Junya Imatani, M.D., Ph.D.
Deputy Hospital Director, Okayama Saiseikai General Hospital
The 52nd Annual Meeting of the Japanese Orthopaedic Trauma Association will be held at Okayama Convention Center as the main venue on Friday and Saturday, June 26 and 27, 2026. This will be the first time for the meeting to be held in Okayama since the 44th Annual Meeting (Chaired by Toru Sato) 8 years ago when West Japan suffered torrential rains. I am honored to chair the Association’s prestigious annual meeting, and feel a deep sense of responsibility and mission.
The theme of the 52nd meeting will be “Wisdom, Art and Mind of Orthopaedic Trauma Surgery”. Dr. Kenya Tsuge, a world pioneer of hand surgery, advised me during his lifetime to be a hand surgeon who embodies “Wisdom, Art and Mind”. Wisdom means not just textbook knowledge but also the insights gained from experience and practice, Art encompass surgical techniques passed on from our predecessors and to be developed further and Mind refers to professional attitudes of medical professionals, that include respect and compassion for others as well as humility. For specialists in orthopaedic trauma surgery like ourselves, these are essential qualities. This annual meeting, we hope to provide a forum for discussion and reflection on the wisdom, art and mind that we need to have, through various presentations, lectures and discussions.
Befitting the post-corona era, we will invite many doctors from Asian countries and other parts of the world and also plan to have traveling fellows from the Korean Fracture Society (KFS) and the Taiwan Orthopedic Trauma Association (TOTA) attend. It is our desire to reactivate international exchanges.
In late June, the hydrangeas at Korakuen, one of Japan’s 3 great gardens, are at their most beautiful.
We hope that the 52nd Annual Meeting will provide a learning environment for further advancement in orthopaedic trauma surgery in terms of both clinical practice and research. We are making preparations to welcome you to the meeting through the combined efforts of our hospital’s orthopaedic surgery department and the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery of Okayama University’s Graduate School of Medicine including their alumni association. In addition to the academic aspect, we hope you will fully enjoy Okayama’s culinary delights using ingredients from “mountains and sea”, its local sake and culture. We sincerely look forward to welcoming you to Okayama.