The recently concluded APAS meeting was a grand success with more than 675 delegates & 48 faculty members (19 International faculty and 24 National ). The APAS conference included themes central to joint replacement of hip & knee right from basics to more complex topics and also, touched upon the most recent advances in arthroplasty. This course provided an excellent opportunity for the delegates to learn the nuances in surgical techniques in Joint Replacement and interact with masters in the field from across the globe. The course was approved and supported by ISAKOS besides national and regional academic bodies in India.

There were concurrent Hip & Knee Scientific sessions (Free Papers),which were didactic in nature and allowed total interaction between the delegates and faculty. The opening ceremony held in evening on 18th August , during which the Presidential Oration was given by Dr. Parag Sancheti & also, Dr. K. H. Sancheti was recognized for his dedication and lifetime achievements in the field of orthopaedics. The Knee & Hip Debate was greatly appreciated. The Hip debate was on,” Cemented Cups in primary THA” and knee debate was on ,” Mechanical alignment remains superior to kinematic alignment for primary TKA”

Day 2 and Day 3,was filled with the Complex Case Discussions by panel experts , lectures by renowned Indian & foreign faculty keynote sessions and debates which were the scientific highlights at APAS 2017. There was an elaborate discussion on the diagnosis and management of peri-prosthetic infection, deformity correction in arthroplasty, complex primary arthroplasty and the many techniques in dealing with the difficult complications of implant failure, loosening, lysis and peri-prosthetic fractures. So,the lectures covered the entire spectrum of topics and included latest developments in arthroplasty, which helped delegates to quench their thirst for knowledge and broadened their horizon by adding new dimensions to prevalent practices.

This year ,focus was on newer advances as well as joint preservation surgeries and minimally invasive techniques. The scientific program was prepared keeping in mind the nuances of surgical techniques, current developments and newer technologies & innovations of knee and hip replacement surgery. A Social program and Gala Dinner was organized by the organizing committee,for the honorable guests as well as participants . The valedictory was done on day 3 by Dr. Rami Sorial& Dr. Parag Sancheti. The meeting had world renowned speakers and an audience of extremely high caliber thus making the meet a remarkable event.The international faculty has contributed immensely in making APAS 2017, a great success.

It was a first presidential APAS meeting for Dr. Parag Sancheti , who took over as President of APAS from Dr. Rami Sorial ,last year in 2016 at Penang, Malaysia. This was a big honor for India as well as a big opportunity for showcasing to the world the expertise of Indian Surgeons in the Field of Joint Replacement Surgery. Dr. Sancheti is taking all the efforts to ensure that joint replacement surgeons are benefitted maximally by APAS, through overseas fellowships, regular hands on workshops and CME’s. It has been a constant endeavour with APAS to educate and train fellow arthroplasty and budding surgeons in the field of arthroplasty at an International platform. Also, for the first time ever, APAS 2017 fellowship was announced , the interviews for which were conducted on 18^th & 19^th August at Hotel Leela, Chennai. There was an overwhelming response from Orthopaedic surgeons from Asia-Pacific region experienced in arthroplasty for the 6 week fellowship (3 weeks in Australia and 3 weeks in India).So, this year, APAS fellowship has been awarded to two surgeons.

APAS 2017 also ushered in the new era of live conferences as it was the first orthopaedic conference to be telecasted live World Wide from Chennai. It happened first time in India when the complete conference was streamlined for online viewing. More than 3500 enthusiasts logged on to the website for the live webcast .This was the highlight feature of this meeting.

The vision of APAS 2017 was brought to life by delivering meetings that introduced debate and reflected on current issues in joint replacement that orthopaedic surgeons meet every day in their current practice and also to share topics that one may need to broaden the scope of their practice into the future. Sincere thanks to Dr.Rami Sorial (Scientific Chairman), Dr. Arun Mullaji (Organising Chairman) ,Dr. Ashok Rajgopal (Past President), Dr. Bharat Modi (Co-Organising Chairman) , Dr. Kailash Patil ,Dr. Sunny Gugale and the entire team of APAS for giving up their time and earning capacity to share their learned skills with others and great appreciation to all the sponsors for their valuable support to the APAS meeting and helping in making this meeting a resounding success.