Brazil and Foot & Ankle Surgeons from around the World

Last week, I attended and presented at the International Federation of Foot and Ankle Surgeons Third Annual Congress. This Congress is held every three years and features the premier foot and ankle surgeons (Orthopedic and Podiatric) from around the world. This Congress was held in Bahia, Brazil. Previous Congresses were held in San Francisco, CA and Naples Italy.

Over 500 foot and ankle surgeons from around the World attended this years meeting with less than 50 giving presentations. An incredible amount of interesting research was presented with mid and long term results on emerging techniques and technologies and a wealth of new ideas and procedures.

I was fortunate enough to have two of my papers selected to present. I presented on a new technique that we developed over the last couple of years on repairing the plantar plate of an unstable or dislocated metatarsophalangeal joint. This is a difficult problem without a previous good solution. The paper was well received with most finding this new technique as a good alternative to explore in the future.

Additionally, I presented our longer term results on the Calcaneal Scarf Procedure. This procedure is used to correct painful flatfoot deformity. The benefits of this procedure over others that are currently utilized is that it allows for larger and more stable correction and quicker return to weight bearing.

Dr. Weil, Sr. was an invited speaker who presented his long term experience on the Weil Metatarsal Osteotomy which is a procedure invented by him in the 1980’s and now used worldwide for several specific pathologies of the foot.

Besides the academic aspect of the Congress, it was interesting and enjoyable to spend time with surgeons from all over the World and learning about their countries, cultures and families.

The people of Brazil did an amazing job of putting on a 1st Class Congress and showed the spirit that they are famous.

Lowell Weil, Jr.