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Glasgow Hosts BAPO Conference
By Gary Seaman  Glasgow, Scotland, home of the renowned National
Centre for Training & Education in Prosthetics & Orthotics
at the University of Strathclyde, hosted the Ninth Annual
Conference of the British Association of Prosthetists &
Orthotists (BAPO), February 28-March 2.
The conference site, the Scottish Exhibition and Conference
Centre, which also served as the venue for the Tenth World Congress
of the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO)
in 2001, is a very modern exhibition center, reminiscent of the
great Sydney, Australia, opera house with its armadillo-like roof.
Glasgow has been transformed from its gray shipbuilding days into a
vibrant, colorful, and cultured city, with a great concert hall,
shopping malls, and restaurants. The Scots are hospitable, warm,
friendly, and helpful.
This was a conference with a difference: There was a lateral
shift away from the standard conference program by including for
the first time a technicians' program that ran parallel to the
clinical program. (Note: A forum and website for orthotic
technicians in the UK is www.orthotictechnicians.com)
The contents of the conference programs also promised a more
practical approach with less emphasis on research and statistics
and more emphasis on day-to-day practicality--a very successful and
welcome step. A highlight was a presentation by Marlo Ortiz of
Mexico on his socket design (Editor's note: See "A New Concept in Above-Knee Socket
Design, The O&P EDGE, November 2002; Quick Find:
EDINN1102); however, there were other equally informative
presentations.
The clinical program on Friday was dedicated to "Healthcare
Records on Trial," presented by Anneliese Day, a practicing
barrister from London. This started with an informative and
practical approach to what should and should not appear in patient
records and moved on to role-playing in a "trial" scenario. The
role players were great--almost professional--very funny, and they
detailed explicitly how serious note taking and giving evidence in
court is. With the litigious society that we live in, this is
unfortunately becoming more and more a part of every healthcare
professional's repertoire.
On Saturday, the clinical and technical programs ran
concurrently. The clinical programs featured orthotics in the
morning, followed by prosthetics. Highlights included the keynote
presentation by Dr. Naomi Davis, FRCS, on "The Ponseti Method of
Clubfoot Management-- Back to the Future," and Martin Matthews'
presentation on "A New Concept of Lycra: Dynamic Garments in the
Treatment of Scoliosis." The prosthetic session stepped up a gear,
opening with an excellent presentation by Marlo Ortiz on "The
Evolution of the Ischial Containment Socket." Another highlight was
the prosthetic session presentation by Bengt Soderberg, "The Use of
Gait Analysis in Prosthetics and Orthotics."
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Barbara Wall |
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Sunday was a morning of seminars. Marlo Ortiz gave
a practical demonstration on casting using his technique and then a
presentation on cast modification. He is a breath of fresh air in
the way he approaches problems and finds solutions. It is rare that
someone comes along and shows us how to take the blinkers off, to
think laterally about principals and individual treatments, not
using preconceived ideas.
Following was a presentation on "Empirical Vascular Assessment
of the Lower Limb," by Barbara Wall. This was billed as "a simple
vascular assessment procedure," which was in reality a re-education
in vascular assessment and a very practical approach with
demonstrations and techniques.
The social events were entertaining, and the Saturday evening
gala, "A Tartan Affair," was well-supported.
This was a great weekend, in a wonderful city with friendly
hospitable people. What more could you ask for?
The 2004 BAPO Conference is scheduled for March 5-7 in
Birmingham. For more information, visit http://www.bapo.com.
Gary Seaman is a prosthetist, orthotist and consultant with 20
years experience, specializing in prosthetics and socket design. He
is based in Cologne, Germany, and can be contacted at OPExcellence@aol.com 
Table Of Contents - June 2003
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