Winter 2001 Newsletter

Scientific Committee
Alexandra Kirkley, M.D., FRCS, Vice-Chair
The scientific committee of ISAKOS is committed to the development and implementation of an international multicenter randomized clinical trial in orthopaedic sports medicine. In doing so, our organization will take a lead role in orthopaedic clinical research.

The cost in time, effort and money of a large-scale trial is significant, and it will be a challenge to piece together funding from granting agencies and industry in different countries. Therefore, it is imperative that the research question be an important one. At this time we are soliciting ideas for the scientific question that will be answered by the trial, keeping in mind that this should deal with a relatively common orthopaedic problem that has major impact on the quality of life of patients and where there is an area of significant controversy in the prevention or treatment thereof. If you would like to voice your opinion on the research question, please submit it to Dr. Alexandra Kirkley by fax at +1 (519) 661-4052, or e-mail akirkley@julian.uwo.ca.

An example of a suggested question is: Is electro shock wave therapy better than sham electro shock wave therapy for the reduction of pain and improvement of disease specific quality of life in patients with chronic rotator cuff tendinosis?

The scientific committee met by conference call in the Fall 2000 and will finalize a protocol at the meeting of the committee at the AAOS Annual Meeting in San Francisco. We will be soliciting volunteer ISAKOS members to be involved in the study at an informational meeting at the 2001 ISAKOS Congress in Montreux, Switzerland.

Membership Committee
Moises Cohen, M.D., Chairman
The Membership Committee's main goal is the diversification and expansion of ISAKOS membership. In the past three years we have increased our membership by 35 percent. The reaction has been highly positive and we are receiving application forms from all over the world. We are pleased because many well-known surgeons of our specialty are joining ISAKOS, which is a clear indication of the society's recognition. Many colleagues from distant countries have been looking to ISAKOS as an important professional affiliate.

Today, ISAKOS is the legitimate universal representative of all interested specialists in knee, arthroscopy and orthopaedic sports medicine.

The ISAKOS membership application is available in English and Spanish and soon in Portuguese. The annual membership fee is US$200, which includes a subscription to the journal Arthroscopy, biannual ISAKOS newsletters and reduced registration fees at the ISAKOS Congress. ISAKOS encourages membership by all members of the following societies: American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM); Arthroscopy Association of North America (AANA); Asia Pacific Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (APOSSM); Knee and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Section of the Western Pacific Orthopaedic Association (WPOA); European Society of Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery, and Arthroscopy (ESSKA); or Sociedad Latino Americana de Ortopedia y Traumatologia (SLARD).

To obtain an ISAKOS membership application, contact the ISAKOS office by fax at +1 (925) 314-7922, e-mail isakos@isakos.com, or you may download an application from the ISAKOS Web site.

To become an active member, the ISAKOS Office must receive all applications by February 1, 2001, to be reviewed at the AAOS Meeting in San Francisco, California (February 28, 2001) and at the ISAKOS Congress in Montreux, Switzerland (May 14-18, 2001).

Strategic Planning Committee
Terry Whipple, M.D., Chairman
The Strategic Planning Committee has a full agenda for the young and immature years of our new society. Based on input from group leadership sessions, committee members and others, we are helping various committees lay the groundwork for the following plans:

• Donating and sharing education and technical training with underdeveloped countries.
• Cooperating with international organizations such as the Red Cross and National Olympic Committees.
• Balancing the academic appeal of ISAKOS to joint reconstruction surgeons.
• Organizing traveling fellowship programs for members with commercial financial sponsors.
• We are challenged with making communication between members and ISAKOS committees easier via the Internet.

The plate is full and we encourage your input to any member of the Strategic Planning Committee.

Finance Committee
K.M. Chan, M.D., Chairman
Since ISAKOS took on an independent management office, we have invested in capital office equipment and information technology systems. This is an important long-term strategic development with the aim of serving our membership more effectively and building up links and partnership with the industry.

For the 2001 ISAKOS Congress, we will need extensive networking in soliciting sponsorship from corporate and industry. The Finance Committee would like to appeal to our membership to look for possible partners who have an interest in staging an exhibition or achieving corporate visibility at the ISAKOS Congress. The ISAKOS Office would contact the corporations directly for arrangements. Since this is the premiere meeting with world-leading specialists, it should be an attractive occasion.

The Finance Committee is also considering the engagement of a financial firm to invest our funds more effectively. We shall scrutinize these proposals very carefully, balancing profitability and security. This is one of the measures in building a good financial foundation for our society.

Once again, I would like to appeal to our membership for support. This is the lifeline of our society's existence and prosperity. See you soon in Montreux!

Arthroscopy Committee
Andre Frank, M.D., Chairman
The Arthroscopy Committee has been working in three main directions:

1. Standardized Terminologies and Lesion Classification. The committee has designated subcommittees to work on the challenge of creating uniform international definitions. Knee, shoulder, ankle and wrist are well-advanced.

2. International Multicenter Studies. Five multicenter studies have been initiated; data sheet and computer data basis should be available soon:

• Arthroscopy in elderly patients, A. Finsterbush
• Randomized multicenter study comparing open and endoscopic surgical treatment of jumper's knee, B. Jakobsen, N. Van Dijk
• Shoulder instability: Arthroscopical shrinkage, P. Hardy
• Painful meniscectomized knee: Revision arthroscopy, A. Frank
• Cystic degeneration of the meniscus, H. Pinar

Three other studies will follow:

• Arthroscopic treatment of Kienbock disease
• Arthroscopic treatment of hip osteochondromatosis
• OCD of the condyles (grade 2 and 3)

3. Bank of Photos/Videos Concerning Arthroscopic Findings and Procedures. The Internet has an extraordinary power concerning arthroscopic images. One of our projects would be to collect photos of arthroscopic findings and procedures (and possibly videos in the future) for educational purposes. All these data could be easily accessible on the ISAKOS Web site (or any other) and on CD-ROM.

Sports Medicine Committee
Gideon Mann, M.D., Chairman
In September 2000, the Sports Medicine Committee had an additional meeting during the ESSKA meeting in London and discussed the following issues:

Definition of the Sports Medicine Committee
The tendency in our committee was to avoid concrete definition and act according to ISAKOS policies without limiting thoughts or initiatives.

Connections With Sports Trauma Societies
Our committee will attempt to form connections with national sports injury societies. Accordingly, ISAKOS members are called upon to forward contact information and e-mail addresses of such societies to Dr. Hulylebroek or Dr. Mann via the ISAKOS Office.
ISAKOS Series in Sports Medicine

The issue is due to be implemented in the coming months based on the symposia and instructional courses planned for the ISAKOS Congress. Mode of publication has not yet been finalized. Any suggestions from ISAKOS members would be appreciated.

Citation Awards at ISAKOS Congress
Citation awards (not carrying financial benefit) will be presented to the best three papers and posters in sports medicine at the 2001 ISAKOS Congress. Subcommittees were selected to advance this mission.

Research in Prevention and Rehabilitation
a) A suggestion to search for subjects, researchers and grants for research in prevention and rehabilitation was widely discussed during our meeting
b) Any suggestions would be appreciated. Please contact Dr. Rolf or Dr. Mann via the ISAKOS Office.

Congratulations
a) To Dr. Krahl for his position as Director of the Medical Park institution.
b) To Dr. Rolf for his position as Director of the Sheffield Institute of Sports Medicine.
c) ISAKOS members considering a fellowship should contact our committee for further information.