Annual symposium offers interactive, international learning experience

Now in its seventh year, the International Pediatric Orthopaedic Symposium (IPOS), presented by the AAOS and the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America, is a premier educational event focused on treating orthopaedic conditions in young patients. This year’s event takes place at the Walt Disney World Swan Resort in Orlando, Fla., Dec. 1–4.

The four-day IPOS program, led by course director John M. Flynn, MD, is a unique blend of lectures, breakout sessions, and hands-on workshops. To accommodate the diversity and subspecialty interests within pediatric orthopaedics, more than 45 breakout sessions, demonstrations, high-level hands-on technical workshops, and industry-sponsored sessions are offered.

“IPOS is a unique educational event, featuring a showcase of cutting-edge pediatric orthopaedics in a highly interactive environment,” says Dr. Flynn. “The course offers several hands-on workshops, enabling participants to explore new technologies and to use the surgical techniques and implants on saw-bone models.”

Registrants can choose from specialty breakout sessions on topics such as femoral acetabular impingement, principles of limb deformity correction, challenging sports cases, advanced Ponseti casting, hands-on pelvic osteotomy workshop, and selection of fusion levels for idiopathic scoliosis. IPOS covers all areas of pediatric orthopaedics—including sports medicine, trauma, spine, hip, and upper extremity, according to Dr. Flynn. Both frequently seen problems and rare conditions that demand specialized care will be reviewed.

International influence
The unique perspectives that international faculty bring to the program are among the attractions of IPOS. “International members often bring cutting-edge ideas not yet popular in the United States and actively debate with the U.S. faculty on the optimal care for different conditions,” noted Dr. Flynn.

“This year, each of the special focus areas will have an international guest faculty,” he added. “Professor Reinhold Ganz will address complex adolescent hip conditions; Professor Franz Grill will focus on managing complications in pediatric orthopaedics and limb deformity surgery; and Professor Kerr Graham is among the faculty for pediatric sports and decision-making and surgical techniques for ambulatory children with cerebral palsy.”

Whether you are an experienced orthopaedic surgeon, resident, fellow, or allied health provider, if your practice includes children or young athletes, this symposium updates you on today’s cutting-edge issues in pediatric orthopaedic surgery and prepares you to meet the diagnostic, procedural, and management challenges of their care needs.

Call for posters
Poster submissions are now being accepted for IPOS. The forms are available on the course Web page, which also includes faculty details, the workshop session schedule, and registration information. The deadline for poster submissions is Nov. 1, 2010.

Bronwyn Barrera, MBA, is a manager in the AAOS marketing department. She can be reached at barrera@aaos.org