Virginia State Orthopaedic Society
1983-2002
The history of the first 50 years of the Virginia Orthopaedic Society was archived by John S. Thiemeyer, Jr. MD, a past president living in Norfolk, and published in the Spring issue of the Virginia Medical Quarterly in 1994. It is a scholarly and valuable reference for this article.
The “archives ” of VOS consist of several large cartons of ledgers and correspondence in multiple folders. Unfortunately there are no photographs available other than those relating to the visit of Sir John Chamley as Guest Speaker at the May 1981 meeting in Williamsburg. They were published in the November 1981 issue of Virginia Medical. The records that exist are physically located at the present offices of the Society in Richmond. Of greatest value are copies of annual meeting programs during this period.
Ten orthopaedic surgeons practicing in Virginia met in Lynchburg in October 1933 for the founding meeting. As of May 2002, there were 379 members listed. The population of Virginia in 1933 was 2,441,000. It has more than doubled since then.
Although the recorded history of the first 50 years indicates that annual meetings have been held uninterrupted since the founding, there is a discrepancy in the present numbering which has been traced back to the “29th Annual Spring Meeting” in 1976. Thus, the May 2002 meeting is labeled as being the 55th. Why the discrepancy of 14 years? Records that exist do not clarify this.
The format of the meetings has remained quite consistent during the past 20 years. Registration, setup of exhibits, a meeting of the Board of Directors and an evening reception occur on a Friday. Scientific papers are presented on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Sports and social events are scheduled for Saturday afternoon and evening. A VOS member business meeting concludes the Sunday session.
The following information was obtained from meeting programs:
The “36th Annual Meeting” was held in April 1983 in Williamsburg with William T. Johnstone of Richmond as President, His guest speakers were Walter A. Hoyt from Akron, Roby Thompson from Minneapolis and John M. Cuckler from Philadelphia. 199 active and 11 emeritus members were recorded this year.
The 1984 meeting was held in May at Wintergreen with Thomas J. Schultz of Winchester as President. S. Ward Casscells from Wilmington, Lewis P. Bird, Ph.D. from Haverton, PA and C. William Schwab from Norfolk were Guest Professors. In 1985, Curtis V. Spear, Jr. presided at the “38th Annual Meeting” in Williamsburg. Jack E. Hughston, fromTulane University in New Orleans, was Guest Professor. The focus of the meeting related to injuries and treatment of athletic knee injuries. The 1986 meeting was held in conjunction with The Tri-State Orthopaedic Society (Indiana, Ohio and West Virginia) at The Homestead presided by Robert E. McLaughlin of Charlottesville. Guests were James R. Andrews from Columbus, GA and Howard P. Hogshead from Jacksonville, FL who was at the time Chairman of the AAOS Board of Councilors.
Williamsburg was the site of the May 1987 meeting presided by Charles L. McDowell of Richmond. William F. Enneking from Gainesville, FL and Robert E. Carroll from Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, NYC were on his Guest Faculty.
The Omni International Hotel in Norfolk was the site of the “41st Annual Meeting” in April1988. Robert A. Pruner of Roanoke was President. His Guest Speakers were Roger A. Mann from Oakland, CA and Peter D. Pizzutillo from Philadelphia.
John A. Cardea from Richmond presided at the 1989 meeting held at the Williamsburg Lodge Conference Center. His Guest Faculty consisted of Benjamin E. Bierbaum, George Cierny, Ill and Gary G. Poehling.
Wintergreen Resort was the venue for the 1990 Meeting. Earl D. White, II, from Hampton was President. His special guests were William H. Harris, from Boston and William G. Clancy, Jr. from Charlottesville.
The 1991 meeting was held in Williamsburg. Frank A. Pettrone presided. His guests were John A Bergfield from Cleveland and Bernard F. Morrey from Mayo Clinic Rochester.
Leo B. Van Herpe was President for the 1992 meeting, which was held at the Key Bridge Marriott hotel in Arlington. Bruce D. Browner from Houston, John A. Feagin from Durham and Kenneth A. Johnson from Mayo Clinic Scottsdale were his guests.
1993: Williamsburg. Jay Nogi, President. Guests: Lawrence D. Dorr from USC Los Angeles and Charles T. Price from Orlando.
The “47th Annual Meeting” was held at the Roanoke Marriott in April 1994, Douglas E. Jessup from Richmond was President. His guests were Robert B. Keller from Belfast, ME, Glenn R. Rechtine from Tampa and Thomas S. Whitecloud from New Orleans. Clarke Russ from Virginia Beach was President for the 1995 meeting. It was held at the Williamsburg Lodge. His orthopaedic guests were William B. Kleinman from Indianapolis and Joseph C. McCarthy, Jr. from Boston. A pre-meeting symposium included managed care update and related compensation concerns.
The 1996 meeting was held at the Omni Hotel in Richmond. Gwo-Jaw Wang presided. His guests were Victor M. Goldberg from Cleveland, Stephen F. Gunther from Washington and Roby C. Thompson, Jr. from Minneapolis.
Harry C. Eschenroeder, Jr. from Lynchburg presided at the “50th Annual Meeting” in 1997 held at the Williamsburg Lodge. His Guest Faculty included orthopedists James R. Andrews from Birmingham and John E. Lonstein from Minneapolis. William W. Tipton, Jr., the recently appointed Executive Director of the AAOS was also present and gave an Update on that organization.
In May 1998, the annual meeting was held at the McLean Hilton in Vienna, Virginia. Paul N. Krop from Norfolk was President. His orthopaedic guests were David W. Altchek from New York City and Joseph J. Buckwalter from Iowa City.
The 1999 meeting was held at the Williamsburg Marriott Hotel. Robert P. Nirschl from Arlington was President. His guests were Robert H. Cofield, MD from Mayo Clinic Rochester and Robert Moffitt, Ph.D., Director of Domestic Policy at the Heritage Foundation in D.C.
The May 2000 meeting, presided by David. W. Romness from Arlington was held at The Cavalier in Virginia Beach. His guest speakers were Bradford L. Currier from Mayo Clinic Rochester and Mark Miller from Dallas.
In May 2001, the meeting was held at the Williamsburg Marriott. D. Christopher Young from Richmond presided. Carl J. Basamania from Duke and Fred G. Corley from San Antonio were his invited special guests.
The “55th Annual Meeting” was convened at The Homestead in May 2002. The President was William A. Jiranek from Richmond. Guest speakers were James D. Heckman, the Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, and Russell F. Warren from New York City.
The AAOS established the Board of Councilors in 1973 as a means for more “grass roots” representation. Initially, the Board consisted of one person from each of the states and the District of Columbia. Subsequently, two persons from each state were chosen by their membership. As this body matured, more direct voice on the Board of Directors of the Academy was obtained. It is presently a respected representative body of 96 Councilors elected from 50 states, which meets 3 times a year. The VOS has been represented from the beginning. Unfortunately the names of all who have served has not been found. Joseph O. Romness was the first to represent Virginia and did so for the first 4 years. Terry O. Miller, Frank A. Pettrone, H.C.Eschenroeder, Jr., J.Thomas Hulvey, Robert P. Nirschl and Paul N. Krop are known to be more recent representatives.