Iwamoto, Yukihide

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The role of the JOA in the globalization of orthopedics 

J Orthop Sci (2009) 14:131
DOI 10.1007/s00776-009-1319-x
Editorial
The role of the JOA in the globalization of orthopedics
YUKIHIDE IWAMOTO
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Clinical Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, 
Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan
The recent development of the Internet has enabled 
us to obtain information instantly from around the 
world, and the expansion of the transportation network 
has reduced our awareness of borders. New knowledge, 
information, and skills in the medical fi eld have also 
been able to be shared so rapidly and extensively across 
borders that better treatments are likely to be provided 
equally throughout the world. The reality is, however, 
that medical standards among nations vary greatly, 
which causes signifi cant differences in the improvement 
of patients’ quality of life and longevity. Through inter-
national cooperation, all orthopedic surgeons should 
endeavor to provide their patients with the best and 
equal medical treatments regardless of where they 
are.
The members of the Japanese Orthopaedic Associa-
tion (JOA) have so far achieved that goal through a 
number of measures. Those include participation in 
international conferences of organizations such as the 
International Society of Orthopaedic Surgery and Trau-
matology (SICOT), the American Academy of Ortho-
paedic Surgeons (AAOS), the European Federation of 
National Associations of Orthopaedics and Trauma-
tology (EFORT), and the Asia Pacifi c Orthopaedic 
Association (APOA); and involvement in the World 
Campaign of the Bone and Joint Decade, the accep-
tance of foreign students, assistance for young orthope-
dic surgeons from outside Japan participating in 
Japanese academic conferences, and offers of technical 
advice to medical personnel abroad on individual bases. 
The JOA should play a major role in the support and 
development of these activities from now on. Further-
more, it will be necessary for us to increase the number 
of non-Japanese participants, especially from Asian 
countries, at annual meetings of the JOA; and for us to 
attend meetings and visit facilities outside of Japan, 
including those in developing countries.
One of the negative aspects of globalization for 
Japanese orthopedics is that the excellent osteotomy 
procedures developed in Japan may be gradually 
replaced by operations with prosthesis. Our original 
osteotomies, however, should continue to be performed 
and taught to young orthopedic surgeons.
The gap between the rich and the poor seems to be 
widening because of the globalization of the economy. 
More and more poor people, especially those in devel-
oping countries facing a population explosion, are likely 
to suffer because of a lack of suffi cient medical care. To 
solve this problem, international cooperation led by 
governments and by nongovernmental organizations 
should be further promoted.
As the congress president, I will organize a sympo-
sium entitled “Globalization in Orthopaedics” at the 
82nd Annual Meeting of the JOA in 2009. I hope to be 
able to present a prospective strategy for the globaliza-
tion of each orthopedic society in cooperation with all 
the representatives of SICOT, AAOS, EFFORT, and 
APOA.
Offprint requests to: Y. Iwamoto
Received: January 21, 2009
© 2009 The Japanese Orthopaedic Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license 


Yukihide Iwamoto

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