Brussels Hand/Upper Limb International Symposium

The first annual Brussels/Genval Upper Limb Symposium, held in May 1992, was on Advances in Hand and Wrist Biomechanics. Since this first meeting, the Ch teau du Lac at Genval has hosted, each spring, the Brussels Hand/Upper Limb Symposium, dedicated to a specific interdisciplinary topic involving the hand and the upper limb. Each meeting has been attended by 80-150 participants from 15-25 different countries.

The 18^th Symposium in 2010, will be on new technologies and innovations in hand, wrist and upper limb surgery. Advances in diagnostic imaging, new therapeutics (implants and other devices, drugs, operative approaches or other surgical and non-operative innovations), and new techniques of outcome measurement come up each year. Innovations also happen in organizational and supportive systems, as well as in quality measurements. Miracle or mirage? Some novelties will revolutionize our specialty while others will remain largely ignored. Some new techniques are developed by engineers or other basic scientists, discussed in engineering congresses and published in engineering journals, never reaching the hand and upper extremity surgeon. Other inventions are initiated by surgeons, but do not reach the greater surgical community due to a lack of interest from the industry.