Chronicles of the Asia Pacific Paediatric Orthopaedic Society (APPOS)
The information of a Paediatric Section of APOA was first mooted in Bangkok in 1985.At a meeting chaired by Dr Thamrongrat Keokarn, a group of orthopaedic surgeons attending the APOA conference met in the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel. At that meeting it was agreed that a Constitution would be drafted modelled after the Spine and Hand Sections of the APOA. It was also decided that an inaugural meeting of the Paediatric Section of APOA would be held in Chiangmai, Thailand in November 1987. Dr Thamrongrat Keokarn from Thailand was elected the first Chairman of the protem committee of the Paediatric Section of APOA with Dr Louis C S Hsu from Hong Kong as the Vice-Chairman. Dr Chaithavat Ngarmukos from Thailand was elected the Secretary/Treasurer. The Charter members or founding members of the Paediatric Section of APOA who were present at the Bangkok meeting in 1985 were the following:-
- Dr Jimmy S Daruwalla, Singapore
- Dr Louis C S Hsu, Hong Kong
- Prof Katuro Iwasaki, Japan
- Dr Thamrongrat Keokarn,Thailand
- Dr Eng Hin Lee, Singapore
- Prof John Leong, Hong Kong
- Prof M S Moon, Korea
- Dr Chaithavat Ngarmukos, Thailand
- Dr In-Young Ok, Korea
- Dr Shier Chieg Huang, Taiwan
- Dr M sivananthan, Malaysia
The inaugural meeting of the Paediatric Section, APOA took place in Chinagmai from 4 to 6 November 1987. Many members of APOA interested in Paediatric orthopaedics presented papers at this meeting. A first council meeting was held in which the draft Constitution was presented and discussed.
The next council meeting of the Paediatric Section, APOA was held in Singapore in November 1989 in conjunction with the main APOA Congress. At the meeting the Constitution drafted in Chiangmai was approved. Elections were carried out for new office-bearers for 1989 – 1992. The elected Chairman was Dr Louis C S Hsu, Vice-Chairman Dr Jimmy Daruwalla and Secretary/Treasurer Dr In-Young Ok. The Constitution allowed for each member country to have representation on the Council by 2 members.
The 3rd Council Meeting of the Paediatric Section, APOA was held in conjunction with the 1st Combined Spinal and Paedatric Section Scientific Meeting in Korea in May 1991. At that meeting Dr In-Young Ok from Korea was elected the Chairman for the term 1992 – 1995. Dr Shier Chieg Huang from Taiwan was elected Vice-Chairman and Dr Eng Hin Lee elected Secretary/Treasurer.
The 4th Council Meeting was held in conjunction with the main APOA Congress in Jakarta, Indonesia in November 1992. At that Council meeting, it was decided that a bank account would be opened in Singapore and subscriptions would be collected and banked there. Dr Ok also informed the council that a donation of US$2,000 would be made to the Paediatric Section, APOA by the Organisers of the Spinal and Paediatric Sections Meeting of the APOA in Korea in 1991.
The Second combined meeting of the spinal and Paediatric Sections of APOA was held in April in 1994 in Taiwan. At the Council meeting in Taiwan, the council members discussed the possibility of affiliating to the paediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA) as an alliance member. Following this meeting, application was made to the Paediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America for the Paediatric Section, APOA to become an alliance member.
The 6th Council Meeting of the Paediatric Section, APOA was held in Hong Kong in November 1995. At that meeting,Dr Chiaki Hamanishi from Japan was elected the Chairman of the new council for the period 1995 to 1998. Dr Ian Torode of Australia was elected Vice-Chairman and Dr Aziz Nather of Singapore was elected Secretary/Treasurer. At That meeting it was decided that the Paediatric and Spinal Sections of APOA would co-host a combined meeting in Kochi, Japan in November 1996. At the Kochi meeting it was confirmed that the Paediatric Section, APOA has been accepted by POSNA as an alliance member during the POSNA meeting in Phoenix, Arizona in May 1996.
The 8th Council Meeting of the Paediatric Section, APOA was held in Conjunction with the ain APOA Congress in November 1998 in Fukuoka, Japan. At that meeting Dr Eng Hin Lee from Singapore was elected the Chairman for the next Council from 1998 to 2001. Dr Ian Torode from Australia was elected the Vice-Chairman and Dr Jack C Y Cheng was elected the Secretary/Treasurer. At that meeting there was discussion about the Paediatric Section, APOA being the representative for the Asia-Pacific in the International Federation of Paediatric Orthopaedic Societies (IFPOS). A letter was written to Dr Henri Bensahel, President of IFPOS expressing the desire of the Paediatric Section, APOA to join IFPOS. A positive reply has been received from Dr Bensahel.
The Paediatric Section of APOA in its short existence of 12 years has held many successful scientific meetings together with the Spinal Section. The formation of the Section has not only helped to improve the standard of Paediatric Orthopaedic practice in this region but it has helped to forge a spirit of camaraderie amongst its members. In addition, it has gained recognition for paediatric orthopaedic surgeons in Asia and Australasia by being accepted as an alliance member of the Paediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America as well as a representative of the Asia-Pacific in the International Federation of Paediatric Orthopaedic Societies.