Extract
This update reviews material presented at the 2007 annual meetings of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH), American Association for Hand Surgery (AAHS), and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) as well as articles published in the field of hand surgery (other than those published in this journal) between August 2006 and July 2007. Over the years, as with other maturing organizations, the trend at meetings has been for fewer free papers and more symposia and hands-on workshops, including many non-CME-credit industry-sponsored workshops in facilities adjacent to the accredited scientific meeting. In addition, both hand surgery organizations feature presentations on shoulder and elbow surgery and general microsurgery beyond the scope of this review. In 2007, however, the ASSH reversed its trend and accepted nearly twice as many free papers as it had in 2006. In addition, there was a clear focus on the evidence base, and authors were encouraged to discuss the level of evidence for the data presented, both in free papers and in invited symposia.