The field of Orthopaedic foot and ankle surgery has flourished in the United States.  Particularly over the past 40 years, the academic community in foot and ankle has increased dramatically.  During this time period, surgical techniques, implants, hardware, and decision making has been refined.   Unfortunately, the growth of orthopaedic foot and ankle has been much slower in other parts of the world.  

In many countries globally, the surgical techniques for foot and ankle surgery are arcane.  Much of the foot and ankle surgery is performed by the general orthopaedic surgeon.  Although these individuals are performing cutting-edge arthroscopic surgeries and adult reconstructive surgeries, most of the scope of foot and ankle surgeries has been limited to foot and ankle trauma and external fixation work.  The reconstruction and tendon pathologies have been largely ignored.  

The Parekh Family Foundation, under the Foundation for Medical Education and Research (FMER) is a US-based non-profit organization.  One of the missions of this organization is to increase the awareness and education of foot and ankle pathologies, decision analysis, and surgical techniques globally.  Typically, this is done through live foot and ankle camps, surgeries, and a conference.  However, given the COVID pandemic, this will not be possible for the foreseeable future.  The pandemic has severely limited our ability to engage in any in-person training or charitable surgeries. However, it has presented an opportunity to provide innovative educational opportunities using technology.

Over the last three years, we have conducted our 24-hour Virtual Foot and Ankle Global Town Halls.  These have garnered a combined 5000+ attendees, over 10,0000 views on YouTube, and has been a massive success with over 200 faculty.  This year, we aim to improve on those statistics.  This year’s meeting will be focused on Foot and Ankle Trauma.  The meeting will start at 8pm est on April 12, 2024.  The first session will take place from 8:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.. Then, the next session will begin at 8:00 p.m. CST, for one hour.  In this manner, there will be 24 sessions, for the 24 time zones of the world.

The course will bring together the expertise of US and international foot and ankle faculty members with the experiences of a number of global foot and ankle surgeons.   This virtual town hall will take place online from April 12-13, 2024 and will be solely case based, with over 100 faculty members participating.  Through this course, we hope to foster education and camaraderie amongst the practicing orthopaedic surgeons globally