AOFAS Annual Meeting Draws Large Audience

Vancouver, Canada – July 17, 2009 – The 2009 25th AOFAS (American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society) summer meeting was, by all accounts, well attended – in the exhibit hall, the breakout sessions and workshops.

Held at the Western Bayshore, AOFAS’ selection of Vancouver appeared to be a good choice in its continued and successful efforts to grow its membership base. From a medical device perspective, fixation techniques were abundant, in addition to a growing number of Total Ankle products. To our knowledge, Small Bone Innovations, Inc. (SBI) is the most recent company to get FDA clearance for its Total Ankle product – S.T.A.R. which generated a lot of attention. SBI joins Wright Medical Technology, Inc., Tornier SAS, and DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. in offering Total Ankle replacement parts. Biologics were well represented by companies such as Acumed LLC with its Callos, a Calcium Phosphate Cement and by Osteotech, Inc. with its Grafton DBM.

All industry-sponsored workshops generated significant interest. Biomet Trauma demonstrated its Phoenix Tibiotalocalcaneal nail while DePuy addressed aspects of temporary external fixation, as well as fibular and distal tibia planting techniques. Stryker focused on diagnosis and repair of mid-foot fractures, while Synthes’ workshop focused on advanced internal fixation utilizing headless compression screws. Other workshops were hosted by Wright Medical, Osteotech, Acumed and Tornier.

AOFAS’ 2010 summer meeting will be held July 7-10 at the Gaylord National Hotel in Maryland, just outside of Washington, DC.