SICOTNEWS
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Case of the Month What is your diagnosis? To find out the answer and to see further comments, please go to the SICOT website: http://www.sicot.org/?id_page=173 Country to Country Series (continued) The most difficult situation for SICOT during that time was the attempt of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) to form a world organisation of orthopaedics. All this started with the “International Presidents’ Breakfast” and ended in a proposal for statutes, during the AAOS Presidency of Bob D’Ambrosia, for a World Orthopaedic Forum in Orlando, Florida, in 2000. At our SICOT meeting in Madrid on 30 September 2000 I invited Bob D’Ambrosia to defend his proposal in front of the SICOT delegates. Since he refused to come to Madrid, I organised a telephone conference, where 70 national delegates were present, 49 of them Presidents, Past Presidents or Presidents Elect of their country. Bob D’Ambrosia’s proposal to form a world organisation of orthopaedics under the leadership of the USA was completely rejected and finally the AAOS gave up this idea, especially when terrorists attacked the USA. Due to the attack on the World Trade Centre Twin Towers on 11 September 2001, my period as President was difficult because of 6 SICOTNEWS | April 2009 - No. 116 A 52-year-old male carpenter sustained a fall and presented himself with a painful shoulder. What is your diagnosis? The X-ray (figure 1) shows clear signs of: • Subcapital fracture? • Displaced 4-part fracture? • Displaced 3-part fracture with head split? • Dislocation fracture? • Pathological fracture? Author: Prof Dr Frank Gohlke Orthop. Klin. König-Ludwig-Haus Brettreichstrasse 11 97074 WURZBURG Germany Fax: +49 (931) 803-1109 travel restrictions and economic downturns. Nevertheless, the 2002 Triennial World Congress in San Diego, organised together with Chad Smith, USA, was a big success and 3,000 participants showed up. The weather was fine, the scientific content high and financially this was one of the best TWC, with an enormous success due to the efforts of Denise Duhaime, who organised the financial part to our utter satisfaction. I do not want to end this AUSTRIAN report without mentioning Karl Knahr, former National Delegate and Chairman of the Publications and Communications Committee; Reinhard Windhager from Graz as his successor as National Delegate; Cyril Toma, founder and Chairman of the Young Surgeons Committee; and Vilmos Vécsei, Chairman of the Trauma Committee. As I am ending my period as Head of the Orthopaedic Department of the Medical University of Vienna this year, I wish SICOT all the best for the future. (The complete article can be found on the SICOT website in Library/ Articles & Lectures)
Patricia Fucs SICOT Treasurer Congratulations on being nominated as SICOT Treasurer for a second term. What motivated you to become Treasurer in 2005? SICOT has had a special place in my life from the beginning, as it gave me the opportunity to undertake the fellowship at the DuPont Institute with Dr Dean MacEwen a long time ago. Thanks to him I started learning about the Society and what it represents to the world of Orthopaedics. Back in Brazil I knew Prof Márcio Ibraim de Carvalho, former National Delegate, who was always telling young surgeons about the importance of the world Society. When he finished his terms, I was elected National Delegate in 1999 with his support. Sydney was my first meeting as National Delegate and I was the only female Delegate, which was quite uncommon at that time. In fact, I had never thought about being a member of the EC, not even Treasurer. I knew about the nomination when I arrived in Istanbul and it was a great honour for me. Without the support of many EC members and Past Presidents of SICOT, it never would have happened What would you like to achieve in the next three-year term? Being Treasurer means that you should know about management, in which, as a surgeon I was never experienced. So, trying to learn how to deal with many numbers and statements was very difficult. Now, after my first term, I believe that I have learned a lot and have tried to make all the finances clearer to all members. Nowadays, with the economic crisis the world is changing and we have to face more difficulties and challenges to continue our mission. Why did you decide to become a SICOT member in 1990 and how has the Society changed in your opinion? As I mentioned before, finding out about SICOT was an unexpected event in my life during my residency. Then I saw the opportunity for fellowships through the SICOT members in the USA. The mission of our society, which is to develop education worldwide, has never changed. Interview What first attracted you to paediatric orthopaedic surgery in particular? The care for children is for me the most special area in Orthopaedics. Within the specialty of Paediatric Orthopaedics, I am mainly dedicated to neuromuscular conditions and trauma. It is known that there are comparatively very few female orthopaedic surgeons in the world. What are the reasons behind this discrepancy and do you think the situation will change in the future? In the past, surgery was mainly for men, especially because women didn’t attend medical schools. In the last century this changed and more women had access to all universities. Today, the profile of medical schools around the world seems to be changing in a similar way, as there are more and more female students. Why were there fewer women in medicine? You could not find an answer anywhere. Maybe women are more active today, maybe the time to become a medical doctor is too long, maybe women didn’t want to wait that long, who knows? But we are more persistent. What we do know is that there are more female doctors now, and consequently more female surgeons, orthopaedic surgeons too. In Brazil, among the almost 10,000 members of the Brazilian Society, we are around 300, so really a minority. This number will probably increase in the next decade, at least I hope so. What obstacles, if any, did you have to overcome? We all have obstacles, difficulties and challenges to face in our professional lives. It doesn’t matter if you are a male or female surgeon. The female surgeons have more roles to play at the same time: a professional life to work on, a family to take care of, children, husband, and so on. Therefore, I do believe that we are very strong and faithful to be able to accomplish so many tasks at the same time. And we do it all using our sharp minds, strong hands and gentle hearts. SICOTNEWS | April 2009 - No. 116 7
- Page 1 and 2: In this issue In Memoriam: Prof Hen
- Page 3 and 4: A Gateway to Orthopaedics Worldwide
- Page 5: A committee, which consisted of Spi
- Page 9 and 10: Bangkok Thai puppet show, one of th
- Page 11 and 12: The Sanctuary of Truth Pattaya Disc
Patricia Fucs<br />
SICOT Treasurer<br />
Congratulations on being nominated as SICOT Treasurer<br />
for a second term. What motivated you to become<br />
Treasurer in 2005?<br />
SICOT has had a special place in my life from the beginning,<br />
as it gave me the opportunity to undertake the fellowship at the<br />
DuPont Institute with Dr Dean MacEwen a long time ago.<br />
Thanks to him I started learning about the Society and what it<br />
represents to the world of Orthopaedics. Back in Brazil I knew<br />
Prof Márcio Ibraim de Carvalho, former National Delegate, who<br />
was always telling young surgeons about the importance of<br />
the world Society. When he finished his terms, I was elected<br />
National Delegate in 1999 with his support. Sydney was my<br />
first meeting as National Delegate and I was the only female<br />
Delegate, which was quite uncommon at that time.<br />
In fact, I had never thought about being a member of the EC,<br />
not even Treasurer. I knew about the nomination when I arrived<br />
in Istanbul and it was a great honour for me. Without the<br />
support of many EC members and Past Presidents of SICOT,<br />
it never would have happened<br />
What would you like to achieve in the next three-year<br />
term?<br />
Being Treasurer means that you should know about<br />
management, in which, as a surgeon I was never experienced.<br />
So, trying to learn how to deal with many numbers and<br />
statements was very difficult. Now, after my first term, I believe<br />
that I have learned a lot and have tried to make all the finances<br />
clearer to all members.<br />
Nowadays, with the economic crisis the world is changing and<br />
we have to face more difficulties and challenges to continue<br />
our mission.<br />
Why did you decide to become a SICOT member in 1990<br />
and how has the Society changed in your opinion?<br />
As I mentioned before, finding out about SICOT was an<br />
unexpected event in my life during my residency. Then I saw<br />
the opportunity for fellowships through the SICOT members in<br />
the USA. The mission of our society, which is to develop<br />
education worldwide, has never changed.<br />
Interview<br />
What first attracted you to paediatric orthopaedic<br />
surgery in particular?<br />
The care for children is for me the most special area in<br />
Orthopaedics. Within the specialty of Paediatric Orthopaedics,<br />
I am mainly dedicated to neuromuscular conditions and trauma.<br />
It is known that there are comparatively very few female<br />
orthopaedic surgeons in the world. What are the reasons<br />
behind this discrepancy and do you think the situation<br />
will change in the future?<br />
In the past, surgery was mainly for men, especially because<br />
women didn’t attend medical schools. In the last century this<br />
changed and more women had access to all universities.<br />
Today, the profile of medical schools around the world seems<br />
to be changing in a similar way, as there are more and more<br />
female students. Why were there fewer women in medicine?<br />
You could not find an answer anywhere. Maybe women are<br />
more active today, maybe the time to become a medical doctor<br />
is too long, maybe women didn’t want to wait that long, who<br />
knows? But we are more persistent. What we do know is that<br />
there are more female doctors now, and consequently more<br />
female surgeons, orthopaedic surgeons too. In Brazil, among<br />
the almost 10,000 members of the Brazilian Society, we are<br />
around 300, so really a minority. This number will probably<br />
increase in the next decade, at least I hope so.<br />
What obstacles, if any, did you have to overcome?<br />
We all have obstacles, difficulties and challenges to face in<br />
our professional lives. It doesn’t matter if you are a male or<br />
female surgeon. The female surgeons have more roles to play<br />
at the same time: a professional life to work on, a family to take<br />
care of, children, husband, and so on. Therefore, I do believe<br />
that we are very strong and faithful to be able to accomplish so<br />
many tasks at the same time. And we do it all using our sharp<br />
minds, strong hands and gentle hearts.<br />
<strong>SICOTNEWS</strong> | April 2009 - No. 116<br />
7
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