AOFAS Annual Meeting Highlights
BY ARIELLA P. GOLOMB, MD, JULY 17, 2006
This past weekend we attended the 22nd Annual Summer Meeting of the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society in La Jolla (AOFAS). The conference ran from July 14-16, 2006 at the Hilton Torrey Pines Hotel and there were approximately 400 attendees. Everyone was buzzing about the large valuation Smith & Nephew paid for OBI. The Pegagus Biologics booth also saw a lot of activity, while the Acumed exhibit remained, surprisingly, relatively quiet.
We were impressed with the number of exhibitors this year. Of the 68 exhibitors ~40% of the booths were comprised of implant manufactures, followed by a large (~20%) orthotics company representation. Other exhibitors included imaging, non-invasive therapies, biologics, external fixation and publishing companies. (For a full breakdown, see accompanying graph). DePuy, Acumed, Nexa and Wright had large, prominent booths. Unfortunately, given the layout, there were a few big names placed in a back room. Smith & Nephew, Isotis, Ascension, SBI and KMI were all outside the flow of foot traffic, and we hope next year's conference planners will organize the space so that each of the companies gets equal air time.
One of the much talked about clinical presentations was given by Steven L. Haddad, MD, entitled "Intermediate and Long Term Outcomes after Total Ankle Arthroplasty (TAA) and Ankle Arthrodesis: A Systematic Review of the Literature and Meta-Analysis." After funneling a Medline search from 460 citations to 56 relevant papers, the authors concluded that TAA appears to be equivalent when compared with arthrodesis, but the data was sparse. They called for prospective direct comparison studies to strengthen their conclusion. In follow-up discussion, the sessions' moderator, Steve Conti, MD, pointed out that the paper would be helpful in the states that currently deny coverage for TAA. Also, a audience member shared that in Canada they are currently conducting a prospective study evaluating fusion versus replacement in >300 patients. Notably, they're exploring the opportunity to randomize the patient population, something Dr. Haddad commented would be very difficult, if not impossible to do in the US.
Besides TAA, the other clinical topics covered included reconstruction, computer assisted surgery, sports, nerve disorders, hallux valgus, orthobiologics, flatfoot, soft tissue, hallux rigidus, post tibial tendon and hindfoot fusions.
Perhaps one of the most well received presentations was not a clinical study, but rather a personal recollection of how to find balance in one's professional career. Dr. Lowell Lutter gave the Kenneth A. Johnson Memorial Lecture, entitled "Balance, Tempo, Focus - Parts of the Good Life... But I Digress" where he provided the packed room of physicians with advice on how to balance the important competing life priorities: Career, Family/Friends and Leisure. He spoke very fondly of his career, colleagues and ability to also have a meaningful, long-lasting relationship with his family. His inspirational talk, while geared toward foot & ankle surgeons, is highly relevant to any professional trying to balance all that life has to offer.
We look forward to next year's meeting to take place July 11-15 in Toronto.
