Page 54 - ISAKOS 2019 Newsletter Vol II

AWARD & FELLOWSHIP REPORTS
2019 ISAKOS-ISMF CONFERENCE
SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT:
A VALUABLE AND EDUCATIONALLY-ENRICHING EXPERIENCE
Rakesh John, MBBS, MS, DNB, MRCS(Eng), Dip SICOT, MNAMS Arthroscopy, Sports Medicine & Joint Preservation Fellow
Dalhousie University Halifax, NS, CANADA
Being selected for the prestigious ISAKOS-ISMF scholarship for the year 2019 was an absolute honor and rates high in my brief list of accomplishments so far. The 19th edition of the ISMF (International Sports Medicine Fellows) conference more than exceeded my expectations and turned out to be an intense learning experience–both academically and in terms of hands-on skills training.
I journeyed from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada to Carlsbad, California for this meeting, which started on January 18, 2019. I was both thrilled and awed to be surrounded by an elite faculty comprising a Who’s Who in sports medicine and arthroscopy surgery. The faculty included expert senior surgeons and great teachers such as Dr. John Fulkerson, Dr. Jack Farr, Dr. Bert Mandelbaum, Dr. Tom Minas, Dr. Brian Cole, and Dr. Christian Lattermann, to name a few. The members of this illustrious faculty are responsible for most of the sports-medicine literature that has appeared in journals and textbooks over the last few decades!
The first session focused on patellofemoral joint disorders and included an excellent hands-on cadaveric workshop, during which I had the opportunity to perform a MPFL reconstruction, lateral retinacular lengthening procedure, and tibial tubercle osteotomy under the guidance of Dr. John Fulkerson (who originally described the osteotomy) and Dr. Marc Tompkins. This session was followed by a cadaveric workshop on ultrasound-guided hip, knee, and shoulder injections, during which we had a chance to brush up on our ultrasound skills under expert guidance. The afternoon and evening sessions focused on cartilage-repair techniques and brilliantly summarized the latest developments and current treatment algorithms for cartilage defects. Interactions with exhibitors during breaks brought us up-to-date with the latest technology available in the market. The first day concluded with a pleasant welcome reception cocktail hour and dinner.
The second day kicked off with an entertaining, interactive session during which both fellows and faculty presented interesting cases along with their respective plans of action. The next two sessions focused on detailed descriptions of different surgical techniques and their respective outcomes as reported in the literature. Dr. Tom Minas, Professor Emeritus at Harvard University, delivered an excellent keynote oration on the evolution of the ACI (autologous chondrocyte implantation) procedure, which was received with great appreciation from the audience. The afternoon session included surgical demonstrations of meniscal root repair, meniscal transplantation, HTO (high tibial osteotomy), MACI (matrix-induced autologous chondrocyte implantation), OATS (osteoarticular transfer system), and TTO (tibial tubercle osteotomy) procedures; what’s more, we could practice what we saw in these surgical demonstrations during the concluding cadaveric knee workshop session!
It was a pleasure interacting with my co-scholars, including Dr. Jaime Palos (Mexico), Dr. Radoslaw Grabowski (Poland), and Dr. Weili Fu (China); I hope to strengthen bonds with, and continue to learn from, these bright surgeons in the future! I sincerely thank the ISAKOS committee and the organizing team of the ISMF conference for considering me for this scholarship. Special thanks to Ms. Hilary Merliner for all the cooperation and timely correspondence, which ensured a pleasant stay in Carlsbad. I will strive to utilize all of the new knowledge that I acquired during this meeting and build on this experience throughout my career. Someday, I hope to be on the podium presenting my own experience at a future ISAKOS meeting so that I can pass along this knowledge to other surgeons!
“I hope to strengthen bonds with, and continue to learn from, these bright surgeons in the future!”
52 ISAKOS NEWSLETTER 2019: VOLUME II