The course that exceeded expectations
October 15, 2026
In 1960, the AO Foundation held its first instructional course in Davos, Switzerland, marking the beginning of a structured approach to surgical education that would contribute significantly to the global development of operative fracture treatment.
The inaugural AO course in Davos was held at the AO’s Laboratory for Experimental Surgery at Villa Fontana. To encourage participation, the original AO members invited friends and acquaintances, and they also sent out letters to several clinics. Demand was, however, much higher than anticipated: instead of the 25 participants the organizers expected, 69 surgeons participated in the four-day event. Most of them were Swiss, but the list of participants also includes seven Germans, three Americans, two Austrians, and one Frenchman.
The format differed markedly from traditional medical education at the time. During practical exercises, participants worked directly on bone specimens. This integration of theory and hands-on training established a model for experiential learning that would become a defining feature of AO education.
The curriculum focused on teaching what were then considered experimental techniques in internal fixation, including the use of plates, screws, and newly developed instruments. Participants were introduced to emerging AO principles such as anatomical reduction, stable fixation, and early mobilization—concepts that challenged the prevailing reliance on conservative fracture treatment.
Notably, access to the AO Instrumentarium was closely linked to training: only surgeons who had completed the course were permitted to use and purchase the instruments, reinforcing the importance of standardized education
Beyond technical instruction, the course also provided a forum for professional exchange, laying the foundations for what would become a global professional network. Although the course was not initially conceived as a recurring event, its impact was immediate, and demand for further training grew rapidly. By 1963, two courses had to be organized—one in German and one in English and French—and by 1968, the course in German alone counted 436 participants. In 1969, the event was moved to the newly built congress center in Davos, which opened the possibility of advanced and specialty courses.
The first AO course established a replicable model for combining research, innovation, and education, and enabled the systematic, worldwide dissemination of new surgical techniques. Five years later, in 1965, the first AO course outside Switzerland was held in Freiburg, Germany, and by 1998, AO courses were being held in 66 countries all over the globe.
Today, the AO Davos Courses continue to build on this legacy, providing a global platform for the dissemination of innovation, evidence-based practice, and clinical expertise. More than six decades after its inception, the spirit of the first course endures—rooted in the conviction that advancing education is essential to improving patient care worldwide.
The AO Davos Courses today: a global hub for surgical education
The AO Davos Courses continue to be the AO Foundation’s flagship educational event, convening a global faculty and international participants for advanced training in trauma and musculoskeletal care. In 2025, over 1,000 participants from close to 80 countries attended the courses in Davos, underlining their scale and continued relevance within the global surgical community. The program comprised 23 educational events across the AO’s six clinical specialties, delivered by over 350 international faculty members with recognized expertise in their respective fields.