeman. By pure coinci-dence, Italy had been scheduled to chair the EEC at that time, so I expressed my hope that the Italian government might provide some help by inviting them all to Turin. Such help, though o�cially promised, never arrived. I then took the personal decision that such an important matter should be put directly into the hands of the presidents, a decision not well received by some of the COCOMAC delegates. The strong push for a new orga-nisation and the idea to extend its borders eastward came from Mike Freeman and Jacques Duparc. In a telephone call to me,

Mike Freeman asked: “Paolo, did you realise that the Berlin Wall has fallen? We must include all countries of eastern Europe.”

And so we came to the Marentino meeting, guests not of the Italian government but of Fiat, in a splendid villa in the hills around Turin. Most of COCOMAC’s original structure was maintained in its new reincarnation, such as a four Euro (ECU) fee per member, a limit of two delegates from each country and organisation of courses and congresses. Two important tasks were added and completed in the �rst ten years. Thanks to the tremend-ous work of Jacques Duparc, the publication “Surgical Techniques in Orthopaedics and Traumatology” is in its second edition, now under the direction of George Bentley. And thanks to Niki Böhler and Gerold Labeck, we now have the European Arthroplasty Regi-ster.

My twelve years in the EFORT Executive Committee involved a constant struggle for funding. First, as Treasurer “of nothing” (in German, “Schatzmeister”, literally “master of the treasure” – but what treasure?). The organisation had been growing constant-ly bigger and more expensive, but the fun-ding remained as paltry as it was in the old COCOMAC days, even if the currency itself had changed its name from ECU to Euro. Later, as President of the federation, I continued facing serious �nancing problems, such as the budget for the Rhodes Con-gress where industry was reluctant to go. Our business adviser, Klaus Hug, predicted a worst case de�cit scenario of a million Euros or that we would roughly break even at best. Eventually, the outcome was not that bad. We managed to survive.

EFORT History

P. Gallinaro (second from right) during the dinner of the Marentino Group in 1991


Annex 1-Presidents:L. F. Solheim-Norway, N. Böhler-Austria, R. Lemaire-Belgium, W. Puhl-Germany, A. Burkhardt-Switzerland, M. Freeman-United Kingdom, I. Kempf-France, E. Lavelle-Ireland, L. Munuera Martinez-Spain, I. Goldie-Sweden (also representing the Scandinavian Association), J. Dimitriou-Greece, P. Frandsen-Danmark, P. Slätis-Finland, M. Randelli-Italy, J. R. Van Horn-Holland

EFORT History

Minor growing pains: EFORT 1991 to 2011- continuation from page 8

Annexes to the �rst draft of the Statute show names and signatures of all those present in Marentino, a list probably never published. The meeting elected Paolo Gallinaro as Chairman.

Annex 2-Observers:P. Gallinaro-Italy, R. Bouillet-Belgium, J. Duparc-France, L. Bucsi-Hungary, A. Pop-Rumania, W. Pförringer-Germany

Annex 3-Steering Committee:W. Puhl-Germany, M. Freeman-United Kingdom, P. Frandsen-Danmark, J. Duparc-France, R. Bouillet-Belgium, P. Gallinaro-Italy

Menu from the Meeting of the Presidents of the European Orthopaedic Societies in Marentino, 23 November 1991

8TH EFORT CONGRESS – FINAL PROGRAMME FLORENCE, ITALY, 11-15 MAY 2007


Cover of the congress programme of the

8th EFORT congresss in Florence, 2007


From an idea to a body with voice in Brussels’ corridorsby Prof. Wolfhart Puhl, EFORT Past President; Editor in Chief EFORT Journal EOTR; Chairman External A�airs & Liaison Committee

The whole idea of creating what eventually became known as EFORT originated from discussions among Jacques Duparc, Michael Freeman, Paolo Gallinaro and myself. Under the additional influence of the existing COCOMAC, the most important step towards the creation of a European orthopaedic federation was taken at the meeting in Marentino organised and hosted by Paolo Gallinaro. It was attended by representatives of many national orthopaedic societies.

Several important decisions were taken at the Marentino meeting:• The European orthopaedic society was to be set up as a federation.• It should also address the issue of “trauma” in the sense of “musculoskeletal” trauma.• The sole working language should be English.• All members should be represented in a general assembly by two national delegates with a total of two votes for each country.• The annual membership fees of each member society would be four ECUs (now Euros) per member.• The new society should organise a congress every two years and a symposium in-between.• Presidents would have a two-year term of office.• A draft statute was broadly discussed and laid down in writing to a large extent.

An additional conference finally took place in Munich, co-organised with the valuable support of Wolfgang Pförringer. At a smaller meet-ing in Allgäu (Bavarian Alps) prior to that, however, a �nal version of the statute was prepared, with the help of a law �rm, by Jacques Duparc, Michael Freeman, Paolo Gallinaro, Peter Frandsen and myself. After the constituent assembly the statute was deposited at Munich’s Registration Court. After extensive discussion it was decided in Munich that the national societies from Central and Eastern Europe should be given full membership.

The group of “Founding Fathers” was highly visionary and Europe-oriented, with a focus above national interests. COCOMAC was disbanded and its �nancial resources carried over to EFORT. The proposed name of EFORT was a deliberate linguistic association with “e�ort.” France’s SOFCOT (Société Française de Chirurgie Orthopédique et Traumatologique) o�ered to fuse its scheduled annual meeting with EFORT’s �rst own congress. During the preparatory period it became clear that there was not even su�cient �nancial cover or adequate organisational logistics available for a congress two years later. The German Society (DGOT) declared itself ready to arrange that congress as a joint event. I eventually took over the organising, with the support of EFORT’s secretary Katja Kranich of Switzerland, a senior physician from my clinic (Hanns Peter Scharf) and a senior physician from the University Clinic Wurzburg (Jochen Löhr). The entire scientific programme was worked out in writing Europe-wide and coordinated through daily, hour-long telephone conferences – and all of that on an old fashioned private PC.

At this time, Klaus Hug started to cooperate with EFORT, and later became business adviser of EFORT for many years. The Munich Congress was to a large extent successful. The entire profits were turned over to EFORT. When I took over the treasurer’s office from Paolo Gallinaro, therefore, I was able to build upon a solid basis.

After the idea of EFORT was initially conceived, major resolutions were adopted at the ground-breaking meeting in Marentino. Just one of the non-administrative related ones was the inclusion of “trauma” in the “musculoskeletal” sense as part of the new organisation’s focus. Follow-up discussions in Munich to draft a statute also concluded that there should be full membership for the post-Iron Curtain countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The emphasis overall was European, above parochial national interests. During Prof. Puhl’s term as President, important administrative reforms were undertaken. And with the support of Pope John Paul II, EFORT opened its Florence congress inside the city’s cathedral, the �rst such secular event ever held there. In the political realm too, EFORT’s voice was being heard more in Brussels.

EFORT History


Presidency 2006 to 2007

I assumed the Presidency for the years 2006 to 2007. We had centralised the organisational structure meanwhile with a permanent office – �rst in Küsnacht near Zurich, and then in Zurich itself.

We were able to hold the congress during my presidency in Italy as I had hoped, more specifically in Florence. Based on contacts with the late Pope John Paul II it was possible to celebrate the opening ceremony in the Duomo di Firenze – Cattedrale Santa Maria del Fiore where a secular event had never before taken place. All EFORT Past Presidents were present except for Otto Sneppen. An additional bow to Europe’s great culture was a large symposium in Cracow, Poland under the direction of Edward Czerwinski.

As agreed with my predecessor, President George Bentley, my own presidency actually started in December 2005, a month earlier than plan-ned. I had the impression that a lot of changes needed to be tackled, so with that in mind, I convened a strategy meeting, again in Allgäu, using an outside moderator for the �rst time. The discussion results deemed essential were implemented in stages rather than immediately. They included an external audit of EFORT in order to induce structural changes in the Executive Committee and the Head O�ce. That fur-ther involved the installation of a General Manager who would head the Head O�ce, taking charge of �nancial management on behalf of and in consultation with the Executive Committee. We also decided to become politically active at the EU in Brussels in order to secure appropriate representation of the national societies and speciality societies at a European level.

A number of additional important matters were worked on or implemented during the presidency. We managed to terminate the relationship with our former publisher, Elsevier, and begin cooperation with Springer Verlag in creating our own textbook, journal and other publication possibilities. We tackled another priority to improve administrative transparency and strengthen the democratic decision-making process, among other ways through frequent teleconferencing within the Executive Committee. We also created a presence at the European level in Brussels.

Greater consideration was given to the fact that EFORT finds itself in a competitive situation with other continents. With the support of all concerned, we changed the frequency of congresses to an annual activity and increased the number of other scientific events. We also launched discussions and trainings with countries beyond Europe in activities such as the EFORT/Asia Symposia. We began regular “strategy meetings” of the General Assembly and the Executive Committee in order to create space for future-oriented discussions. Finally, there has also been some progress in adding transparency and continuity through the commissioning of a core professional congress organiser.

From an idea to a body with voice in Brussels’ corridors- continuation from page 10

W. Puhl (EFORT President 2006/2007) with the Past

Presidents at the Opening Ceremony of the 8th EFORT

Congress Florence, 2007.

Left to right: W. Puhl (Germany), N. Böhler (Austria),

P. Gallinaro (Italy), M. Freeman (UK), G. Bentley (UK),

J. Duparc (France), E. Morscher (Switzerland)

EFORT History


Congress creativity in organisation, science and theme makingby Prof. Karl-Göran Thorngren, EFORT Immediate Past President; Chairman EFORT FOUNDATION

When looking back at the past decade, I realise I have been part of a developing new European concept for our speciality. In the last few years EFORT’s activities have expan-ded almost exponentially, though there has been consolidation as well as speed. The work load on the Executive Committee and the Head O�ce increased considerably.

I started working within EFORT in 1999 and was member at large of its Executive Com-mittee from 1999 to 2004. I also chaired the Scienti�c Committee from 2001 to 2005 and worked as EFORT Secretary General from

2006 to 2007. After my election as Vice President at the 2007 Florence Congress, President elect Prof. Frantz Langlais was tragically killed in a car accident. At an extraordinary General Assembly in Berlin that autumn, I was elected President for the period 2008 to 2009 and Miklós Szendröi Vice President.

I was originally asked to join the EFORT Executive Committee because of my expe-rience in organising scienti�c programmes for major congresses as Programme Chair-man for the Swedish Orthopedic Association (SOF) from 1982 to 1992 and as its President 1993 to 1997. I had also been Programme Chairman of the International Orthopaedic Research Organisation (SIROT) from 1987 to 1990 and SIROT President from 1996 to 1999. With this background and the help of local Chairman Martti Hämälainen in Helsinki in 2003 and local Chairman Manuel Cassiano Neves in Lisbon in 2005, I orga-

The EFORT Executive Committee during the 9th EFORT Congress Nice, 2008

The tragedy of EFORT President Frantz Langlais’ fatal car accident suddenly brought Prof. Thorngren into the role as his successor for the period 2008 to 2009. He had originally been asked to join the EFORT Executive Commit-tee because of his experience with the Swedish Orthopaedic Association in preparing scienti�c programmes for major congresses. Yearly EFORT con-gresses replaced the biennial scheme, starting with Nice 2008, where the French inspired the congress theme of “Science, Education, and Friend-ship.” An agreement was signed with Springer Verlag for the EFORT Text-book and the EFORT Journal. Relations with the speciality societies improved, developing into a Speciality Societies Standing Committee. In�uence by Austria’s fabled elegance and music, the theme of the Vienna Congress 2009 was “Harmonic Symphony.” Prof. Thorngren also oversaw important changes in EFORT’s o�ce admini-stration and he created the EFORT FOUNDATION.

EFORT History

nised the scienti�c programmes for those EFORT congresses. All abstracts had been graded by at least two evaluators, but the challenge was still to compose an attractive and scienti�cally well-founded programme.

It is impossible to cover all the rapid deve-lopments of EFORT during these years. It would not have evolved without the support of a dedicated Executive Committee and Head O�ce. Some major milestones during my latter period as President are highlighted below.

The high level of scienti�c activity among EFORT members, manifested by the incre-asingly large number of abstracts submit-ted to the congresses, prompted a General Assembly decision to hold annual meetings. The idea was a great success from the start.

The Nice Congress 2008 was well attended by participants and exhibitors. The local


Chairman, Thierry Begué, made a splendid creative contribution, giving it a �avour of France whose “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité” inspired me to chose “Science, Education, Friendship” as the leading theme. Europe-based companies helped compensate for the lack of representation in the exhibition by some major international companies. Since the annual conference schedule was new, lower attendance was expected, but more than 3,400 participants from 60 countries were present. More than 2,800 abstracts were submitted. The newly arranged ExMEx sessions were fully booked.

In 2008 EFORT and Springer Verlag follo-wed up years of discussions and prepara-tions by signing an agreement to produce the EFORT Textbook and the EFORT Journal. George Bentley became Editor in Chief for the Textbook and Wolfhart Puhl for the Journal, marking the real starting point of EFORT’s publication evolution. It was a new expe-rience for me as EFORT Secretary General and President to sign major contracts. It is a great responsibility, requiring a thorough understanding of the texts and the exact implications. Essential help had been pro-vided for years by EFORT’s lawyer Lukas Morscher with the legal documents and by EFORT’s business adviser Klaus Hug in nego-tiating the many deals.

Relations with the speciality societies also improved in 2008. The majority of them began formal collaboration, showing spe-cial interest in the scienti�c planning for the EFORT congresses, particularly the upcoming 2009 Vienna Congress. This relationship eventually led to the creation of a Speciality Societies Standing Committee.

Local Chairman Karl Knahr’s excellent help in bringing an Austrian �avour of elegance and music contributed to the great suc-cess of the Vienna Congress 2009. I chose the theme “Harmonic Symphony” (Smooth Cooperation). There was a large exhibition, almost 3,500 abstracts were submitted and more than 6,400 participants attended.

EFORT’s international contacts with Latin America and the Far East also increased during this period, with invitations e.g. from Argentina, Brazil, Japan and Mexico. Activi-ties at the EU-level started to grow as well. A consulting agency explored contact possi-bilities with the European Commission and the Parliament in Brussels. And I went to meetings of the International Non-Govern-mental Organisations (INGOs) at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.

The increasing workload prompted re-orga-nisation of the Head O�ce, a process started

during Wolfhart Puhl’s 2006 to 2007 tenure as President, when I was Secretary Gene-ral. Interviews and hiring of new sta� had started at the 2007 Florence Congress. Nina Nürnberger was employed for the admini-strative branch and Régine Brühweiler for the management of the events branch. Daily work overlapped with the buildup of additi-onal sta� and a new Head O�ce took form.

During my presidency, the skilful and hard working Secretary General Manuel Cassiano Neves was in contact with me by telephone and mail almost daily and during my visits every second month to the Head O�ce. Fol-lowing a 2009 organisational audit, it was decided to employ a Managing Director to deal with the constantly increasing o�ce workload.

EFORT History

Congress creativity in organisation, science and theme making- continuation from page 12

K.-G. Thorngren (left) and K. Knahr (right) with the ballet dancers at the o�cial Opening Ceremony

of the 10th EFORT Congress Vienna, 2009


EFORT History

EFORT with growing global impact by Prof. Pierre Hoffmeyer, EFORT Vice President; EFORT Representative Speciality Societies Standing Committee

The fall was beautiful in Toulouse. Jean Puget was convening his Hip Congress in 2005 and the proceedings were purring smoothly. Then came banquet time! I was jockeying for a table with a view and some pleasant com-pany, ready to enjoy the promising menu and the local wines. Suddenly, a tap on the shoulder: “Why don’t we sit together?” asked Frantz Langlais.

In those days I knew little about EFORT’s organisational structure, although I had attended many of its meetings, e.g. Paris, Munich, Brussels, Barcelona and Rhodes. I was just back from the magni�cent Lisbon meeting. Also, while sitting on the Com-mittee of the Swiss Orthopaedic Society I

had listened religiously to the reports from our delegate and soon-to-be President, Andreas Burckhardt, about Mike Freeman and the COCOMAC being transformed into EFORT. I also knew that Erwin Morscher from Basel had followed Mike Freeman as Presi-dent. However, my knowledge of the inner workings of EFORT was, not surprising ly, very skimpy.

So when, at that fateful banquet, Frantz Langlais asked me to sit down with him, I was not ready for his next move. Just as we were attacking the goose-liver, the next question came: “Can you organise an EFORT instructional course in Geneva this coming June?” Suddenly, it required a large gulp of Madiran, the husky wine of the Southwest, to help swallow the hors d’oeuvre in a mouth gone dry. To �nish o� his unsuspecting vic-tim, Frantz added “…and by the way can you �nd a good place to host the ExCom and the General Assembly?”

Well, EFORT came to Geneva in the spring of 2006; we held our General Assembly in

the main meeting room of the World Health Organization and an instructional course in the Geneva University Hospital. That was my real introduction to EFORT. Things went quickly after that. I had the honour of being adopted as a co-opted member of the Exe-cutive Committee and could thus participate actively in the Florence Congress. Soon after, tragedy struck in the early summer with the brutal passing away of Frantz Langlais, Presi-dent elect, on the night of 17 June 2007. The Nice meeting was in full preparatory swing; could we do it? After many mails and telephone calls it was decided to go ahead and Wolfhart Puhl, EFORT President at that time, gave the thumbs up. To Karl-Göran Thorngren, EFORT’s next President, came the complex task to lead the federa tion in this di�cult time. Under his leader-ship and thanks to Thierry Bégué and the SOFCOT, the Nice Congress was a great suc-cess. Interestingly the majors of the ortho-paedic industry had decided not to sponsor the event.

After Nice, a large debate started within the

Prof. Pierre Ho¢meyer knew little about the inner workings of EFORT in 2005, though he had attended many of its meetings and watched its evo-lution from the former COCOMAC as a Committee member of the Swiss Orthopaedic Society. Over dinner, he was invited to organise an EFORT instructional course in Geneva the following spring, 2006. Almost as an aside, he was also asked to host EFORT’s Executive Committee and the General Assembly meetings in Gene-va. Despite tragedy during the plan-ning stage, and without sponsoring help from majors of the orthopaedic industry, the 2008 Nice Congress was a great success. Today, EFORT has evolved from an idea of passionate men to a major player in the �eld of orthopaedic education and is on the path to becoming a force to be heard by politicians in Brussels.

WHO Building Geneva


EFORT History

orthopaedic community. Should EFORT hold annual congresses? Nice was undeniably very successful. But would this happen eve-ry year? The answer to that question came quickly enough. The very next year, for the 2009 Vienna Congress, EFORT received prac-tically 4,000 abstracts and a record-breaking 7,000 plus attendees. Clearly the winds of change waxed strong and the Europe-an surgeons expressed their need to share their knowledge and research. The tenden-cy was the same for Madrid in 2010 and for Copenhagen in 2011. The �ow of abstracts did not dry up, quite the contrary!

EFORT with growing global impact- continuation from page 14

EFORT has evolved from an idea of passio-nate men to a major player in the �eld of education of our speciality. EFORT today is moving into the political arena. Brussels is the place to be and Wolfhart Puhl and his team are scoring successes in penetrating the labyrinth of EU o�cialdom. EFORT is also making strong extra-European allies. Our President Miklós Szendröi has obtained yearly representation of the American Asso-ciation of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) to our congresses and strong ties have been made with our South American partners.

Asia also is on the agenda as witnessed by the many attendees from the Asia-Pacific region. EFORT is becoming inescapable on the European scene in its role to federate and harmonise the education and knowledge of orthopaedic specialists for the bene-�t of their patients. To funnel its �nancial commitment towards research the EFORT FOUNDATION was created in 2009 with its first President Karl-Göran Thorngren giving the impulse. The FOUNDATION will allow young and promising orthopaedic surgeons and scientists from all over Europe to further their career.

EFORT Advanced Training Programme - EFORT has established as one of its goals the development of orthopedic care by improving the level of education and making it more

uniform around Europe


Hungary’s long recent isolation, despite its location in the heart of Europe, behind an iron curtain. EFORT ful�ls its mission as I see it, when patients su�ering from musculoskeletal diseases are treated equally by optim- ally trained colleagues, and when patients have the same access to all areas of ortho-paedics and traumatology throughout Euro-pe, between and beyond our nearby Alps and Carpathians.

EFORT Today

The mission of EFORTby Prof. Miklós Szendröi, EFORT President 2010 to 2011

My duties on behalf of EFORT over the past seven years – �rst as member at large of the Executive Committee, then as Vice Presi-dent and now as its tenth President – have enabled me to closely follow the dynamic evolution of our organisation. Its growth in size and activity alone is evidence that our members prefer annual rather than bien-nial congresses. The steady increase in the number of scienti�c abstracts received, amounting to over 3,000 in the last three years, is just one measure of that growth in activity.

From just a few countries represented when the Marentino Group had founded EFORT, we have become the umbrella organisation for 40 European countries and 42 national soci-eties. Six non-European organisations have also joined us as associate scienti�c mem-bers. Our activities are likewise multiplying

in di�erent directions. In close cooperation with the national societies and the European speciality societies, we are working to pro-vide European orthopaedic and trauma sur-geons with �rst class training programmes and to harmonise di�erent educational levels among countries by setting common standards.

We also intend to represent the interest of our colleagues through a presence at the European institutions in Brussels. But our patients’ interests will remain in the fore-front, as re�ected in our mission statement: „EFORT works on behalf of the European orthopaedic and traumatology community to secure mobility, musculoskeletal health and quality of life.“

As President of EFORT and a Hungarian, my vision for the future is in�uenced by

For over seven years, current EFORT President Miklós Szendröi has wat-ched the organisation’s membership grow both in numbers and participa-tion: scienti�c abstracts over the past three years have averaged over 3,000 annually. Along with a broadening of the membership base, EFORT has also been broadening its scope of activity, including training programmes that will contribute to a harmonisation throughout Europe of educational standards in the profession. EFORT also intends to strengthen its pre-sence in Brussels, to be sure that EU law makers are adequately informed of the needs of patients and their physi-cians in the fast developing speciality of orthopaedic and traumatology care.

The EFORT Executive Committee at the ExCom dinner during the 11th EFORT Congress Madrid, 2010

M. Szendröi hands over the Past Presidents‘

medal to K.-G. Thorngren, Madrid 2010


EFORT PublicationsAwards & Prizes

Scienti�c programmes and congresses leading to enhancededucationby Prof. George Bentley, EFORT Past President; Chairman EFORT Scien-tific Publishing Committee; Chairman EFORT Awards & Prizes Commit-tee; Editor in Chief EFORT Textbook & Instructional Lecture Books

I was invited to join EFORT in October 1994 at the Executive Committee meeting in London. Based on my previous experience with such congresses as the London SICOT Congress of 1984 and my knowledge of the o�cial lan-guage of EFORT-English I was requested to organise the scienti�c programme for the 1997 Barcelona Congress. The programme was expanded greatly, with 700 free papers, Instructional Course lectures, speciality sym-posia, plenary sessions, poster sessions and an Instructional Course book. Over 4,000 delegates attended.

.

As Chairman of the Scienti�c and Educatio-nal Committee, I developed and organised the Congress in Brussels (1999) and, jointly with Prof. Karl-Göran Thorngren, the Rhodes Congress. Additionally together with local organisers, Instructional Courses were held in Nograd (Hungary), Krachow (Poland),

Bologna (Italy) and Prague (Czech Republic). Along with Prof. Niki Böhler, I also initiated the South American EFORT collaborative meetings in Argentina in 1998 and 1999.

An “EFORT-On-Tour” teaching programme was begun with Prof. Marc Spaeckhart of UEMS. It brought two-day “budget” courses to Hungary and Romania at very low rates.

In 2001 I was elected EFORT Vice President for the period 2002 to 2003 and became President from 2004 to 2005. The main fea-ture of my presidency was the 2005 Lisbon Congress, organised by Dr. Manuel Cassiano Neves and the Portuguese Orthopaedic Association and congress team along with Gabriella Skala and the (then) small EFORT sta�.

The Lisbon Congress was acknowledged to be outstanding scienti�cally and socially. It saw the introduction of the e-posters and competition, daily congress newspapers and TV interviews with o�cers and delegates. Over 6,000 delegates attended. The EFORT Industrial Prize was awarded for the first time. FORTE (The Federation of Orthopaedic Trainees in Europe) was also founded at the Lisbon Congress, a very important landmark in the recognition of EFORT.

By this time EFORT had grown so much that it was apparent that it required a permanent stable base, the new Head O�ce. This was established in Technoparkstrasse, Zurich (on “neutral territory”) in 2005. With Secretary General Prof. Frantz Langlais, the basis for an EFORT audit was set up and discussions ini-tiated regarding the creation of a new EFORT European Surgical Textbook and e-Encyclo-paedia of European Orthopaedics and Trau-

matology.Between 2006 and 2007 I expanded the EFORT Awards and Prizes programme to include Honorary and Corresponding fel-lowships, poster prizes, a sta� prize and subsequently an Allied Professions prize for Nurses. In 2007, I also chaired the Scienti-fic Programme Committee for the Florence Congress. Since 2009 I have edited the three annual EFORT Instructional Lecture Books for the Vienna, Madrid and Copenhagen Congresses, which are distributed free to all delegates.

Presently I chair the EFORT Publications Committee, which embraces the EFORT Por-tal (Prof. Klaus-Peter Günther), the EFORT Journal (Prof. Wolfhart Puhl), the EFORT Textbook and Instructional Lecture Book (Prof. George Bentley), the e-Newsletter and EFORT/Orthopaedics Today (Prof. Per Kjaersgaard-Andersen) and the EFORT Book

Among many other EFORT activities Prof. Bentley helped initiate South American EFORT collaborative meet-ings and an “EFORT-On-Tour” two-day “budget” teaching programme for countries in Eastern Europe. At the EFORT Lisbon Congress, an Indus-trial Prize was awarded for the �rst time and the ORTE (Federation of Orthopaedic Trainees in Europe) was founded. An expanded Awards and Prizes programme later included pri-zes for sta¢ and nurses. Future plans for the broad EFORT publication pro-gramme include the completion of the 280 chapter reference work entitled “European Surgical Orthopaedics and Traumatology” as an e-Encyclopaedia.

EFORT

George Bentley Ed.

› springer.com

----

EFORTGeorge BentleyEditorEuropean Instructional Lectures

1

European Instructional Lectures 1 23

This ninth volume in the EUROPEAN INSTRUCTIONAL LECTURES series continues the format of educational material cross a wide spectrum of Orthopaedics and Traumatology written by notable surgeons in Europe.

It provides up-to-date summaries of major advances covering a range of topics including:• General orthopaedics• Paediatrics• Trauma• Upper limb, Hand• Spine• Hip• Knee• Foot and Ankle

All the lectures were presented at the 10th EFORT Congress in Vienna, Austria.

The lectures are an authoritative source of information illustrated with radiographs, MRI and CT scans, tables and line drawings. This is a valuable source of instruction for experienced Surgeons and Trainees alike.

The Book has been edited by Professor G. Bentley, Chairman of Publishing Committee of EFORT.

EFORT

IL BookVol. 9 · 2009

European Instructional Lectures

10th EFORT Congress Vienna, Austria

Edited by George Bentley (UK)

EFORT_IL_rotis.indd 1 14.04.2009 10:26:06 Uhr


Series (Prof. Karl Knahr).

The importance of strengthening the impact of EFORT publications has led to new month-ly Committee meetings aimed at co-ordina-ting and developing publications and pro-mulgating the “EFORT Mission and Message” worldwide.

Future plans with Springer Verlag include the

EFORT PublicationsAwards & Prizes

Scienti�c programmes and congresses leading to enhancededucation- continuation from page 17

7TH EFORT CONGRESS – FINAL PROGRAMMELISBON, 4-7 JUNE 2005


2011 to 2012 publication of a 280 chapter major reference Textbook entitled “European Surgical Orthopaedics and Traumatology.” It is planned also as an e-Encyclopaedia which will serve as an extremely valuable resource for surgeons and trainees across Europe and beyond: particularly for those preparing for national specialty examinations or the EBOT examination. Additionally, it will emphasise Europe’s tremendous orthopaedic and trau-

The EFORT General Assembly during the 7th EFORT Congress in Lisbon, 2005

matology innovation and surgical expertise-Throughout my period of membership of the EFORT Executive Committee it has been a privilege to act as “English Language Adviser” for EFORT Congress Programmes, Instructio-nal Courses books, documents and contracts where necessary, including the drafting of the EFORT mission statement in 2005.


The Organisation

Integration without loss of special identitiesby Dr. Manuel Cassiano Neves, EFORT Secretary General

My involvement with the federation star-ted in 2000 when the Portuguese Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (SPOT) was selected to organise the 7th EFORT Congress 2005 in Lisbon. Several countries had com-peted with us to host the meeting, but despi-te the di�cult process, we were honoured that the federation eventually chose SPOT.

Since 2001, after joining the Executive Com-mittee as a co-opted member, I developed a more profound understanding of the orga-nisational process which helped the Local Organising Committee prepare the Lisbon meeting in a more professional way.

The Lisbon Congress proved scienti�cally as well as socially successful, opening a door for the build-up of an even stronger Europe-an organisation in the �eld of orthopaedics and traumatology. I felt that SPOT’s large involvement contributed very positively to the high level of achievement generated by the meeting.

I have been cooperating with EFORT since then, inter alia as Chairman of Events, trying to support improvements in the organisation of congresses. In 2007 I was elected to my current position as Secretary General for the

period 2008 to 2009 and again a year later for the period 2010 to 2011.

When I started to work in this position, I rea-lised how di�cult the role of an umbrella organisation can be: The national associa-tions and speciality societies should project themselves in EFORT without the feeling of being taken over. At the same time, we realised the importance of a role for EFORT in education, as a scienti�c organisation, and in developing European curricula that could serve as a starting point for some of the national societies where the educational programme does yet not fully meet Euro-pean standards. Because orthopaedic sur-geons, just as other professions, are free to circulate in the open market of the European Union, we are striving to impart a common basic knowledge, with minimal prerequisites, accepted by each national association.

It was important as a �rst step in realising this basic task to identify the right priorities and create a team. Since 2004, therefore, we went from two employees in the EFORT Head O�ce to ten employees at present. And last year we recruited a Managing Director to turn the federation into an even more professional organisation which will help us

The 7th EFORT Congress 2005 in Lis-bon was socially as well as scienti�-cally successful, opening a door to an even stronger European organisation. Dr. Cassiano Neves underlines the importance of a strong umbrella orga-nisation where national associations and speciality societies could project themselves without feeling they were being taken over. Among many other tasks, it was important for EFORT to build European curricula as starting points for national societies. Accor-ding to the Secretary General, the strong involvement of speciality soci-eties will be crucial in further impro-ving the level of education through-out Europe.

M. Cassiano Neves

at the Closing Ceremony of the

7th EFORT Congress

Lisbon, 2005

improve further.

One of our major tasks was to create a plat-form where the speciality societies could envision being represented inside EFORT. In 2009, after long discussions, the Standing Committee for Speciality Societies was born, allowing a more straightforward cooperation between the federation and the specialists. We feel this will be crucial in improving the level of education throughout Europe in coming years.

At this moment we all know that there is still a lot to be done in terms of organisation, and doctors will not be able to achieve all the goals without the support of a dedicat-ed team. It is a real pleasure to work with EFORT, where we all feel much supported by high level professionals in the Head O�ce without whom the task of the Secretary General would have been impossible.


The Organisation

Organising Europe’s varied approachesby Mr. Stephen R. Cannon, EFORT Treasurer; Chairman EFORT Finance Committee

My love affair with EFORT began in Paris in 1993 where I gave a short three or �ve minute paper. I had been treating trauma and specialising in the surgical management of bone and soft tissue tumours in Great Britain. But my knowledge of Europe and its orthopaedics was quite limited, aside from some previous exchanges with oncological centres in Europe while training. My own education was signi�cantly enhanced by the Paris event. Jacques Duparc and Mike Freeman were totally inspirational in con-veying their aims and e�orts for the EFORT organisation, such as the opportunities to exchange ideas among countries and to communicate them in a common language.

It was also my initial exposure to many di�e-rent approaches and techniques, all of which appeared successful and many of which I had never dreamt of. Memorable too was the

socialising at the Paris meeting that further in�uenced my continued involvement. I left the meeting convinced that Europe should continue enhancing the wonderful ideas its various countries were exuding and that it should do so under an umbrella organisa-tion rather than on the level of the speci-ality societies. I continued presenting papers in support of the biennial meetings. In 1997 I was honoured to give an Instructional Course lecture in Barcelona on the manage-ment of bony malignancy with treatment by endoprosthetic replacement.

I’ve since encouraged junior colleagues to submit papers to EFORT meetings. I am delighted to see that Great Britain produced the largest number of abstracts at subse-quent EFORT congresses. This may re�ect the strength of British orthopaedics. It may also merely re�ect my compatriots’ advantage in being able to present data in their native English.

My involvement with EFORT remained some-what peripheral as I became more and more involved with the British Orthopaedic Asso-ciation, where I was fortunate enough to be both Honorary Treasurer and President in 2008. Still, due to my work and experience in musculo-skeletal oncology, my friend Frantz Langlais encouraged me to apply for EFORT’s Executive Committee membership at the Florence Congress. I was honoured and �attered by the approach and was duly elected as a member at large. The position was a ful�lment of my interest, enabling me to contribute not only to the organisation of EFORT but also to look carefully at its role within Europe’s educational �eld.

When Martti Hämäläinen retired, I was appointed Treasurer of EFORT, a position I still hold. EFORT’s �nances are complex. So I am very grateful for the help I receive from the Head O�ce and fellow members of the Executive Committee. The �nances are cur-rently healthy despite the world �nancial crisis. Through continuing cooperation with our new professional congress organiser, we will go forward from strength to strength, hopefully, with the wonderfully successful annual congress – a main stay of our activity – becoming one of the most popular events in world orthopaedics. We will certainly need to continue educational events at a lesser level throughout Europe, and to work par-ticularly hard toward a common European orthopaedics standard, perhaps assessed by an EBOT type examination. I look forward to pursuing these goals in continued coopera-tion with a vibrant EFORT organisation.

Mr. Cannon’s knowledge of the many di¢erent approaches and techniques to European orthopaedics was still limited before participating at the 1993 Congress in Paris. He left con-vinced that its umbrella organisation structure was the best way to enhan-ce the ideas exuding from Europe’s di¢erent countries. The UK’s lead in the number of papers submitted may re�ect a linguistic advantage, but he’s still delighted with his compatriots growing participation. And with the current state of EFORT’s �nances that he oversees as Treasurer. Eventually, Mr. Cannon hopes to see a common European standard in orthopaedics and perhaps an EBOT type examina-tion.


Education

Harmonising training for highest possible standardsby Prof. Maurilio Marcacci, Chairman EFORT Education Committee

Since joining colleagues of the Executive Committee at the 8th EFORT Congress in Flo-rence, I have shared the success and euphoria of membership in an organisation maturing in an atmosphere of self-con�dence. One of the highlights was my participation in the process of identifying EFORT’s mission and the future path it should take.

From the guidelines we had de�ned, I saw a role for EFORT in helping to harmonise educational training and therapeutic sys-tems. The idea was to provide a useful tool, focused mainly on the patient, for all mem-bers of national societies in Europe.

As Coordinator of Cultural Exchanges, I tried to enhance projects, such as the “Visiting-Travelling Fellowships,” beyond their primary function of stimulating science and know-ledge throughout Europe. They were also, as I saw it, powerful marketing tools for making EFORT known and for linking others to us.

I also promoted a new form of fellowship: 6-month research fellowships involving the publication of a paper. This new opportunity

would be the easiest way to sustain research throughout Europe. Furthermore, by introdu-cing the concept of EFORT Alumni Meetings, I hoped to stimulate the building of a new European network, aware of its important cultural role, among fellows who had already travelled around Europe.

In January 2010 I was elected Chairman of the EFORT Education Committee. My goal in this new position remains the harmonisation of the best educational resources o�ered by top national academic and specialties pro-grammes. Together with other colleagues, including representatives of the speciality societies and experts on industrial relations, we have de�ned two main areas for a har-monisation programme: “Basic” and “Ad-vanced” training opportunities.

The Basic Training Programme would involve the highest standards sustainable. It would not only be designed for medical doctors, but for nurses and medical industry personnel as well. The Advanced Training Programme still needs to be developed by EFORT together with the speciality societies.

In line with guidelines de�ned at a meeting of the Education Committee and the Execu-tive Committee, I have been pursuing new opportunities for improving our relationship with the broader orthopaedic world, inclu-ding medical industries and speciality soci-eties. The feedback that I achieved from my preliminary round of contacts with possible partners was very encouraging. With Execu-tive Committee consensus and the help of the Head O�ce, these contacts would obvi-ously need to be developed and strengthe-ned.

Considering the complexity of managing these contacts, I have suggested putting together a small group of high pro�le per-sonalities from di�erent European countries who would volunteer for this venture in order to achieve an easier and closer relationship with the international scienti�c community.

Prof. Marcacci played an early part in EFORT’s mission identi�cation. He saw an important role in harmonising educational training and therapeutic systems. He also tried to enhance pro-grams such as the “Visiting-Travelling Fellowships” for use, inter alia, as a powerful marketing tool for publi-cising EFORT and linking others to it. He promoted a special six month research fellowship programme, lead-ing to a publication, as well as to EFORT Alumni Meetings of former fellows that would form a new Euro-pean network. A Basic Training Pro-gram envisioned by Prof. Marcacci and colleagues is aimed at nurses and medical industry personnel in addition to physicians.

First EFORT Alumni meeting during the 10th EFORT Congress Vienna, 2009


Events & Publications

Preparing for the Copenhagen Congress 2011by Ass. Prof. Per Kjærsgaard-Andersen, Chairman of the LocalOrganising Committee, 12th EFORT Congress Copenhagen

In March 2007 the Board of the Danish Orthopaedic Society (DOS) applied to host a forthcoming EFORT congress in Copenhagen. As DOS Vice-President, I was asked to handle the application. Weeks later Prof. Karl-Göran Thorngren, EFORT Secretary General at that time, called and asked us to organise a one-day site inspection in Copenhagen: “next Monday.”

That Monday, Prof. Frantz Langlais, then EFORT Vice President, Klaus Hug, business adviser and Prof. Karl-Göran Thorngren came to Copenhagen and were taken around. Dr. Bo Sanderho� Olsen, DOS Treasurer, and I accompanied them to the Bella Centre, Opera House, City Hall, Børsen (stock exchange), Forum, Øksne Halls and a few restaurants. I felt immediately that all were convinced that Copenhagen could “do it.” And as we now know, the General Assembly voted dur-

ing the Florence Congress for Copenhagen to host the 12th EFORT Congress in 2011.

I was co-opted to the EFORT Executive Com-mittee for the three years leading to the congress in order to become familiar with organisation, structure and planning of such an event. Together with the Scienti�c Com-mittee, the Local Organising Committee, the EFORT event team and our PCO, I’ve been well enough tutored to meet expectations.

Because of my long experience on the edi-torial boards of orthopaedic journals, I was appointed Editor in Chief of the EFORT News-letter, Orthopaedics Today Europe (OTE). I’ve also been assisting the EFORT Scienti�c Publishing Committee with two sections for the new EFORT Textbook.

Under the guidance of Prof. Wolfhart Puhl, I have been involved this past year in lob-bying activities at the EU in Brussels, and

now liaise between the EU Pain Group and EFORT. Pain as a topic will get greater focus in EFORT, both at our congresses and in our instructional courses. Organising those acti-vities will be another of my responsibilities.

Since working closely with Prof. Enric Caceres and Prof. Pierre Hoffmeyer on the scienti�c structure of the Copenhagen Con-gress, I got involved in in-depth discussions on further developments in this respect. It is one of our goals to create greater continuity on the scienti�c level from congress to con-gress. We are therefore reorganising topics under which abstracts are submitted, allo-cated to the scienti�c programme and also handled in our portal.

Finally – if the General Assembly in Copen-hagen votes for it – I will continue as the next EFORT Secretary General from January 2012.

Shortly after his national society decided to propose Copenhagen as a congress venue, an EFORT team told Prof. Kjærsgaard-Andersen it was �ying in for a site inspection. At the Florence Congress not long after-ward, Copenhagen was chosen to host the 2011 EFORT Congress, and Prof. Kjærsgaard-Andersen was co-opted to the Executive Committee for three years of preparatory work. He is also active as Editor in Chief of the EFORT Newsletter: Orthopaedics Today Europe. Prof. Kjærsgaard-Andersen is involved in lobbying for EFORT in Brussels. His contact with the Brus-sels Pain Group further convinced him that pain is an issue needing greater focus in EFORT.

JOINT RECONSTRUCTION

Fixation stability key in acetabular impaction graftingFares S. Haddad, MB, FRCS, reported successful outcomes following acetabular impaction grafting with less than 50% host bone contact. 6

IMAGING

Ultrasonography superior to radiography in predicting OAFinnish researchers found that ultrasonography showed abnormal � ndings not shown on radiographs in patients’ knees. 16

PIONEER CLINICS

Schulthess KlinikThe clinic has a rich history and has recently become home to a Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Medical Centre. 22

See the latest faculty videos from ORTHOPEDICS TODAY Hawaii 2011 at ORTHOSuperSite.com.

Freddie H. Fu, MD, DSc, DPs(Hon), believes there are still too many questions — including preparation, application and proper indications — surrounding the use of PRP to consider it a viable treatment option and would like to see strong, thorough clinical data in support of its e� cacy.

COVER STORY

Platelet-rich plasma: Yet to be proven, but studies are on their way� e debate over platelet-rich plasma reaches far and wide, with clinical trials showing con� icting results throughout Europe and the United States. Di� ering costs, regulations and evidence bases have served to polarize physicians as they try to determine exactly what, if any, uses the novel treatment has, and how they may be clinically tested, according to physicians who spoke with Orthopaedics Today Europe.

Perhaps the most common sentiment regarding platelet-rich plasma (PRP), however, is that it simply should not be marketed as a miracle drug.

“� e way it is making news right now is as a cure-all for everything, which is just not reasonable,” Freddie H. Fu, MD, DSc, DPs(Hon), Orthopaedics Today Europe Editorial Board member, said.

Although other clinicians in his o� ce use PRP to treat tendonitis and some muscle injuries, Fu said he does not use PRP in his sports medicine practice.

“We are still trying to de� ne the exact indications,” he said.

While Fu does not use PRP, there are other physi-cians who use it regularly but still do not consider it the kind of treatment that can be utilized across the board.

Omer Mei-Dan, MD, has worked with PRP for ap-proximately 7 years, publishing studies and using it to help professional athletes, recreational athletes and

Cover story continues on page 12

SAN DIEGO, USA — A patient’s younger age when they undergo arthroscopic shoulder stabilization for recurrent dislocation was a predictor of poorer outcomes, as was glenoid bone loss or the presence of an engaging Hill-Sachs lesion in a study by Scottish researchers presented here.

Issaq Ahmed, MRCS, and colleagues pro-spectively followed 302 patients treated at

their center through 2 postoperative years, and strati� ed their outcomes according to various factors.

“� e true recurrence rate in our popula-tion … was 13.2%,” with 55% of them seen within the � rst year, Ahmed said. Recurrenc-es were frequently associated with open sta-bilizations or Latarjet procedures, he noted.

Other live Orthopaedics Today Europe

reports from the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons include: a presentation by Hyoung Yeon Seo, MD, on mitigating adjacent spine segment de-generation by avoiding facet joint invasion, and research by S. Mehdi Jafari, MD, on greater in-fection risk for a previously aseptic joint when another prosthetic joint becomes infected.

For our complete meeting coverage, please visit the From the Podium section at ORTHO-SuperSite.com and click AAOS 2011 Meeting Highlights.

Long-term arthroscopic shoulder stabilization study � nds 13.2% recurrence rate

Evidence-based treatmentIn his commentary, Chief Medical Editor Per Kjaersgaard-Andersen, MD, writes that PRP should be viewed as an experimental treatment until evidence-based data proves its clinical value. 3

Spotlight on: Unicompartmental knee replacement This issue features reports on unicompartmental knee replacement (shown on right) survivorship, revision and outcome di� erences related to gender. 4

Meeting coverage begins on page 14

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ORTHOSuperSite.com Volume 14 • Number 2

MARCH/APRIL 2011

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12th EFORT Congress

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European and International A�airs

EFORT interacting with Brussels and the worldby Prof. Wolfhart Puhl, EFORT Past President; Editor in Chief EFORT Journal EOTR; Chairman External A�airs & Liaison Committee

While observing EFORT´s evolution over the years, it became evident that one of its main duties in the future will be to represent the entire European orthopaedic community in in�uencing health-policy on a European level. That community includes the national societies, speciality societies and – by def-ault – those not organised in any society.

That policy should involve guidelines for optimising care for patients su�ering from musculoskeletal problems. Broadly, that also means harmonising European health sys-tems in orthopaedics and musculoskeletal traumatology. The �rst necessary steps were discussed in December 2005, but it took a few more years to really get started.

But how does EFORT represent the O&T pro-fession, at the European level, to those char-ged with policy development? What does this representation encompass and why is it so important to have an organisation poli-tically active at the European level? Today, around 70 % of new legislation in the Euro-pean Union (EU) is designed and decided in Brussels. Last year, the Lisbon Treaty of the EU entered into force, giving an even greater role to the European institutions.

In the area of public health, the European Union shares competencies with its member states. But while their governments retain the sole power to legislate in the area of health, the EU provides a supporting role in the exchange of best practices and the promotion of member state cooperation as well as of healthy lifestyles that might pre-vent health threats from developing. The EU seeks, in particular, to ensure equity of care and it looks to set minimum stan-dards across Europe for key disease areas

(e.g. chronic diseases). In this context, the European institutions welcome the input of representatives from the professions, indus-try and patients organisations and frequent-ly seek ways to work through partnerships. Traditionally, stakeholders advocate for their respective �elds in Brussels. Thousands of European organisations are represented in Brussels to increase their pro�le, usually with the support of specialist public a�airs agencies.

Currently there are well-established organi-sations that are driving the debate on mus-culoskeletal conditions, organisations that arrange high-level events involving EU poli-cy makers in charge of shaping the legisla-tion in this �eld and in public health. EFORT, in comparison, is rather unknown among policy makers. As a consequence, it is losing a unique opportunity to advocate the needs of the O&T profession in regard to EU initia-tives on musculoskeletal disorders and other areas where EFORT members could add real value for EU citizens – issues such as ageing, patient safety and mobility. EFORT therefore hired the European public a�airs agency Interel to actively support it in raising its pro�le among EU o�cials and other sta-keholders and to help it secure recognition as a valuable partner and contributor to EU policy and society at large.

The agency has been helpful to EFORT in successfully establishing initial positive contacts with key EU decision-makers and allied health stakeholders, in raising EFORT’s pro�le and in building foundations for futu-re collaborations. The meetings already have opened up interesting opportunities for col-laboration: The Age Platform – the voice of the elderly at the EU level – is keen on invol-

ving EFORT in the European Year for Active Ageing in 2012.

EFORT has participated in the European Commission Consultation on the pilot “Inno-vation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing.” 17 members of EFORT have contri-buted to the Consultation, the publication of contributions will give greater visibility to EFORT in the debate on healthy ageing.

The agency is also supporting EFORT in the organisation of a first EU Political Sympo-sium at the EFORT Congress in Copenha-gen. The symposium will gather EU o�cials, EULAR (the European League against Rheu-matism) and surgeons to address the issue of musculoskeletal conditions and active ageing in the EU.

All of the above e�orts have started raising the pro�le of the O&T profession at the Euro-pean level. They further demonstrate the role of the profession in helping to reduce the economic and social burden on society and

One of EFORT’s main duties in the future will be to represent the entire European orthopaedic community in in�uencing health-policy on a Euro-pean level. EU institutions welcome the input of representatives from the professions, industry and pati-ents organisations. But EFORT is still rather unknown among policy makers compared to other established orga-nisations that are driving the debate on musculoskeletal conditions. First initiatives at the European level are already paying dividends in rectifying the situation.


the elderly caused by musculoskeletal con-ditions. And they ensure that the discipline receives adequate funding. We will continue to explore possibilities for translating policy opportunities into professional opportuni-ties, and to advocate for the creation of an ideal playing �eld in which to practice medi-cine and any given speciality.

EFORT ASIA symposia

Asian activities actually started years ago, before EFORT even came into existence. They were based on personal relationships to Japan going back to 1971 and to China since 1981. In 2005, activities focused on the Con-gress of the Chinese Orthopaedic Association (COA). In late 2007, Chinese politicians asked that EFORT begin educational dialogues with COA. At the same time another o�er was made to conduct continuous education sym-posia in di�erent parts of Asia.

After careful preparations in 2009, activity got underway in Bangkok under the gui-

EFORT interacting with Brussels and the world- continuation from page 23

European and International A�airs

Decades-long personal relationships of Prof. Puhl to Japan and China ser-ved as a basis for EFORT’s later acti-vities with Asia. In more recent years, direct cooperation with the Chinese Orthopaedic Association began, and in 2007 Chinese o�cials suggested educational dialogues involving both organisations. That led to a series of symposia to be continued and wide-ned in the future. Plans are in the works for similar cooperation with the Middle East and Latin America.

W. Puhl hands over the EFORT Corresponding Felloship certificate

to Prof. Qui, President of the Chinese Orthopaedic Association, Beijing 2010

dance of a scienti�c committee of twelve orthopaedic surgeons. Six were from EFORT and six from di�erent countries in Asia, under the co-chairmanship of Yan Wang (China) and myself (Europe). The symposi-um was carefully prepared in line with the expressed needs and wishes of the Asian faculty.

After the successful Bangkok symposium, which was followed by a meeting and sym-posium during the EFORT Congress in Madrid 2010, the next EFORT⁄Asia symposium took place in Taipei that November. It followed the same rules. This time I co-chaired the event with Ching-Chuan Jiang, President of the Taiwan Orthopaedic Association. It also involved the participation of and a link to

the Asia Pacific Orthopaedic Association (APOA).

EFORT and our Asian colleagues agree that these activities should continue and be held more often. Potential industry sponsors are increasingly interested in becoming part of the activities in Asia.

Comparable activities are also under dis-cussion for the Middle East. It is also hoped that visiting-fellowship-programmes can be started in parallel with EFORT⁄Asia and that comparable EFORT⁄Latin-America symposia can be organised in the future.


Education

Bene�ting from diverse cultures and knowledgeby Prof. Philippe Neyret, Chairman EFORTTravelling & Visiting Fellowships

When I was a fellow in Paris in the ear-ly nineties, I attended my �rst meeting, a combined EFORT-SOFCOT gathering that had been organised by Prof. Jacques Duparc. Prof. Henri Dejour’s conference presentation on multiple ligament knee injuries remains fresh in my memory. But EFORT was not very well known at the time, and its meetings not very well attended. French surgeons had the opportunity to meet in Paris every year and speak in their own language. They general-ly didn’t think it worth the e�ort to travel and make presentations in English. Of course I attended some meetings, such as in Brus-sels when the European Society of Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy (ESSKA) gave me an opportunity to partici-pate in a symposium.

It wasn’t until the late nineties, however, when I was a board member of SOFCOT that I started paying more attention to EFORT and better understanding its signi�cance. During board meetings, I remember our discussions on EBOT, travelling fellowships, relationships

with EFORT. It was then that I got to know Prof. Frantz Langlais, a real visionary who was the strongest supporter of EFORT I have ever met. My SOFCOT colleagues then asked me to welcome a group from a travelling fel-lowship in Lyon.

When Prof. Langlais passed away tragi-cally, Jean Puget, Pierre Hoffmeyer and Thierry Bégué asked me if I would agree to be SOFCOT’s representative in EFORT. Prof. Dup-arc called to encourage me and I joined this young, exciting and growing society during the 2008 Nice Congress chaired by Thierry Bégué.

Nowadays I chair the EFORT Fellowship Pro-gramme, and we continue to develop the travelling fellowship under the patronage of Miklós Szendröi and Maurilio Marcacci, recently responsible for education. Twice each year a group of the best young fellows representing 14 European nations travels throughout a given country for one week. The EFORT FOUNDATION, chaired by Prof.

Karl-Göran Thorngren, took over and reor-ganised the visiting fellowship a year ago. Since then, more than 40 scholarships have allowed surgeons to visit colleagues for four to six weeks and further improve their expertise. The feedback has been very posi-tive. Education is a keystone of the EFORT mission. Recently, EFORT President Miklós Szendröi and the Executive Committee asked me to think about further developing the international fellowship programme.

EFORT is a young society: 20 years old and moving quickly. It is an organisation unique in its �eld, a federation where the members of national societies and speciality societies can meet, exchange information and mutu-ally update their professional education.

Don’t miss the opportunities that EFORT o�ers – either through its superb Fellowship Programme or during this year’s congress – to bene�t from the diverse cultures and knowledge of colleagues from almost 30 dif-ferent countries.

EFORT in its early years was not that well known in France but the advan-tages of a coordinated European-wide institutional approach eventually became obvious. Since becoming a member, Prof. Neyret grew particu-larly attached to EFORT’s Fellowship Programme, which sponsors some of the best of Europe’s young fellows in working visits to medical colleagues in other countries. Already, more than 40 scholarships have allowed surgeons to spend four to six weeks improving their expertise alongside peers from other member countries.

EFORT Travelling Fellowship in Switzerland, fall 2010


As a young German research fellow, I pre-sented my �rst scienti�c paper at the 1st

EFORT Congress in Paris in 1993, reporting on the results of a year’s research fellowship in Lund, Sweden. When Wolfhart Puhl hosted the 2nd EFORT Congress in Munich in 1995, I lent my support for the �rst time and have been involved in EFORT activities ever since.

The Executive Committee asked me to repre-sent EFORT at the launch of the “Bone and Joint Decade 2000-2010” at the World Health Assembly (WHO) in Geneva and the-reafter at the Annual Network Meetings of the BJD. Our close contacts with rheuma-tologists during the Bone and Joint Decade led to the �rst meeting of EFORT and EULAR representatives in Copenhagen in 2006. Dis-cussions in the following years involving Wolfhart Puhl, Lars Lindgren, Tore Kvien, Anthony Woolf and others led to the first joint symposia at the annual conferences and to the idea of developing combined EFORT-EULAR recommendations. Together with Willem Lems from EULAR, I now coordi-

nate the second combined recommendations on the treatment of patients with fragility fractures and on prevention of subsequent fractures.

Based on other activities in the Bone and Joint Decade, a collaborative e�ort was star-ted in 2006 together with the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) to educate orthopaedic surgeons about prevention and treatment of fragility fractures. Together with Ghassan Maalouf, David Marsh, Mary Bouxsein and Kristina Akesson an education CD was produced and released during a sym-posium at the EFORT Congress 2007. Since then Wolfhart Puhl and I try to continue these educational programmes by organis-ing ExMEx relating to this topic during the annual meetings.

Health Service Research

THR & musculoskeletal research with rheumatologists and other organisationsby Prof. Karsten Dreinhöfer, Chairman EFORT Health Service Research Committee; Chairman of the Local Organising Committee,13th EFORT Congress Berlin

Prof. Dreinhöfer chairs the Local Organising Committee for the 13th

EFORT Congress 2012 in Berlin. Close contacts with neighbouring societies led to collaborative activities of EFORT and EULAR representatives and to subsequent joint recommenda-tions as well as to combined activities with IOF. Prof. Dreinhöfer also played a part in establishing EUROHIP, a net-work of 22 centres of excellence for total hip replacement, a research pro-ject under EFORT’s umbrella. He was asked to establish a Health Service Research Committee for EFORT.

Under EFORT’s umbrella, a multicenter, multinational collaborative health service research project, EUROHIP, was initiated at the beginning of this century to promote excellence in total hip replacement (THR). Wolfhart Puhl, Klaus-Peter Günther and I

established a network of 22 centres, coordi-nated from Ulm (Germany) that analysed the indication criteria and the actual provision of THR care across Europe. The results were published in numerous scienti�c articles and as the �rst book in the EFORT book series in 2009: EUROHIP - Health Technology Assess-ment of Hip Arthroplasty in Europe.

In 2006 I was invited to the General Assemb-ly strategy meeting in Geneva to present research results and ideas on epidemiology, health economy and health service research in musculoskeletal conditions. After this pre-sentation I was asked to establish a Health Service Research Committee and to join the Executive Committee as a co-opted member. In the following years we were able to sti-mulate further discussions and projects in this area by publishing articles and organi-sing symposia at national and international conferences. We are now developing a data collection on the “European Burden of Mus-culoskeletal Conditions” and preparing an EFORT reference book on the topic.

In 2010 I was elected Chairman of the Local Organising Committee of the 13th EFORT Congress 2012 in Berlin by the German Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (BVOU) -- together with Dieter Wirtz of the German Society of Orthopaedics and Ortho-paedic Surgery (DGOOC).


During the development of EFORT over the years, orthopaedics prospered successfully. In the recent past, EFORT identi�ed the need to evolve its “trauma arm.“ A task force was formed to elaborate a strategy and implement this undertaking. I was asked to launch this group and pave the way.

My own involvement with EFORT grew in parallel to the reuni�cation of the trauma and orthopaedic disciplines in Germany. As President of the German Trauma Society (DGU) in 2000 and the Germany Surgical Society (DGCh) from 2002 to 2003, I was heavily involved in the creation of a common trunk for the formation of consultants. My own department changed over the years from trauma and reconstructive surgery to a centre for muscu-loskeletal surgery which includes trauma, reconstructive, orthopaedic and sports surgery. So I have experienced personally how important a comprehensive approach is. And as not only the “specialities“ but also Europe is moving together institutionally, regulations in the di�erent countries are compared and the best ones are taken over by the health care autho-rities – best ones for the authorities, but not always for the clinicians and patients! There-fore, a strong European-wide medical organisation for trauma and orthopaedics is needed. I accepted with great enthusiasm the challenge to help EFORT evolve into this organisation when I was approached in 2009.

Currently, the EFORT Trauma Task Force has identi�ed the following action items:

1. Strengthen the trauma content of the scienti�c program at the annual EFORTcongresses.

2. Create a prestigious EFORT Trauma Award/Prize.3. Run at least one high level Trauma ExMEx each year.4. Develop educational courses covering the interfaces between orthopaedics and trauma,

e.g. periprosthetic fractures or “cascade scenarios,“ i.e. patients evolving from a minortrauma to a worst case (including salvage procedures).

5. Establish a European EFORT Trauma Fellowship Programme.6. Bring relevant trauma content into EFORT publications.7. Convince trauma surgeons who are already involved in other organisations to become

active in EFORT.8. Attract national trauma societies to become EFORT members.9. Analyse di�erences in treatment standards among countries with the goal to propose

European guidelines.10. Build up a European trauma network in clinical research.11. Join forces with other internationally active trauma organisations on speci�c issues

and in mid- or long-term projects.

As this initiative has just started in 2010, these are �rst concepts developed by the founding members who are Jean-Christophe Bel (France), Christian Candrian (Switzerland), Florian Gebhard (Germany), Peter Giannoudis (UK), Jose Maria Munoz Vives (Spain), Morton Schultz

Larsen (Denmark), András Sárváry (Hungary), and Ulrich Stöckle (Germany). I am optimi-stic that they will be remembered in the 40th

anniversary EFORT brochure as the ones who turned EFORT into an organisation which has taken over responsibility for the whole mus-culoskeletal system on a European level.

Trauma Task Force

The “T“ in EFORT: Increased focus on traumaby Prof. Norbert Haas, Chairman EFORT Trauma Task Force

Prof. Haas’ EFORT involvement coinci-ded with personal experience in Ger-many underscoring the importance of a comprehensive approach to muscu-loskeletal surgery that includes trau-ma, reconstructive, orthopaedic and sports surgery. With national health authorities trying to harmonise rules on the European level, the importance of a Europe-wide medical organisa-tion for trauma and orthopaedics was essential. The EFORT Trauma Task Force, working to identify crucial action items, is turning EFORT into an organisation with European level responsibility for coordinated medical progress in the whole musculoskeletal system.

Portrait FOTO

EFORT Trauma Task Force during

the 11th EFORT Congress in Madrid, 2010


I �rst presented the idea for an EFORT FOUNDATION in early 2008 and was sup-ported by the General Assembly at the Nice Congress. The aim was to gather funds to support research and education more actively. Most of the by-laws were drafted by year’s end. On 21 April 2009, the EFORT FOUNDATION was registered in Zurich. Get-ting su�cient economic support to further develop our vast professional �eld of mus-culoskeletal disease and trauma will be a challenge.

The FOUNDATION was launched o�cially at the 10th EFORT Congress in Vienna with an opening ceremony proclamation on 3 June 2009. Its �rst public activity was a charity event during the Vienna Congress.

Colleagues from all over Europe can apply to the FOUNDATION for research and visiting fellowships grants. The EFORT FOUNDATION will also run public campaigns to increase public awareness about the need for research and education in our important �eld. The visiting fellowship programme was organi-sed during 2010 with the excellent help of Philippe Neyret. It is expanding already, and has great potential.

Besides raising funds and �nancing projects to achieve its goals, the FOUNDATION will also develop networks and collaborate with public and private institutions. Activities of the FOUNDATION will focus exclusively on ful�lling charitable, scienti�c and educatio-nal purposes.

The FOUNDATION Board represents the supreme governing body of the EFORT FOUNDATION and consists of up to 15 mem-

EFORT FOUNDATION

Financing for charitable, scienti�c and educational purposesby Prof. Karl-Göran Thorngren, EFORT Immediate Past President;Chairman EFORT FOUNDATION

The relatively new EFORT FOUNDATION works to get enough economic support for its goals of pro-moting education, science and chari-table activities. Besides raising funds through campaigns to increase public awareness and to �nance projects and fellowships, it is developing networks and establishing partnerships with other public and private institutions.

from left to right: G. Bentley, C. Bünger and K.-G. Thorngren at the �rst EFORT Charity Run in Vienna, 2009

bers elected for two years. Day-to-day ope-rations are being executed with the help of the EFORT Head O�ce. In order to be able to delegate part of its functions, the Board of the EFORT FOUNDATION will establish com-mittees such as the Grants Committee Edu-cation, the Grants Committee Research and an Advisory Committee for the realisation of public campaigns.

Happy winners of the 2nd EFORT FOUNDATION

charity run in Madrid, 2010


The EFORT Portal aims to improve com-munication and collaboration within the European orthopaedic community. A Con-tent Steering Committee (CSG) was formed to secure the Portal’s quality. Members of the group at present are: Elke Viehweger (Marseille, France), Liviu Iovanescu (Arad, Romania), Svilen Todorov (Pleven, Bulga-ria), Fatih Kucukdurmaz (Istanbul, Turkey) and Bernard Ciritsis (Zürich, Switzerland). I have the honour to act as its Chairman. The Committee’s mission statement directs it to constantly enlarge the relevant scienti�c information made available on the EFORT Portal.

What can one expect from the EFORT Portal?

• News (interviews)• Education (congresses, courses, abstracts,

videos, presentations)• Events (congress courses, event calendar)• Foundation (fellowships, scholarships)• EAR (registry publications)

What is the education section about? EFORT has created an Advanced Training Pro-gramme (ATP) which summarises all its edu-cational activities. While the Instructional Courses (IC) and the Experts-meet-Experts Fora (ExMEx) are covered on the EFORT

Portal, the EFORT congresses are given a separate web presence. It focuses on the congress and related activities only, but it is strongly linked to the main page. All relevant information on EFORT’s educational activi-ties, therefore, can be found by visiting the EFORT Portal.

Among the learning resources in the Portal are: the scienti�c library, where abstracts, presentations and studies can be accessed; the video section, where lectures and recor-ded surgeries are available; and the regis-tries, where surgeons �nd information on reproducibility of scienti�c content and information on relevant deviations between publications from implant developers and quality studies. Altogether, the education section is your gateway to reliable informa-tion.

All EFORT events are announced on the Portal, of course, and the instructors of our courses and congresses are renowned experts in their speci�c �elds. But there are other events also of interest to the orthopa-edic community, so we o�er an orthopaedic event calendar allowing visitors to search events of interest according to category, country or type of event.

The EFORT FOUNDATION o�ers fellowships and scholarships. How can I apply? Informa-tion on the application for a fellowship or scholarship is available for everyone in the FOUNDATION section of the EFORT Portal.

What can we expect from the EFORT Portal in the future? The main goal remains to sup-port global orthopaedic education, improve clinical practice, promote scienti�c research and support the development of medical

EFORT Portal

Gateway to EFORT-generated information and educationby Prof. Klaus-Peter Günther, Chairman EFORT Portal Content Steering Committee

standards and guidelines within Europe. In order to meet the needs and expectations of our members and to build a gateway to orthopaedic information for the orthopaedic community, EFORT is presently assessing the services provided to the visitors of the Portal. As part of this process, it is benchmarking the choice and quality of the Portal’s services in order to insure their ongoing improvement.

Adding value to the visitors of the EFORT Portal is our daily challenge. Thus, we would like to open it wider to the orthopaedic com-munity in the future and to make it more interactive as well. We trust that the further involvement of individuals through enhan-ced interaction will entice more visitors to become future contributors.

We look forward to seeing you soon, there-fore, on www.efort.org.

The EFORT Portal aims to improve communication and collabora-tion within the European orthopae-dic community. A Content Steering Committee has become an important factor in assuring its quality. Main goals are to support global orthopae-dic education, improve clinical prac-tice, promote scienti�c research and support the development of medi-cal standards and guidelines within Europe. Prof. Günther, Chairman of the Portal Content Steering Commit-tee, hopes to open the Portal wider to the orthopaedic community and to make it more interactive. Some visi-tors will hopefully become contribu-tors as a result.


trainees, experienced surgeons and members of industry.

As a member of EFORT’s Scientific Publishing Committee, I am responsible for pushing forward the EFORT Book series, introduced with Wolfhart Puhl’s first book on total hip arthroplasty. We are now proceeding with the publication of the Madrid Tribology Day presentations and a book on scoliosis. We plan to continue with tribology books and also to involve speciality societies in contrib-uting additional topics for the book series.

Since my 1994 election as President of the Austrian Orthopaedic Society, I became per-manent national delegate to EFORT. After early years of active involvement in these duties, it was my primary objective to realise our society’s goal of organising the EFORT congress in Vienna. We finally succeeded when European delegates opted for Vienna as the site of the 2009 Congress. I joined EFORT’s Executive Committee as co-opted member after my society backed me as Con-gress President.

Together with Karl-Göran Thorngren, then EFORT President, we had a wonderful time organising the event with the indispensible help of EFORT’s Head O�ce and Executive Board members of the Austrian Society. The Vienna Congress went on to become a really successful event, with nearly 6,500 partici-pants, an excellent industry exhibition and industry sponsorship – all despite a very strained global economy. In their feedback, participants also judged its scienti�c value as outstanding.

An interesting new focus on the tribology of total hip arthroplasty also developed at the sessions in Vienna, laying the ground work for a “Tribology Day” during the Madrid Con-gress. It will be a regular highlight of future EFORT congresses. As Chairman of Tribology Day’s organising committee, my major goals are to build upon its successful beginnings and establish it as an event of interest for

EFORT Publications

Many contributions to the EFORT Book seriesby Prof. Karl Knahr, Editor in Chief EFORT Book Series

An important goal of the Austrian Orthopaedic Society was to bring the EFORT congress to Vienna. The event materialised successfully with nearly 6,500 participants, excellent industry participation and top marks for its sci-enti�c value. There was a new focus on the tribology of total hip arthro-plasty which led to a Tribology Day in Madrid, a format that will be continued in future congresses. Prof. Knahr and the Scienti�c Publishing Committee have been actively involved in helping to make the EFORT Book series become a reality.

Advances and Perspectives in Spinstructures and Spintrans-port

ISBN 978-3-642-19428-3

1 23

1During the 2010 EFORT Congress in Madrid, many interesting topics relating to tribology in total hip arthroplasty were discussed during a special day devoted entirely to the subject. So successful was the day, and such was the broad interest in the discussions, that EFORT decided that publication of all the presentations would be warmly welcomed by fellow professionals who were unable to attend. This book is the result. It includes detailed in-formation on the different articulating materials and the wear to which they are subject. The various factors that contribute to bearing performance and control wear are thoroughly evaluated, and careful consideration is given to the technology and design solutions proposed with a view to producing low-wearing hip joints. This book will be of interest both to novices who want to learn more about the field and to experienced orthopaedic surgeons wishing to keep abreast of the latest developments.

Knahr Ed.

EFORT Reference in Orthopaedics and TraumatologyWolfhart Puhl · George Bentley · Klaus-Peter Günther Series Editors

Tribology in Total Hip ArthroplastyKarl KnahrEditor

Tribology in Total Hip Arthroplasty

Tribology in Total Hip Arthroplasty

EFORT Reference in Orthopaedics and TraumatologyWolfhart PuhlGeorge BentleyKlaus-Peter Günther Series Editors

Karl KnahrEditor

Celebrating the 10th EFORT Congress in Vienna, 2009

K. Knahr in Vienna with E. Caceres Palou, Chairman LOC

11th EFORT Congress Madrid 2010


EFORT Publications

EFORT Journal: Hook-up with members and the worldby Prof. Wolfhart Puhl, EFORT Past President; Editor in Chief EFORT Journal EOTR; Chairman External A�airs & Liaison Committee

Discussions about establishing an EFORT journal that took place before my presi-dency from 2006 to 2007 had also covered possible cooperation with existing publica-tions. Intensive talks in connection with a new EFORT Textbook publisher also o�ered a chance to resolve this issue and get it on the road.

A consensus was reached within the Executi-ve Committee and later the General Assem-bly that EFORT needed a journal, particularly because the di�erent member languages and diverse health care systems were impeding communication within the organisation. Our discussions with EFORT’s new partner in the �eld of publications, Springer, led to a decision favouring an electronic journal that would have the invaluable advantage at the start-up phase of speedy production and cost-free dissemination to all members.

We agreed eventually on the title “EOTR” for the journal: European Orthopaedics and Traumatology – O�cial Journal of EFORT. It was introduced for the �rst time at the

EFORT 2010 Congress in Madrid and will thus celebrate its �rst birthday at the 2011 Con-gress in Copenhagen.

The workload required prior to start-up and during the �rst year of its existence far exceeded what had been planned. Di�cul-ties still to overcome include the remaining routine start-up phase problems, ongoing linguistic barriers burdening communica-

tions and the missing impact factor.

The EFORT Journal has bright prospects because:

• EOTR is our journal - one that’s up-to-date, cost-free and solely dependent on us forits appearance and quality.

• As an electronic journal, it presents EFORT globally, thus largely contributing to apositive image free of charge through an immediate and broad distribution.

• Despite the undeveloped impact factor so far, authors are having their pro�les and opinions promoted on a larger stage.

It will be an important next step in deve-lopment of the EOTR to institutionalise the cooperation with both national societies and speciality societies in the EOTR Editorial Board.

The work of experienced as well as novice scientists from all of Europe should be shaped in concert in order to further develop this project successfully.

The di�erent languages and diverse health care systems among EFORT members made a common journal that much more important. Out of talks with the new publishing partner, the decision was reached on an electronic journal: faster to produce and free to distribute. The EFORT Journal - EOTR - was �rst introduced at the 2010 Madrid Congress. The inevitable start-up glitches, have been overshadowed by the obvious advantages of esta-blishing a low-cost global pro�le for EFORT and the Journal’s authors.

EuropeanOrthopaedics andTraumatology

123

www.efort.orgFree Online Access

for all EFORT members!

123

Reviews Vasilevsky C-A, Belliveau P, Trudel JL, Stein BL: Fistulas complicating diverticulitis 57

Breysem L, Smet M-H, Van Lierde S, Devlieger H: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia: correlation of radio graphic and clinical findings 61

Martin L, Buonomo C: Acute chest syndrome of sickle cell disease:

radio graphic and clinical analysis of 70 cases 68








Haboubi NY, Abdalla SA, AMini S, Clark P, Dougal M, Dube A, Schofield P:The novel combination of fat clearance and immuno histochemistry improves prediction of the outcome of patients with colorectal carcinomas: a preliminary study 99


Medinna LS, BArnes PD, Donovan MJ, Taylor GH:Radiologic-Pathologic Conference of Children’s Hospital Boston: Intraconal mass in the orbit of an infant 108

Indexed and Index Medicus in abstracted by Current Contents

European Orthopaedics and Traumatology Volume 1 · Number 2 · September 2010

EFORT Journal

Volume 1Number 2September 2010

Offi cial Journal of the European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology

12570 European Orthopaedics_EFORT.indd 1 24.08.10 12:23

The EFORT Executive Committee at the strategy meeting in Allgäu in 2005


I first heard about EFORT from Professors George Bentley and Michael Freeman in 1990. I had been working at Saint Georges University Hospital in London while they were preparing the 1st EFORT Congress in Paris, which I later attended. The Munich Congress was my �rst opportunity to make a scienti�c presentation at an EFORT event. I’ve participated in all EFORT meetings since, maintaining frequent contact with the umbrella organisation and receiving regular updates on developments.

In the meantime, I was a founding member of the European Hip Society (EHS), becoming our national representative in 2002. In 2006 I was elected its President for the years 2008 to 2010. Initially I acted as occasional liaison with EFORT in connection with my speciali-ty �eld of hip arthroplasty. But I now dealt with it from a di�erent perspective: that of

a representative of a major European speci-ality society.

As President of EHS, I made a persistent, intense and responsible e�ort to impro-ve relations between EHS and EFORT. As a result, I was invited to EFORT Congresses on a regular basis and as a guest to the General Assembly. During that period EFORT had changed its strategy in recognition of the need for a strong partnership with the European speciality societies. Only as a united team and as a strong umbrella organi-sation could EFORT gain the widest possi-ble acceptance it deserves in the European orthopaedic family! The changed strategy was re�ected in the important autumn 2009 decision by EFORT’s Executive Committee to create a Speciality Societies Standing Com-mittee.

The Committee’s �rst meeting was con-ducted in Zurich on 3 February 2010. Repre-sentatives of the “big �ve” were invited: EHS, the European Foot and Ankle Society (EFAS), the European Paediatric Orthopaedic Soci-ety (EPOS), the European Society of Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy (ESSKA) and the European Society for Sur-gery of the Shoulder and the Elbow (SECEC). The meeting concluded with the nominati-on of a Chairman who would represent the Standing Committee in the EFORT Executi-ve Committee as a co-opted member. I was honoured to take on this challenging respon-sibility for the period from February 2010 to May 2011.

The experience has taught me how di�cult it is to overcome the political barriers within di�erent societies. On one hand, EFORT’s primary responsibility is to its members, the

Speciality Societies

Improving communication lines with Speciality Societiesby Dr. George Macheras, Chairman EFORT Speciality Societies Standing Committee

As EHS national representative and later its President, Prof. Macheras’ liaison perspective with EFORT evol-ved from that of a hip arthroplas-ty specialist to a representative of a major European speciality society. The special e¢ort he made during his pre-sidency to improve his society’s rela-tionship with EFORT led to invitations as a guest at the EFORT congresses and the General Assembly. EFORT also changed its strategy during that period, recognising the necessity of a strong partnership with the European speciality societies. The changed stra-tegy was re�ected in the important decision by EFORT’s Executive Com-mittee to create a Speciality Society Standing Committee.

national associations, which form the Gene-ral Assembly and thus make the strategic decisions. On the other hand, there are the speciality societies which have other aims and needs. One of EFORT’s roles is to �nd the right political balance between the two.

I have recognised a signi�cant improvement in the relationship between EFORT and the European speciality societies since I helped form this new Committee within EFORT, especially in the last months. We have not yet achieved all our goals. But there is a general feeling now, supported by most members, that EFORT can play a major role as the political representative of the ortho-paedic community in Europe. And further-more, that it can become the platform for interaction among ongoing educational pro-grammes of both the national associations and the speciality societies.

Members of the Speciality Societies Standing Commit-

tee and the EFORT Executive Committee, 2010


My engagement with EFORT began as a founding member at the organisation’s �rst meeting at Marentino, Italy, in 1991 when I was President of Austria’s National Orthopa-edic Society.

EFORT was founded with a lot of enthusiasm. Its fast growth and dynamism also meant dealing with continuously changing secre-tariats and treasurers, which unfortunately created a loss of experience and institutional memory. It was during my presidency that EFORT established a Head O�ce in Zurich with our own sta�, and a �nancial manage-ment section. This major step doubtlessly laid the basis for the rapid growth of our federation.

During my presidency I also had the oppor-tunity to introduce the EFORT Fora project through which EFORT directly supports the congresses of our national societies. In orga-

nising these EFORT Fora, we realised their excellent opportunity for introducing new techniques and the advantage for Europe-an orthopaedic surgeons to discuss national di�erences on a scienti�cally high level. Fur-thermore, it was a very nice opportunity to have the EFORT Executive Committee direct-ly involved in the national orthopaedic con-gresses in Europe.

EAR, the European Arthroplasty Register, was founded in the year 2005. Together with my colleague, Dr. Gerold Labek, I already had the opportunity back in 2001 to transfer

Register

Establishing a European Arthroplasty Registerby Prof. Nikolaus Böhler, EFORT Past President; Chairman EAR Commit-tee; Chairman EFORT ExMEx Fora

EFORT got o¢ to an enthusiastic start, but fast growth, changing secretariats and treasurers took their toll. During Prof. Böhler’s presidency, EFORT esta-blished a new Head O�ce in Zurich that helped toward sustainable rapid growth as an important Europe-an institution. Establishment of the EFORT Fora programme provided a great opportunity to introduce new techniques and to discuss di¢erent national practices at a quality level. EFORT also helped spread the Nordic idea of implant registers, creating promising rewards for all Europe. An important project that Prof. Böhler is currently leading is the European Arthroplasty Register.K.-G. Thorngren hands over the Past President`medal to N. Böhler (EFORT President 2002/2003)

at the Opening Ceremony of the 9th EFORT Congress in Nice, 2008

the originally Scandinavian idea of implant registers to our members in east European countries. We got particularly involved with creating national registers in Romania and Slovakia. The experience underscored the need for an EFORT-supported initiative to create national registers throughout Europe, to coordinate such activities and to de�ne minimal common requirements.

The “EAR-Verein” established for that reason has become my main EFORT activity today. EAR was able to get two grants by the Euro-pean Union allowing us to demonstrate the importance of implant registers for quality assessment in orthopaedics. I strongly belie-ve that this EAR project will clearly in�uence the development of both arthroplasty sur-gery and new types of implants. I am very optimistic, therefore, that this European idea will continue to prosper under the EFORT umbrella.


UEMS (Union Européenne des Méde-cins Spécialistes) was formed in 1957, a year after the Treaty of Rome created the European Community. The organisation’s primary purpose remained unchanged throughout its existence: development and maintenance of the highest standards in education, training and practice of medi-cal specialists throughout Europe and the continuing improvement and harmonisati-on of these standards in the ever expan-ding European Union. This is tied to the second UEMS objective: encouragement of free movement of professionals throug-hout Europe.

The UEMS always had a close relationship with EFORT. Aims are similar and both organisations represent views of the nati-

onal associations, whose representatives sit in the General Assembly of EFORT and form the Section of Trauma and Orthopae-dics in the UEMS.

For the past three years I have been privi-leged to be the President of this Section and have enjoyed being a co-opted mem-ber of the EFORT Executive Committee. An important element in ensuring that standards of specialist practice are equi-valent across the European Union, despite very di�erent training programmes, is to encourage similar methods of assessment. For over ten years, UEMS held the EBOT orthopaedic examination. EFORT has now agreed to take over the administration of this exam, as it becomes an increasin-gly popular �nal assessment of training. One of our major combined projects is the development of a Europe wide assessment, individualised by each nation and regula-ted and moderated internationally, which will eventually lead to a European Board Quali�cation, recognised universally.

In 2010, for the �rst time, the written part of the EBOT examination, comprising a two hour MCQ paper, was taken as an online test in centres across Europe. Candidates were required to pass it before proceeding to the oral assessment later in the year.

EFORT and UEMS

Harmonising standards, developing educational toolsby Mr. John Albert, President Section of Trauma and Orthopaedics, UEMS

The EFORT “Comprehensive Review Course,” held annually at the congresses, has contributed greatly to the recognition of the standards required for the European exam, and to �nal assessments in national programmes across Europe. UEMS plans to hold an annual Examiners Course to ensure consistency among examiners.

The challenging problem of manpower throughout Europe, and assessing current and future needs for specialists in ortho-paedics, are other areas of convergence between EFORT and UEMS. At the Madrid Congress in 2010, UEMS held a symposium on manpower problems in di�erent nations. It demonstrated some of the challenges facing many national organisations: reduc-tion in working hours; increasing numbers of female graduates reluctant to embark upon careers in surgery; general economic downturn and its e�ect upon healthcare systems; and the continuing east to west professional “brain drain” related to eco-nomic and professional considerations.

The continued cooperation between the UEMS and EFORT in the harmonisation of standards and the development of edu-cational tools such as symposia, fora and similar events, and of course the annual congress, can only help to con�rm to the public, the politicians and the profession the value of promoting European trauma and orthopaedics.

UEMS, a union of European medical specialists, encourages free move-ment of professionals around Europe in its goal to improve and harmonise training, standards and practice. As President of its orthopaedics section, Mr. Albert works closely with EFORT toward these common goals, including the encouragement of similar assess-ment methods and a project to cre-ate a universally recognised European Board Quali�cation. EFORT took over from UEMS the administration of the EBOT exam, part of which was �rst taken in 2010 online in centres across Europe. Organisational convergence produced a “Comprehensive Review Course” at the annual EFORT con-gresses, and there are plans to hold an annual Examiners Course to ensure consistency.


EFORT Management

EFORT’s 20th anniversary represents a unique opportunity to take note of some of the key successes of the organisation. When looking back it is rewarding to endorse the vision of a Federation which has enjoyed 20 years of continuing growth in almost all arenas and has invested in those areas which will be critical for its future.

EFORT provides an international stage for education and scienti�c exchange for its nearly 50 member countries representing more than 45,000 members. As a critical �rst step we also directed our e�orts at increasing awareness amongst policy makers, health care providers and the public.

EFORT, from modest beginnings, has established itself as a viable organisation, particularly in terms of �nancial stability, as reported by its treasurer, Stephen Cannon. It is our conviction that EFORT in future should be realigned around four main areas of activity; education, scienti�c exchange, external relations and partnerships, and raising awareness.

As the newly appointed senior management, acting on behalf of the Head O°ce team, we will seek to actively support the outstan-ding work of the Executive Committee members, and the various committees and taskforces, as well as to promote a multi-stakeholder approach, while focusing on these key areas of activity.

The EFORT annual congress has established itself as a vital annual meeting point for the orthopaedic and traumatology communi-ties. With over 8,000 participants and a threshold of 3,000 submitted abstracts, the congress allows EFORT to meet the objectives outlined in its mission statement. It is also an opportunity to reach a growing audience, an aspect that is developing very well. Last year’s meeting in Madrid also served to further establish the EFORT brand, with the right balance between professionalism, industry co-operation and a stimulating environment.

As regards speci�c health campaigns and raising awareness, EFORT is pleased to announce that within the Health Priorities set out in the agenda of the European Union in the “Europe 2020 Strategy”, the “register for hip and knee arthroplasty” has been retained to emphasise the importance of promoting improved care of patients with hip or knee joint replacements. This was achieved as a result of the public consultation process involved in the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing. This is a very positive outcome, and clearly demonstrates that the Commission recognises the value of national registers to improve quality of care, in particular for the bene�t of the elderly.

EFORT, in joining a campaign such as “The Decade of Action for Road Safety”, has the opportunity to advocate and advance the understanding of musculoskeletal conditions and injuries. To quote a recent statement from Professor Pierre Ho�meyer, “EFORT as an educational organisation is primarily dedicated to teaching and promoting the best standards of practice and techniques of muscu-loskeletal surgery for victims of crashes and accidents through-out Europe”.

With degenerative joint diseases accounting for half of all chronic diseases in people 65 years and older and with road tra°c acci-dents as one of the ten leading causes of death worldwide, we seek to encourage creative collaboration involving all stakeholder organisations to tackle the immense burden musculoskeletal conditions represent for the general population. It is a challenge no organisation can meet alone and must be borne on many shoulders.

Photo: from left to right: Régine Brühweiler (Head of Events), Adrian Ott (Managing Director), Nina Nürnberger (Manager Administration)

Forthcoming EFORT Congresses13th EFORT CongressBerlin, 23-25 May 2012

14th EFORT Congress Istanbul, 5-8 June 2013

15th EFORT Congress London, 4-7 June 2014

16th EFORT CongressPrague, 27-30 May 2015

EFORT Head O�ce Technoparkstrasse 1 8005 Zurich, Switzerland

Phone +41 (44) 448 4400 Fax +41 (44) 448 4411

o�[email protected] www.efort.org

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