VOS 2012 Annual Meeting Highlights

By D. Nicole Deal, MD and Andrew Wolff, MD
Conference  Co-Chairs

Andrew B. Wolff, MD and D. Nicole Deal, MD, 65th Annual Meeting Co-Chairs recieved awards for putting on an outstanding conference.

On behalf of the Board of Directors and all the members of the Virginia Orthopaedic Society, I want to report on our successful 65th Annual Meeting at the Williamsburg Lodge in Historic Williamsburg, Virginia! The meeting was both educational and a lot of fun for attendees and their families.  We had 98 physician attendees and 12 PA attendees and had exceptional sponsor participation.

The focus of the meeting was on two areas in orthopaedics applicable to most orthopaedic surgeons across the state: sports medicine and total joint arthroplasty.  We had the pleasure of having two keynote speakers this year.  Dr. Thomas K. Fehring, Co-Director of The Hip and Knee Center, OrthoCarolina, Charlotte, North Carolina, spoke about Metal on Metal Arthroplasty: Current Concepts and on

From left to right; Keith Fehring, VCU Resident, with his farther, Thomas K. Fehring, MD, Keynote Speaker.

From left to right, Program Chair Andrew B. Wolff, MD; Kevin F. Bonner, MD and Keynote Speaker Peter J. Millet, MD

Fixed Versus Mobile Bearing Total Knee Arthroplasty.  Dr.  Peter J. Millett, shoulder and sports medicine specialist at The Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colorado, was our invited sports specialist and spoke about Complex Instability of the Shoulder and updated us on Rotator Cuff Repair in 2012.

We were also fortunate to have two arthroplasty debates, one on anterior versus standard approaches for total hip arthroplasty and a second on total knee arthroplasty versus unicompartmental knee arthroplasty. In addition, we had two sports debates, one on ACL reconstruction: Patellar Tendon versus Allograft and the second on SLAP Tears: Repair versus biceps tenodesis.

To round out the educational program, we began the meeting with a series of orthopaedic-related topics that are relevant to the practicing orthopaedic surgeon including updates on regional anesthesia, endocrinology and pediatrics all as they relate to perioperative orthopaedic surgery as well as an update on femur fractures. 
Dr. William Hazel, Secretary of Health and Human Resources, gave an update on Healthcare in the Commonwealth.

Everyone enjoyed their time at the beautiful Williamsburg Lodge and in Historic Williamsburg.  There were a variety of activities that were fun for family all members.  We also had a new highlight, “exhibitor bingo.”  For attendees who visited the exhibitors we raffled off two Apple® iPads®.  This was a popular and exciting new feature of the meeting which increased vendor/attendee interaction significantly.

We hope you were able to attend the meeting and ask that you please let us know if you have any suggestions on how to improve future meetings.  We look forward to seeing you in Washington, DC for the 66th annual meeting in 2013!

2012 VOS PA Breakout Session Recap

By Sara D. Rynders, MPAS, PA-C

The 2012 PA Breakout Session was a great success!  An interactive group of some of the Commonwealth’s most dedicated PA’s working in orthopaedic surgery gathered on Saturday afternoon at this year’s Annual Meeting. VOS PA’s were honored to host Tricia Marriott PA-C, Director of Reimbursement Advocacy, AAPA, to discuss up-to-date topics in billing, coding, and reimbursement for PA’s in Orthopaedic Surgery. The session also included two PA-relevant orthopaedic review talks given by PA’s:  “The Diagnosis and Treatment of ACL Injuries” by Andrea Hebert PA-C of Roanoke, VA and “Elbow Evaluation and Common Athletic Injuries” by Sara Rynders PA-C of Charlottesville, VA. The session was an open forum which encouraged PA-directed learning and peer-to-peer discussion. Thank you to all of those that attended and contributed to this year’s session and look for the PA Breakout Session at next year’s Annual Meeting!

VOS 2012 Annual Meeting
Photo Highlights