The 50th Annual Meeting of Japan Shoulder Society: A valuable experience

I had the opportunity to attend the 50th Annual Meeting of Japan Shoulder Society (JSS) in Tokyo, Japan, from October 13-14, 2023. I would like to share some of the valuable experiences I had at this meeting.
The JSS is one of the major conference that brings together shoulder surgeons from Japan and around the world. It is the 50th anniversary of this conference, which is a testament to its importance in the field of shoulder surgery. We are deeply grateful that Korean Shoulder and Elbow Society (KSES) was selected as a guest nation for this meaningful event.
We attended with a large group of people, including myself, current KSES president Dr. Jae Chul Yoo, residents, researchers, sports trainers, and nurses from my hospital. In addition, many other researchers from the KSES, including young researchers, former KSES presidents and KSES president-elect, also attended to celebrate the meeting.
 

 
The meeting was held at the Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Japan is a close neighbor to Korea, but there are many reasons why Korean tourists love to visit Japan. One of the main reasons may be the delicious food. We arrived in Japan the day before the meeting and enjoyed some delicious food and draft beer to relax after our busy lives at the hospital.
 
 
The conference hall consists of 7 rooms and a poster session room, and is diversely organized with free paper session, special lectures, and international sessions.
 
 
The free paper sessions were full of interesting and diverse presentations that reflected the strength of Japan's basic science. These presentations included detailed imaging studies of the biceps tendon and surrounding structures on shoulder MRI, and studies of the amount and appearance of effusions seen in rotator cuff tears. In their studies, I could feel their elaborate observation and exploration with craftmanship.
Fortunately, I had the opportunity of presentation for my study on the 10-year follow-up results of arthroscopic Bankart repair in English. Before presentation, I was worried that my study might not be of interest to the audience, so I prepared my introduction and greeting in Japanese. Contrary to my concerns, the audience listened to my presentation with interest, asked various questions, and gave positive feedback on my research. I think it might be the one of the greatest moments in this year.
On the afternoon of the second day, guest nation Session for the KSES was held. Former president Dr. Joo Han Oh and current president Dr. Jae Chul Yoo gave nice lectures. Next, Dr. Yohei Harada and Dr. Akihiko Hasegawa, who completed a month-long Korean travelling fellowship in the spring of 2023, shared their experience in Korea. They enjoyed presenting photos of their visits to hospitals and dinner parties held after the visits, as well as the 30th KSES Spring Scientific Meeting. They meticulously recorded the scenes of 30 days of dinner parties, and it was an impressive presentation that not only shared their academic achievements during travelling fellowship, but also showed their human side after drinking. Actually, it must be physically difficult to study and interact every day for a month. However, the efforts of both doctors to understand and fit in with our country in many ways were very admirable. In addition, they promoted the KSES travelling fellowship program to their fellow doctors in Japan. I would like to express gratitude from my bottom to them as a member of KSES.
 
 

 
I had a lot to learn from attending the 50th JSS. It was a conference that confirmed its half-century tradition and its status as an international society. It was also a conference where I could see the solid foundation of basic science. We congratulate the successful holding of the 50th annual meeting of the JSS, and hope for continuing academic and interpersonal friendships between the two far-east Asian nations.
 

Su Cheol Kim, MD
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Samsung Medical Center,
Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Republic of Korea