Proceedings of the Swedish Orthopedic Society Helsingborg, June 1-2, 1987

Abstract

The Swedish Orthopedic Society held its annual spring meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, on June 1 and 2, 1987. Helsingborg is situated in southern Sweden on Öresund and is traditionally called the “Pearl of the Sund” because of its beautiful location on the coast. This year the orthopedic clinic in Helsingborg celebrated its centennial. In 1887, the department started with 9 patients as a combined medical and teaching center for the rehabilitation of crippled youth. These patients received occupational training and remained usually 3-4 years in the rehabilitation school. In those days, patients suffered mainly from birth defects, osteomyelitis, or polio. The unit soon expanded; and by the 1930s, it had become a famous 175-bed rehabilitation center. Now, 100 year later, Helsingborg, with its population of 145,000, has a modern 66-bed orthopedic unit that is mainly engaged in arthroplasties and fracture surgery. Since 1975, the clinic has been located in the new central block of Helsingborg Central Hospital. The history of Swedish orthopedics is well exemplified by the history of the Helsingborg clinic, which is also amply exhibited in the local medical museum. The Helsingborg staff, headed by Björn M. Persson, made the generous arrangements for the meeting, which was held in the Helsingborg Concert Hall, and abstracts of the sundry contributions are published below. At the opening ceremony, our colleagues Lars Kolmert and Dick Killander played classical music arranged for two pianos. The meeting was attended by 350 participants. Franco Lavini, Verona, Italy, the invited speaker, held an interesting lecture titled “External fixation for fractures and for leg lengthening.”