Future of Orthopaedic Sports Medicine

Brian M. Devitt is a consultant orthopaedic surgeon and Director of Research at OrthoSport Victoria (OSV), Melbourne, Australia. He also has a subspecialty expertise in knee and hip surgery. Dr. Devitt completed his medical school training at University College Dublin, Ireland, and carried out his specialist training in Trauma & Orthopaedics at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. He also achieved a Masters in Sports and Exercise Medicine. After choosing to pursue a career in academic orthopaedic sports surgery, he carried out three years of fellowship training, including a knee reconstruction fellowship at OSV and a fellowship in hip arthroscopy at Hip Arthroscopy Australia. Dr. Devitt’s specific research interests are ACL reconstruction, lateral extra-articular reconstruction, PCL and PLC reconstruction, and hip instability. He has published extensively in all of these areas and speaks frequently at international meetings. He was an ESSKA travelling fellow in 2016. He is a member of many national and international organizations.Mustafa Karahan is an internationally active orthopaedic surgeon who is currently Adjunct Professor of Orthopaedics at Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University, Istanbul. There he is actively involved in CASE (Center for Advance Simulation and Training), which hosts the European Basic Arthroscopy Course and the European Basic Arthroplasty Course. Dr. Karahan worked in Marmara University from 1988 to 2012 until achieving full Professorship. He founded Marmara University Sports Sciences and Health Research Center in Istanbul in 2004. He is the past President of the Turkish Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Society and chairman of the Education Committee of Turkish Sports Injuries, Arthroscopy and Knee Injury Society. He is an Executive Board Member of ESSKA and of ESA, the shoulder and elbow section of ESSKA. He is also Editor of ESSKA Academy, the online teaching portal of ESSKA. Dr. Karahan has published more than 70 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals and was chief editor of the ESSKA–Springer book “Effective Training of Arthroscopic Skills” and co-editor of "Knots in Orthopedic Surgery – Open and Arthroscopic Techniques”.,  ISAKOS-Springer book “Bio-Orthopedics” and “Motor Skills Training in Orthopedic Sports Medicine”.João Espregueira-Mendes, MD, PhD, is Professor of Orthopaedic Traumatology and Chairman of the Orthopaedic Department at Minho University, Portugal, since 2005. He is Director of Clínica do Dragão – Espregueira-Mendes Sports Centre, FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence, FC Porto Dragão Stadium, Porto, Portugal. He also holds the position of Orthopaedic Surgeon of FC Porto and collaborator with Biomaterials, Biodegradables, and Biomimetics in the Department of Polymer Engineering at Minho University. João Espregueira-Mendes was President of the European Society of Knee Surgery, Sports Trauma and Arthroscopy (ESSKA) from 2012 to 2014, as well as President Founder of the ESSKA Foundation in Luxembourg (2013). Currently, he serve as Treasurer and Chairman of Finance Committee  and Member of the Strategic Planning Committee of the International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine (ISAKOS). He is a member of the editorial board of Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy (KSSTA).He has published over 100 journal articles, participated in more than 50 book chapters and edited more than  a dozen books.

“The audience is orthopedic sports medicine specialists looking for insight and direction regarding challenges faced by the specialty. … This unique series gives interesting and thoughtful insight by a global cadre of experts regarding the future of orthopedic sports medicine. I enjoyed learning about key leaders' takes on the question. … I am sure it has some value and place in the literature.” (Mark R Hutchinson, Doody's Book Reviews, February 7, 2020)

• How long is a piece of string?- I worry that informal logic will take over from formal logic.- It’s not you, it’s me!- The lost leaders.- BIG DATA: revolution or complication?- The influence of industry.- Are we stifling innovation?- Don`t get dragged into the gloom: Keep the flame!- Pseudoscience and false avenues.- We’d better quit now.- Academic integrity and the God of data.- Research funding – finding a balance.- From science to daily practice: a huge gap! The example of meniscus surgery.- Living on the edge.- The last generation of doctors.- The future of Orthopaedic Sports Medicine: It’s the human connection.- The meniscus is the most important piece of the knee.- Is medicine now a science or still an art?- Surgery is so passé!- We should be worried, about being worried!- The end of sports surgery.- Will our focus on techniques and technology to improve patient outcomes be at the expense of a loss of clinical judgement?- Are we going forward or standing still?- Please take yourtime: A research perspective.- What’s in it for me?- Social media in Sports Medicine.- Biologic and Regenerative Medicine: The Balance between Promise and Proven.- There are no facts only interpretations.- Increased incidence of sports trauma in children. Is it time to worry?- Persistent lack of patient treatment outcome information for patients, therapists and surgeons.- The perils and potentials of biologic therapies.- Am I a robot or a surgeon?- Who will guard the guardians?-  Don’t wait to worry.- The threat of fake news!- The big bang and its fallout!- First the process, then the art of medicine? The Gruyère theory- The complexity of a “rope”.- If you don’t know where you are going any road will take you there!- What’s the use in worrying?- High-Technology technicians versus bedside doctors- Surgery is overvalued and rehabilitation undervalued following anterior cruciate ligament injury.- The professional responsibility of Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Surgeons as advocates forsports injury prevention.- Digitalization and machine learning.- Worried about the vision.- Why are ACL injury prevention programs not being implemented more widely?- Think of the children.- Mentoring in Orthopaedic Sports Medicine.- Challenges of certification and training - looking into the future.- Technology and Sports Medicine: The good, the bad and the ugly.- Will it be possible to perform a 99% perfect ACL reconstruction in the future?- The good and the bad of evidence based medicine, and the challenge of practicing in a time of increased connectivity and artificial intelligence.- Preventing osteoarthritis in young patients after anterior cruciate ligament injury.- The danger of making decisions for evolution, quality of care and education based on National Health data.- When dogmas are not revised soon our sportsmen’s hips and knees will not be preserved but instead replaced.- Ingenuity, intellectual integrity, honesty and collaboration will be the key to our future.- A lot done, more to do!