Orthosolutions Roundtable text book

Introduction from Dishan Singh, FRCS (Orth)

Traditionally, foot and ankle meetings involve a faculty lecturing to delegates with limited time for discussion. The Round Table meetings, by contrast, adopt a format where all attendees review the literature and present their individual experience on a topic with ample time for an informal debate on the subject in a relaxed informal setting. This is not only more conducive to an effective learning experience but also allows attendees to reach a consensus on many issues.

“Scribes” recorded the essence of the discussions and collated the literature review and the views of those who participated. I am grateful to the colleagues below for their invaluable help in writing the individual booklets which have now been collated as an eBook within Orthoracle:

Abhijit Guha, Adam Lomax, Alanna Pentlow, Barry Rose, David Loveday, Derek Park, Karan Malhotra, Mark Rogers, Phil Vaughan, Sally Wright, Shelain Patel, Timothy Williams, Tom Ball.

The articles do not represent Level I evidence derived from prospective randomized controlled trials but represent the compilation of anecdotal reports and small case studies based on the combined experience of about 25 to 30 senior orthopaedic surgeons who attended each individual meeting.

I hope that you will find something of use and relevant.

Dishan Singh, FRCS (Orth)
December 2022, London, UK.

Publishers note

I have almost invariably found attendance at meetings of limited academic value, and accurately reflected by the accepted truism that one only expects to come away with a few “take-home” messages or insights from any given conference.

Dishans’ own concept for the Round Table meetings was entirely novel, and from the first one (which I was lucky enough to attend) it was manifestly clear that this was an academic event that had completely changed what a meeting could and should be. Surgeons being tasked with researching, presenting, and debating a topic within a group where there were only experienced contributors resulted in more insights, honest discussion and understanding of the range of practice than I had ever come across. For those Foot and Ankle Surgeons “in the know” it became a must attend annual event for the first decade of its existence, interrupted by Covid, but fortunately restarting in 2023.

The meetings always had a particular theme, and very useful topic selections, all carefully planned by Dishan, and covering a wide range of themes, the uncommon as well as the common, the non-surgical as well as surgical. The resulting textbook is also the result of the hard work of the 87 named contributors, as well as that of the scribes that Dishan has acknowledged, and the plan is that it will now grow incrementally with each new meeting.

Dishans’ concept was supported steadfastly throughout by Orthosolutions and in the many of the meetings I attended at no point was an Orthosolutions brochure, banner or any form of selling in evidence. Their focus was only solely on supporting this unique academic event, and long may this continue.

Mark Herron FRCS
Managing Editor OrthOracle.
December 2022, London, UK.