Our medical staff and researchers are attending the 2017 EPOSNA meeting this week in Barcelona, Spain, which combines experts in pediatric orthopedics from North America and Europe. This is the first year the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA) and the European Pediatric Orthopaedic Society (EPOS) will join in collaboration to highlight pediatric orthopedic education and research. The meeting will begin with the educational pre-course titled “Cutting-Edge Pediatric Orthopedics 2017: A Global Perspective.” Chief of Staff, Daniel J. Sucato, M.D., M.S., states “The combined meeting is very exciting as it brings pediatric orthopedic surgeons from all over the world together to share ideas, experiences and research that will improve the care of our patients. Scottish Rite Hospital is at the heart of all of the activities at this combined meeting.”

POSNA is comprised of over 1,200 members including orthopedic surgeons, physicians, and other medical professionals. EPOS is a European society with over 300 members. Both groups have a purpose of bringing better care to children and adolescents with orthopedic conditions through education and research, a mission which has been supported by Scottish Rite Hospital’s Assistant Chief of Staff, Lori A. Karol, M.D., who has been part of the leadership of POSNA for the last several years.

EPOSNA 2017 is the largest pediatric orthopedic scientific meeting with over 1,300 abstracts submitted. Only 200 podium and 200 posters were accepted for presentation at the three-day meeting. Scottish Rite Hospital has a strong presence with sixteen selected podiums and eleven poster presentations, which highlights the work of our current medical staff, researchers as well as our fellow and resident trainees. Director of Research, Harry Kim, M.D., says, “We are very excited to see so many of our research projects come to fruition and be on the program for presentation at this important meeting. We are truly blessed to have a great medical and research staff who value research and who are working hard to improve our understanding and treatment of various pediatric musculoskeletal disorders.” Podium and poster projects in the followings areas will be presented:

· Spine
· Hip
· Trauma
· Clubfoot
· Limb Deformity
· Sports Medicine
· Basic Science
· Biomechanics

The conference includes a session dedicated to nominees for best clinical and best scientific paper. Scottish Rite Hospital has a total of five nominations in the two categories. Harry Kim, M.D., has two presentations nominated for best scientific paper. Staff orthopedist, Lawson A. B. Copley, M.D., is also nominated for best scientific paper. Both Kim and Copley make up half of the nominations for this category. Dan Sucato, M.D., M.S., and Medical Director of Ambulatory Care, Brandon A. Ramo, M.D., are nominated for best clinical paper with their respective research in Perthes disease and halo gravity traction for the treatment of scoliosis.

Director of Clinical Orthopedic Research, Adriana De La Rocha, Ph.D., states “We are very proud of all the projects we will present. It’s another example of how our work with our medical staff and researchers at Scottish Rite Hospital continues to drive the innovation for the care and treatment of our patients, which are always at the forefront of our mission.”

This is a unique opportunity for our medical staff and researchers to showcase their work on a global scale. With the meeting being expanded to include the European society, it allows our staff to collaborate with professionals from across the world to ultimately bring better care back to our patients.

For more information on the innovative research and integration with education and patient care at Scottish Rite Hospital, please click here.