Despite a tumultuous past two years, the International Orthopaedic Trauma Association (IOTA; http://internationalota.org ) continued to grow its active collaborative projects. Three new societies (South Sudan Orthopaedics and Trauma Society, Pakistan Orthopaedic Association, and Ecuadorian Society for Orthopaedics and Traumatology) have joined the association, bringing the total number of member organizations to 23 societies representing 24 countries, a doubling of the number of IOTA member societies since its founding in October, 2017. The collaborative projects, many of which will be reviewed in this newsletter, include supplementary publications, combined virtual and in-person symposia, and research studies. Programs postponed by the pandemic, including fellowship exchanges and meeting co-sponsorship, will resume in 2022. Most notably, the inaugural Triennial Meeting, which had been rescheduled both in 2020 and 2021 will finally be held in Amsterdam from December 14-16 in conjunction with the host Dutch Trauma Society. It will be during this meeting that the first class of Fellows of the IOTA (FIOTA), an honorary recognition bestowed on prominent leaders and contributors of the global orthopaedic trauma community, will be inducted. The Triennial Meeting will be another opportunity to promote the goals of the IOTA: to share ideas and practices, support collaboration, and create new opportunities to move the field of musculoskeletal injury care forward worldwide.

The year 2022 also brings a new editor of the newsletter, Bertil Bouillon of the German Trauma Society, who takes over for Tim Chesser of the British Orthopaedic Trauma Society. The IOTA would like to thank Dr. Chesser for his strong efforts and welcomes Dr. Bouillon as editor of this newsletter, which will highlight many of the ongoing IOTA activities. As the Chair of the IOTA Steering Committee, I look forward to an exciting year.

Sincerely,

Kees Jan Ponsen, MD

President, Congress Committee

Victor de Ridder, MD

Secretary, Congress Committee

Theodore Miclau, III, MD

IOTA Steering Committee Chair

The Pakistan Orthopedic Association, a non-profit NGO, was established in 1964 by Prof. Z K Kazi, Prof. Ali Muhammad Ansari, and the late Prof. A. Raheem. The POA is comprised of 1,475 members, and is the only legal entity in the country representing a community of Orthopedic Surgeons committed to research, patient care, and training. With its global vision of creating opportunities for education and research, the POA continues to expand with a rapidly growing number of members, training courses, a busy calendar fraught with workshops, and advanced courses for the trainees and consultants.

The POA has a governing body with elected representatives from all over the country and its General Body meets every year at its Annual Meeting. The organization gladly offers paid fellowships in Sports Medicine, Spine Surgery, Deformity Correction, Hand and Upper Limb Surgery, Joint Replacement, Trauma and Pediatric Orthopedic surgery. The POA joins the IOTA with a vision to collaborate in academics, global trauma care, and to work together to create a platform full of opportunities for research and education.

The South Sudan Orthopaedics and Trauma Society (SOTS) is a professional association that brings together orthopaedic surgeons, orthopaedic surgery trainees, and diverse medical professionals with an interest in the field. The SOTS, established in August 2021, is a not-for-profit organization that focuses on unifying the above roles towards the common goal of enhanced patient care, healthcare professionals’ welfare, and transformed lives. Our society considers access to orthopaedic care a basic human right. The society is leading a strategic endeavor to place itself at the centre of this ambitious drive. The SOTS intends on holding its first scientific conference, a flagship event that will bring together delegates from diverse practice settings to discuss current topics related to orthopaedics in a resource-limited setting. The meeting will be in hybrid format to ensure diverse participation. We are looking forward to this great event.

The Ecuadorian Society of Orthopedics and Traumatology (SEOT), founded in Guayaquil on September 18, 1952, is a non-profit society and subsidiary of the Latin American Society of Orthopedics and Traumatology (SLAOT). SEOT has 627 members, and the current the President is Dr. Esteban Garcés and the President of the Trauma Committee is Dr. David Escalante, who also represents the SEOT on the IOTA Steering Committee. Through the IOTA and other efforts, the SEOT seeks a greater international presence through their subspecialty committees, to have more and higher-level degrees of research, and to contribute more significantly in high level publications, and publish a greater number of projects that achieve high levels of academic rigor.

IOTA Symposium: Fragility Fractures: Current Treatment Controversies

Wednesday October 12th

International Trauma Care Forum

9:35 AM - 10:20 AM

Moderators: Hans-Christoph Pape, MD, FACS, FAAOS, FOA; Kees Jan Ponsen, MD;

Dennis den Hartog, MD, PhD; Fernanda Espinoza, MD; Guy Putzeys, MD;

Vincenzo Giordano, MD, PhD, FBCS

IOTA Symposium: Fracture-related Infections: Management in the Acute Setting

Thursday October 13th

General Session

1:15 PM - 2:15 PM

Moderators: Theodore Miclau, MD; Achille Contini, MD

Michael Verhofstad, MD, PhD; William Obremskey, MD, MPH; Yoram Weil, MD; Yoshinobu Watanabe, MD, PhD; Hans-Christoph Pape, MD, FACS, FAAOS, FOA; Kodi Kojima, MD

IOTA at the Annual Congress of ESTES

From Kees Jan Ponsen, MD:

We were honored to present a symposium at the annual congress of the European Society for Trauma and Emergency Surgery (ESTES). After two years of postponement, the congress finally took place in Oslo, Norway, from April 23-26.

IOTA was asked to organize a symposium around the multidisciplinary approach to patients with a pelvic injury. Bertil Bouillon, MD, PhD (Cologne, Germany) started off by discussing the “need to haves” and “want to haves” among diagnostics in this patient category. Klaus Wendt, MD, PhD (Groningen, Netherlands) followed by discussing the initial management of these patients. Zsolt J Balogh, MD, PhD (Newcastle, Australia) made a plea for early definitive management of the majority of pelvic fractures. Guy Putzeys, MD (Kortrijk, Belgium) talked about the growing category of patients with pelvic insufficiency fractures, as well as if and when we should treat them operatively. Finally, Falco Hietbrink, MD, PhD (Utrecht, Netherlands) presented on initial management and further strategies in the most severely injured trauma patients with closed and open pelvic injuries. After a lively discussion that included many highly engaged participants, we concluded that the symposium was fruitful and well-appreciated. We are honored to be invited back for the next congress in Ljubljana, Slovenia next year.

Furthermore, we are happy to report that ESTES will organize a symposium at the IOTA Triennial Meeting, to be held in Amsterdam, Dec. 14-16, 2022.

Japan will be the Guest Nation for the 38th OTA Annual Meeting in Tampa, Florida.