Five Americans and two Canadians completed the 2007 American, British, and Canadian (ABC) Traveling Fellowship, a journey around the world from North America to Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand and back in thirty-five days. Engaged by the generosity and the hospitality of distinguished hosts representing the British Orthopaedic Association (BOA), the Australian Orthopaedic Association, and the New Zealand Orthopaedic Association, the ABC fellows exchanged insights into orthopaedic surgery, learned of the rich history and perspectives at each location, and developed international friendships.
The first stop at Southhampton, hosted by Professors Nicholas Clarke and David Barrett, was stimulating. An exchange of scientific lectures, such as an account of wartime ballistic injuries including those sustained in the current Middle East conflict, was nicely complemented by exposure to unique clinical protocols (hip fracture service), case presentations, and a glimpse of the medical-legal climate in the United Kingdom (a full-service malpractice legal office was discovered just inside the hospital entrance). A memorable dinner and spirited skittles (an ancient bowling game) competition at Northbrook Arms, a 400-year-old pub set in the British countryside, initiated the social enrichment on the tour.
Bristol host Roger Atkins highlighted the local expertise in trauma, spine, foot, and external fixation for complex deformities. The fellows especially enjoyed presentations by senior luminaries including Mr. John Fixsen on the congenital short femur, Mr. Michael Freeman on "How the Knee Works," Mr. John Newman on patellofemoral arthroplasty, and Mr. Chris Colton on "Plagiarism in Fracture Care." Interspersed with tours of the ancient Roman civilization at Bath and the SS Great Britain, the fellows discussed government-mandated changes in orthopaedic training and future employment opportunities of graduating registrars.
The tour stop in Edinburgh commenced with a home-cooked banquet hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Hamish Simpson. Academic sessions at the Royal Infirmary covered topics from tissue engineering to a randomized clinical trial comparing arthroscopic with sham treatment of shoulder instability. Cases with patients presented in person were followed by lively discussion. A festive black-tie dinner at the Balmoral Hotel featuring bagpipes, kilts, and the "Ode to the Haggis" was attended by ten former ABC Fellows. After sampling the proud Scottish history at Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile, the fellows proceeded to St. Andrews to play the New Course and enjoy lunch at the Royal and Ancient Club as guests of Alastair Younger.
The group then traveled to Sheffield, home of both Mr. John Getty (BOA President) and Mr. Michael Bell (ABC Club President). Mr. James Fernandes led the fellows through rounds and an academic session at Children's Hospital, while Mr. Andrew Hamer organized a comprehensive series of lectures at Northern General Hospital followed by dinner at Artisan with consultants from both hospitals and former ABC fellows Mike Bell and David Evans.
The visit to Wrightington, hosted by Martyn Porter, juxtaposed the fellows with the hallowed history of Sir John Charnley and the development of joint replacement through trial, error, perseverance, and teamwork. At dinner, Mr. Chris Faux entertained with personal vignettes of Sir John Charnley. Local lectures included a presentation of Peter Wood's clinical experience with ankle arthroplasty followed by hospital, laboratory, and museum tours led by Mr. Michael Wroblewski. Wrightington was followed by a day trip to Oswestry, a National Health Service trust hospital founded in the early 1900s by Dame Agnes Hunt and Sir Robert Jones, hosted by Professor James Richardson.
In Warwick, Professor Damian Griffin showcased the beautiful new University Hospitals, Clinics, and Clinical Sciences Research Institute along with his vision for a comprehensive orthopaedic program integrating clinical initiatives with first-class research. The University of Warwick has a new registrar program adopting the CanMEDS assessment outlined by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and was awarded a coveted clinician-scientist training position. Professor Griffin concluded a stimulating lecture program presenting his work on hip arthroscopy. Entertainment included Shakespeare's birthplace, the Manchester United-Everton football match, dinner at the Griffins', and the ABC Club formal dinner at Warwick Castle attended by twenty-eight ABC fellows.
The fellows returned to London where private tours of Parliament and Westminster Abbey morphed into academic sessions at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital and the formal BOA Council dinner in ancient Vintners' Hall. They also toured the Imperial College Hospital and Biomechanics Laboratory, the Royal College of Surgeons, and were hosted at the British Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery by editor James Scott, editor emeritus Frank Horan, and chairman Anthony Catterall. A farewell dinner included hosts Mr. Tim Briggs and Mr. Andy Williams, Professor David Marsh, Ms. Deborah Eastwood, Mr. Anthony Catterall, Mr. Aresh Hashemi-Nejad, and Mr. John Skinner.
The fellowship travels in Australia encompassed Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne. In Sydney, hosts Leo Pinczewski and Steven Ruff regaled the fellows with grand views of Sydney Harbor from the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron and the Opera House. Academic sessions at the Royal North Shore Hospital included firsthand accounts of the Australian response to the tsunami that struck Thailand in 2004 and to World War II war crimes along with hospital tours and operative experiences. Arriving in Brisbane, the fellows lectured to a standing-room-only local crowd and by teleconference to remote Australian sites. Brisbane hosts Bill Donnelly and Mark Welsh paired the fellows with surgeons in their respective specialty areas for rounds, lectures, and surgeries before enjoying an afternoon sail through Mortone Bay followed by a formal dinner at the Queensland Club. After touring the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation and the Queensland Bone Bank, the group traveled to Melbourne, where host Richard de Steiger whisked them to a black-tie dinner at the distinguished Melbourne Club to meet Australian Orthopaedic Association President John Harris and members of the Melbourne orthopaedic community. The fellows toured Richard de Steiger's private office, the public hospital, and clinics and were introduced to the Australian joint registry. The academic session consisted of talks by local surgeons carefully paired with talks by the fellows. Afterward the fellows enjoyed prime box seating for Australian rules football and beautiful custom tours of a winery and a wildlife sanctuary.
The visit to New Zealand brought free-flowing informal academic discussions with hosts Haemish Crawford, Craig Ball, and Mike Hanlon interspersed with a slew of outdoor activities and fine dining in and around Queenstown's Millbrook Resort. In Auckland, the fellows continued the interchange of ideas with chairman Anthony Hardy and members of the orthopaedic community while grinding winches and helming a former America's Cup vessel and then enjoying dinner on the waterfront. The formal academic program, with alternating lectures by fellows and local surgeons on the foot and ankle, cartilage structure and mechanics, trauma, spine, joints, and a history of the ABC Fellowship by Ross Nicholson (an ABC fellow in 1956), was followed by a celebratory black-tie dinner at the Northern Club to conclude the tour.
The ABC Traveling Fellowship is the oldest orthopaedic traveling fellowship and has served to promote the interchange of international ideas and relationships and the careers of its alumni. Since the inception of the Fellowship in 1948, ABC fellows have frequently become orthopaedic chairs and represent nearly one-quarter of the presidents of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and one-third of the presidents of the American Orthopaedic Association. The fellows are grateful for this tremendous opportunity to develop the friendships, relationships, and experiences that was the 2007 ABC Traveling Fellowship.