ACFAS Arthroscopy Course
by Jarrod Shapiro, DPM
PRESENT Resident Editor
Botsford General Hospital
Farmington
Hills, MI
I love to travel. It’s one of my
favorite things to do. However, I’m not a fan of traveling through freezing
cold weather and snow from Michigan to Chicago on a five-hour car drive. So
you know it must be something pretty good when I’m willing to do this for a
podiatry course. And that’s just what I did this past weekend with a few of
my co-residents. We attended the
ACFAS Comprehensive Foot and Ankle Arthroscopy Surgical Skills Course in
Chicago.
For those of you who are not aware, this is the most popular of a number of
surgical courses the ACFAS presents. The Surgical Skills Courses topics
range from practice management to trauma to external fixation, and I’ve
never heard anyone say they were dissatisfied. This was my first encounter
with one of these Surgical Skills Courses, and I’d have to agree, it was a
very high quality experience.
The course was a mixture of didactic lectures and hands-on workshops with
quality cadaver limbs. You also get the benefit of picking the brains of
some podiatry’s leading physicians. About fifty-eight practicing physicians
and residents attended the course with experience ranging from never having
performed arthroscopy to more experienced surgeons who wanted “to touch” up
their skills. We performed a variety of procedures including arthroscopic
treatment of osteochondral lesions, anterior ankle impingement exostosis
debridement, and ankle fusions, among others.
The cost is a bit expensive but definitely worth every penny. I’m lucky
enough to go to a program that pays for a lot of outside didactic courses,
but if your program doesn’t I’d recommend working on your director a bit and
try to go to one of these courses. It’s worth a drive through the snow to
gain new surgical skills! For those of you who attended the course write in
and let the rest of us know your opinions. If you’ve been to any other
courses like this send in a quick email and let us know what you thought.
Have a great week.
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