Winter 2000 Newsletter

The 1999 ISAKOS Congress in Washington, D.C., was a great success with a wide variety of scientific activities of the highest quality. We are inspired, therefore, to make the 2001 ISAKOS Congress in Montreux, Switzerland, of comparable merit, a conference that everyone will remember as outstanding. This meeting will present the latest information on all different aspects of arthroscopy, knee surgery and orthopaedic sports medicine.

The program-at-large will be such that on Monday, May 14, 2001, there will be an opening ceremony and a welcome reception. From Tuesday to Friday, May 15-18, there will be a variety of activities and presentations. On Thursday, May 17, there will be farewell banquet, and on Friday, May 18, at noon the congress will close.

As always, scientific presentations by the delegates will fill a majority of the program. We would therefore urge you to present your latest research findings so that we all can discuss the frontlines in our exciting fields. A Call for Abstracts booklet, including guidelines for preparation of the abstract form and the abstract form itself, is now available from the ISAKOS Office and on the ISAKOS Web site. The deadline for receipt of all abstracts by the ISAKOS Office is July 1, 2000. Acceptable modes of presentation include podium, poster or video. Presenting a poster is a valuable opportunity, and a couple of poster awards will be organized. Video presentations will take place in the multimedia center, which will also offer a wide variety of video and CD-ROM selections from the AAOS library designed to improve your clinical decision-making skills.

A large number of symposia will be presented. The Program Committee will discuss these at a committee meeting at the upcoming AAOS Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida, in March. If you have any suggestions for symposia, please contact the ISAKOS Office. There will also be several high-quality instructional courses offered each morning.

Technical exhibits and mini hands-on labs will be presented, allowing participants to experiment with a variety of instrumentations and models. Participants will independently practice their choice of surgical skills pertaining to knot-tying, meniscus repair, ACL and PCL reconstruction, shoulder stabilization and rotator cuff repair. A variety of companies will provide specific technique instrumentation devices for these sessions.

Computer boot camps are also planned, where experienced instructors will teach computer basics. These courses were very popular at the last meeting.

Three awards will be given out during the congress. The prestigious Albert Trillat Young Investigator's Award was established in memory of Professor Albert Trillat, past president and founder of the International Society of the Knee. This award is given to a scientist under the age of 40 who has performed outstanding clinical or laboratory research contributing to the understanding, care or prevention of injuries to the knee.

The Achilles Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Research Award is sponsored by Aircast Inc. and is presented to researchers who have done outstanding clinical or laboratory research in the field of orthopaedic sports medicine, such as care and prevention of injuries.

The John J. Joyce Award was established in memory of one of the founding members of the International Arthroscopy Association and is given to the best arthroscopy paper read during the scientific program. Five finalists will be selected for this prize and will present their papers in a special session. The winning paper will then be announced at a special awards ceremony at the middle of the congress.

We encourage all members and participants to send in applications for these awards. There is nothing to lose.

We are truly looking forward to an exciting program and an exciting 2001 ISAKOS Congress in Montreux. See you there!