Paul Lawrie talk of the Fireside Chat at Colorado meeting

Professor Mackay was delighted to be invited at the end of August 2019 as the only international member of the Faculty at the Colorado Foot and Ankle Symposium at Beaver Creek, which was chaired by the eminent Dr Clanton from The Steadman Clinic.  The meeting began with an excellent live surgical demonstration from Dr Clanton, illustrating the latest techniques for compensatory tenodesis in the presence of a deficient Achilles tendon.

Subsequent meeting sessions covered the complexities of Ankle Trauma and recent innovations in treatment. Professor Mackay had the pleasure of presenting on syndesmotic repair and the role of augmentation with the InternalBrace to complement the use of tightrope following ligament disruption. He then had the pleasure of joining an extended panel discussion with plenty of audience participation.

Following the trauma session, the Faculty had the opportunity to present rapid-fire cases, discussing the application and role of the InternalBrace for ligament augmentation.  The expert panel included Dr Clanton, Dr Williams from New York and Dr Waldrop from The Andrews Clinic in Birmingham, Alabama. 

The next session focused on an Achilles tendon. Professor Mackay had the opportunity to present his experience of accelerated rehabilitation using the pars mid-substance, augmented with the InternalBracing technique, stabilising the repair to the heel.  This opened up an interesting discussion, chaired by Eric Giza from Sacramento and there was some excellent input from Ana Robinson, head of Foot & Ankle Rehabilitation at The Steadman.  Ana shared her experience on how the InternalBrace had accelerated post-operative patient recovery.

A subsequent lab allowed the procedures that had been discussed to be carried out by the individual surgical delegates with input and guidance from the Faculty.  The second day focused on more complicated mid-foot and arthritic issues.

At the Fireside Chat Professor Mackay enjoyed providing feedback on his experience on customising InternalBracing procedure for high performance sport. Golfer Paul Lawrie’s complex case had been discussed last year, and as a former Open winner, Professor Mackay was also delighted to report that a week prior to this meeting, Paul had won the Scottish Seniors Open and was clearly delighted to be back to his best following multiple InternalBrace ankle surgery. Many of those attending this meeting were involved in helping devise Paul’s customised surgery which was then carried out by Professor Mackay in Scotland.

All in all it was an excellent symposium of the highest quality and delegates were made to feel very welcome and clearly enjoyed participating. It was a credit to Dr Clanton and Arthrex that the meeting ran so smoothly.