Swedish Pediatric Orthopaedic Society SPOS SBOF

Swedish Pediatric Orthopaedic Society SPOS SBOF

SBOF – Svensk Barnortopedisk Förening

REPORT

The Swedish Pediatric Orthopaedic Society (SBOF – Svensk Barnortopedisk Förening)1 June 2007 – 31 May 2008:

The Swedish Pediatric Orthopaedic Society (SBOF) was founded in 1984 with the purpose to promote the knowledge and art of practise of children’s orthopaedics among orthopaedic geons who had a special interest in that field. From the start, the aim has been to keep the atmosphere friendly and informal at the meetings where everybody can put forward questions, thoughts and comments irrespective of position, experience or academic grade. This warm atmosphere has prevailed over the decades since the start.

The Society has at present 96 members where the majority is working at hospitals without any specific Pediatric Orthopaedic Unit. Sweden measures 1.600 km in length and is some 400 km wide. The population is at present 10 millions served by 50 departments for orthopaedic surgery. The geography creates long distances between these units and many of these serve a population of only 100.000-150.000 inhabitants which makes subspecialization difficult. However, all these units who also care for children with orthopaedic diseases or trauma have one or two orthopaedic surgeons with children’s orthopaedics as their special interest. Therefore it has been of crucial interest of the Society to promote knowledge in the field of children’s orthopaedics. Only some 20 colleagues are full-time pediatric orthopaedic surgeons in Sweden at present.

Since the start the Society pride itself for keeping the fees low, so that the annual fee for membership has not changed since 1984 and is 100 SEK (€ 10) since the start! One of the purposes is of course to attract junior doctors to the Society. The annual meetings are held in October and are rotated between the units.

Due to generous economical support from the Bertha Neubergh Foundation the annual meeting is held in Gothenburg every second year. This foundation has made it possible for the Society to invite prominent pediatric orthopaedic surgeons from all over the world as visiting professors. Over the years George Loyd Roberts, Lynn Staheli, Stuart Weinstein, André Kaelin, Klaus Parsch and Colin Moseley, to name a few, have been visiting professors and have made significant contributions with presentations in their special fields of interest and in the discussions.

The Society is acting, whenever possible, on the national Swedish orthopaedic scene with symposia at the annual meeting of The Swedish Orthopaedic Society and in the Swedish National Society of Physicians and also at present with two members of the committee for the Swedish Orthopaedic Examination, making it possible to direct the questions and examination towards children’s orthopaedics.