AO Technical Commission Experts Symposia

The Experts Symposia of the AO Technical Commission (AO TC) are well-established events to foster exchange among surgeons and representatives of our industrial partners with the overall goal to improve patient treatment. It is essential to review the clinical performance of implants, instruments, and the surgical techniques. Open and straightforward discussions are fundamental for identifying potential device improvements and refinements of surgical procedures. Consequently, the symposium format is fundamental in fulfilling the AO TC quality assurance mandate for newly developed devices when they become available for surgeons. The symposia have proven to be invaluable for defining the remaining unmet clinical need that is not yet addressed by existing solutions. This type of information is imperative to justify the initiation of new development projects, which makes the Experts Symposia highly appealing to our industrial partners. The information exchange at the symposia is strictly confidential.

The experiences over the past few years have reinforced the benefits of inviting experienced surgeons of all age groups to the symposia. While the more senior surgeons are familiar with the development history of implants and instruments as they became available, younger surgeons may be more apt to think out of the box. Since the initiation of the AO TC Experts Symposia in 2006 about 920 surgeons have participated and consequently, this AO TC network is rapidly expanding.

Trauma Experts Symposia
Spine Experts Symposia
CMF Experts Symposia

Every two years, North America hosts a trauma-related AO TC Experts Symposium. The most recent symposium took place on September 23-24
in Bozeman and was chaired by C Finkemeier, drawing 29 participants.

The symposium commenced with an introductory session on Distal Femur Fracture: Biphasic Plate—New Fixation Principle, where C Sommer from Switzerland shared the initial experiences in Europe.

The symposium program was divided into five key sessions:

Syndesmosis Injuries—Reevaluating the role of screws
Patella Plate Innovations
Managing Bone Defects
Periprosthetic Plating System Advancements
Deformity Correction Techniques

The 8th AO TC Trauma Experts Symposium (North America) is scheduled for September 2025.

Group picture, 7th AO TC Trauma Experts Symposium, USA

5th AO TC Trauma Experts Symposium (Latin America)

The 5th AO TC Trauma Experts Symposium (Latin America) in Argentina, chaired by Carlos Sancineto, was a great success. 33 participants from 14 countries attended.

The program was diverse and divided into five sessions. Each session was chaired by a member of the AO TC Trauma and supported by regional faculty. Various topical issues were discussed, such as infections in fractures, non-healing of fractures, and deformities.

The faculty encouraged interaction among participants and several case discussions were held. At the end of each session, important conclusions were drawn regarding remaining clinical needs in specific areas of infection and fracture fixation.

The 6th AO TC Experts Symposium (Latin America) will be held in May 2025.

Group picture, 5th AO TC Trauma Experts Symposium, Argentina

15th AO TC Trauma Experts Symposium (Europe)

After a COVID-related break, the European Symposium took place outside of Germany for the first time. 57 surgeons from 21 countries attended the 15th European edition of the AO TC Trauma Experts Symposium on August 26–27, 2022. The event occurred in Oslo, Norway—the first time the symposium was hosted outside of Germany. Chaired by the Past-President of AO Trauma Germany, Michael Raschke, the program was divided into five sessions:

VA-LCP Clavicle Systems
VA Locking Patella Plating System
Periprosthetic Fracture Fixation of Femur
Proximal Tibia Fractures
Double Plating Femur

Each session consisted of an introduction to the subject by one of the faculty, followed by a case discussion using cases submitted by participants, and ended with a conclusion and clinical needs definition by the moderator.

Michael Kowaleski (veterinary) from North Grafton, Massachusetts, US, won the symposium's most interesting case presentation award for delivering a deformity case of a dog which underwent prior high tibial osteotomy (Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy, TPLO).

The 16th AO TC Trauma Experts Symposium (Europe) will be held on August 30-31, 2024 in Florence, Italy, and it will be chaired again by M Raschke.

Group picture, 5th AO TC Trauma Experts Symposium, Norway

From left to right: M Raschke, T Pohlemann, case presentation winner M Kowaleski and F Gebhard

13th Asia Pacific AOTK Experts Symposium, Malaysia

Chaired by MK Wong in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 28 March 2019, nine faculty from six countries in the Asia Pacific region and one from Switzerland led 34 participants from ten countries through the event.

During four lively sessions, 17 cases were discussed, and the

winning case presentation was given by Chen Xiadong, from Shanghai, China, in Session 3 – Treatment of Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head in Young Adults.

The AO Technical Commission invites the winner to take part in the next Lower Extremity Expert Group Meeting.

One participant, Toni San Juan from the Philippines, said "it was a great learning opportunity and a chance to catch up with old friends, and make new ones as well."

The one-day event featured a special session led by Theddy Slongo, who gave a presentation on MAXFRAME System Software. This session was warmly received, and drew more attendees than had originally signed up for the session.

“Surgery is not just about inserting implants, it's also about surgical techniques and finesse in fracture reduction, temporary fixation, and final fixation. This is where new and cutting-edge techniques are showcased, subjected to group discussion, and then adopted across continents" said Chair MK Wong.

The 14th AO TC Trauma Experts Symposium (Asia Pacific) will take place on April 5-6, 2024 in Seoul, South Korea and will be chaired by JK Oh.

Group picture, 13th Asia Pacific AOTK Experts Symposium, Malaysia

MK Wong (l) with case presentation winner C Xiadong (r)

3rd AO TC Spine Experts Symposium, Singapore

The 3rd AO TC Spine Experts Symposium was held in Singapore and led by AO TC Spine Chairperson Maarten Spruit. The symposia brought together 25 participants from 13 countries, and the event featured five diverse sessions:

Arthroplasty versus ACDF for Radiculopathy
Laminoplasty versus Laminectomy (+/- fusion) versus ACDF for Myelopathy
Upper Cervical Pathology Requiring Fusion: C1-2 or C0-2
Cervical Deformity: Anterior versus Posterior versus Combined
Robotics/Navigation/AR/VR: Gateway to Next Level Cervical Surgery and Results?

Each session consisted of an introduction of the subject by the faculty, followed by a case discussion using cases submitted by the participants, ending with a conclusion and clinical needs definition by the moderator.

This year's case winner was Torphong Bunmaprasert from Chiang Mai, Thailand, who presented a case about an acute traumatic lateral atlantoaxial dislocation associated with locked atlas lateral mass and odontoid process fracture.

The 4th AO TC Spine Experts Symposium will take place on March 30-31, 2024 in Santiago de Chile.

Group picture, 3rd AO TC Spine Experts Symposium

Case winner T Bunmaprasert (l) with M Spruit (r)

2nd Spine AOTK Experts Symposium, Netherlands

Chaired by M Spruit, the program (held in Amsterdam on September 20 and 21, 2019) was divided into five sessions:

Surgical site infection in spine surgery
Degenerative lumbar discs and back pain
Lumbar spine revision surgery
Lumbar stenosis and spondylolithesis
Instrumentation of the osteoporotic spine

Each session consisted of an introduction to the subject by one of the faculty, followed by a case discussion using cases submitted by participants, and ended with a conclusion and clinical needs definition by the moderator.

The case winner was Chung Chek Wong with his case about instrumentation of the osteoporotic spine.

The 3rd AO TC Spine Experts Symposium will take place on September 23-24, 2022 in Singapore and will be chaired by M Spruit.

Group picture, 2nd Spine AOTK Experts Symposium

M Spruit (l) with case presentation winner CC Wong (r)

1st Spine AOTK Experts Symposium, Canada

The 1st Spine AOTK Experts Symposium, a one-and-a-half-day event held in Montreal, Canada in 2018, was chaired by M Spruit, attracted ten faculty from seven countries and 22 participants from 11 different countries, and was divided into five sessions with a total of thirty case presentations

Upper Cervical Fractures
Cervical Deformity
Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis
Anterior Deformity Correction
Early Onset Scoliosis

The winners of the case presentations were Qian Bangping from China for his case on cervical deformity and Moyo C Kruyt from the Netherlands for his case on early onset scoliosis.

During the discussions, participants and faculty uncovered some challenges for the AOTK and the industry, which the AOTK research community will work to address.

Building on the success of this event the second Spine AOTK Experts Symposium is being planned for fall, 2019 and it will be chaired by M Spruit.

AOTK thanks all attendees who made this first spine Experts Symposium a success.

Participants and faculty, 1st Spine AOTK Experts Symposium

M Spruit (m) with case presentation winners Q Bangping from China (l) and MC Kruyt (r) from Netherlands

2nd AO TC CMF Experts Symposium, Denmark

The 2nd AO TC CMF Experts Symposium, a one-and-a-half-day event convened in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2023, was overseen by D Buchbinder and M Grant. It drew nine experts from five countries and attracted 23 participants from seven different countries. The symposium was structured into three distinct sessions, comprising a total of 18 case presentations, which were as follows:

Computer Assisted Planning and Patient Specific Solutions in Orthognathic Surgery
CAS and PSS in Orbital and Midface Trauma Surgery
CAS and PSS in Post Ablative Maxillofacial Reconstruction

Throughout the sessions, both the participants and faculty engaged in discussions that brought to light several challenges for the AO TC and the industry. The AO TC CMF community has pledged to collaborate in order to address these challenges effectively.

Plans are underway for the organization of the third AO TC CMF Symposium on September 6-7, 2024, with N-C Gellrich set to take the helm as the chairperson.

Group picture, 2nd AO TC CMF Experts Symposium

1st CMF AOTK Experts Symposium, USA

The first AOTK CMF Experts Symposium was held on November 13–14, 2019, in Tampa, Florida, US. D Buchbinder chaired the symposium which was attended by 14 surgeons and 9 representatives from the industry.

The three symposium sessions focused on:

Patient specific orthognathic solutions
Patient specific solutions for orbit and midface reconstruction
Patient specific solutions for CMF reconstruction following ablative surgery

The participants exchanged their case experiences to discuss and to identify opportunities for improvement. Recent advances in digital planning and innovative approaches to design and to manufacture patient-specific surgical guides and implants allow that complex surgical procedures can be performed in a highly reproducible manner independent of the surgical experience. Although the costs that are currently associated with the use of patient-specific implants and cutting guides are high, there is a clear trend toward their increased use because of the high predictability and accuracy that can be achieved and the potential to reduce operating room time.

The case winner was Ruediger Zimmerer, with his case about bilateral TJR with counter-clockwise rotation in mandibular hypoplasia.

The 2nd AO TC CMF Experts Symposium will take place on October 13-14 in Copenhagen, Denmark and will be chaired by D Buchbinder.

Group picture, 1st CMF AOTK Experts Symposium

D Buchbinder (l) with case presentation winner R Zimmerer (r)

Challenging cases, clinical need, robust examination.

Since the first AO Technical Commission Experts Symposium was held in 2006, these events have come to be recognized as delivering a powerful impetus into the innovation development process.