PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

HARMONISING HEARTS, HEADS & HANDS TO HEAL …

January is the first month of the Julian & Gregorian Calendar. The name January comes from JANUS – the Roman God of passage & new beginnings. He looks at the past and the future. He is the JANITOR – Keeper of the Gate.

I am looking forward and looking back, much akin to this gatekeeper.

The 69th Annual Conference of the Indian Orthopaedic Association (IOACON – 2024) promises to be a pathbreaking event. The Karnataka Orthopaedic Association (KOA) has left no stone unturned. This academic congregation promises to leave an indelible mark in the memory of many generations of Orthopods.

The form and function of Orthopaedics is changing. We are moving from – Reduce, Repair, Reconstruct & Replace to Restore, Revive, Rejuvenate & Rehabilitate. The balance in BIO-MECHANICS is tilting towards BIOLOGY from MECHANICS, confirming that FORM follows FUNCTION.

As we tread cautiously ahead, the perils of the past & fears of the future need to be overcome by the pragmatism of the present. We need to realize that – “Chance, Choice & Change” dictate the flow of our lives. We are all rivers making our way to becoming the ocean.

We need to respect the “SERENITY PRAYER” of Reinhold Niebuhr:

“GOD, GRANT ME THE SERENITY TO ACCEPT THE THINGS I CANNOT CHANGE,
COURAGE TO CHANGE THE THINGS I CAN,
AND WISDOM TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE”

We as Orthopaedic Surgeons can:
Change the Anatomy & hope for a Change in the Physiology,
Change the Structure & hope for a Change in the Function.

• * Let us aspire to “WORK FOR A CAUSE, NOT FOR APPLAUSE”.
• * Let us pledge to “TREAT THE MAN ABOVE THE SCAN”.
• * Let us believe “DECISION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN INCISION”.
• * Let us suggest “SURGERY FOR NEED, NEVER FOR GREED”.
• * Let us promise to “WORK FOR OUTCOME, NOT FOR INCOME”.
• * Let us live to “IMPROVE OURSELVES, NOT TO PROVE TO OTHERS”.
• * Let us remember “WE CAN BE GODLY, NEVER GOD”.
• * Let us offer “SELFLESS SERVICE & SACRIFICE FOR SOCIETY & THE SUPREME”.
• * Let us move from “HUBRIS OF THE HEAD TO HUMILITY OF THE HEART”.
• * Let us harmonise our “HEARTS, HEADS & HANDS TO HEAL”.