The work of the prolific Dr. Fu is known around the globe, as is evidenced by his multitudes of awards. Now, Freddie Fu, M.D., chair of the department of orthopaedic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh, has been recognized by yet another international entity—the Japanese Orthopaedic Society of Knee, Arthroscopy and Sports Medicine (JOSKAS). Recently, Dr. Fu was presented the Masaki Watanabe Award in Hiroshima, Japan, in recognition of his contributions to the field of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. The award was presented to Dr. Fu by JOSKAS Congress President Dr. Mitsuo Ochi, eirector of Hiroshima University Hospital and chairman of the department of orthopaedic surgery in the Graduate School of Biomedicine and Health Sciences at Hiroshima University.
Freddie Fu, M.D. Honored With Watanabe Award
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According to the Wikipedia entry, The Masaki Watanabe Award is named after a Japanese orthopedic surgeon who developed the first practical arthroscope. Dr. Fu is only the fourth surgeon to be honored with the Masaki Watanabe Award. At the presentation ceremony, Dr. Fu took to the podium to deliver a lecture entitled, “30 Years of ACL Surgery: What I Have Learned.”
Dr. Fu told OTW, “Everyone in orthopaedics benefited from Professor Watanabe’s pioneering work back in 1962. It is my honor and privilege to be recognized by the Japanese Orthopaedic Society of Knee, Arthroscopy and Sports Medicine under the leadership of Professor Ochi to receive this very special award.”
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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