Amid the ringing slot machines and flurry of gamblers and beach-goers, the New Jersey Chapter of the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists (NJAAOP) held its annual fall meeting Nov. 8-10 in Atlantic City, N.J. The 3-day meeting offered 18.5 continuing education credits, three clinical symposiums, a packed exhibit hall and educations sessions covering various topics.
The seminar began Nov. 8 with a choice of either the orthotic, prosthetic or medicare symposiums. The orthotic symposium focused on scoliosis treatment and was moderated by Adam Canvisser, CPO, while the prosthetic symposium looked at suspension systems and was led by Robert Bedotto, LPT, CPO. Louis Beaubien, CPO, headed up the Medicare symposium.
The following day every available seat was filled in the conference room for the morning sessions, which opened with remarks from Cynthia Minelli, CPO, president of the NJAAOP. Gary Bedard, CO, FAAOP, gave the first talk of the day, speaking about the use of stance control orthoses for managing wounds suffered in battle, highlighting several soldiers recovering after being seriously injured in Iraq.
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The prosthetic needs of U.S. soldiers fighting in Iraq was a major topic over the course of the 3-day conference. Dennis Clark, CPO, with his presentation on his time working with amputees at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C., and Stephen Mandacine, CP, FAAOP, who spoke about upper limb prostheses for soldiers, both broached the subject.
Clark was awed at the determination of the soldiers he fitted for various prostheses, noting that his patients were anxious to get back to running and doing sit-ups and push-ups. Although difficult to admit, Clark said that soldiers are the best patients a prosthetist could ask for. They were willing to work hard, adjust to their new prosthesis and, in some cases, return to active duty.
Other sessions on Thursday included a discussion on spasticity and botulinum toxin type A treatment for patients with cerebral palsy, led by Matthew Shatzer, MD, a presentation by Sheldon Lin, MD, about Charcot arthropathy and a presentation by JoAnne Kanas, DPT/CPO, who spoke about her studies on the microprocessor knee. The final day of the meeting was devoted to workshops hosted by Becker Orthopedics, Otto Bock, Orthomerica and the Amputee Coalition of America (ACA).
Feedback for this year’s meeting was overwhelmingly positive, as attendees were pleased with the new format of having sessions on Wednesday rather than Saturday, Minelli said. Final numbers included 75 exhibiting companies, 84 tables and 306 attendees, an increase of 36 attendees from the previous year.
