On 7^th May 2016 at the 17^th congress of the European Society of Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy (ESSKA) in Barcelona, ​​more than 4,000 participants applauded the appointment of Prof Romain Seil as new president.

The Luxembourger who works as an orthopaedic surgeon at the Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg (CHL) and as a principal investigator at the Sports Medicine Research Laboratory within LIH’s Department of Population Health has previously held the positions of Secretary General and Vice President of the society. Prof Seil will now chair the ESSKA for a period of two years. This election represents an important professional commitment. At the same time it is a great showcase for Luxembourg and underlines its excellent positioning in the field of orthopaedic surgery and research.

Founded in 1982, the ESSKA aims to bring together orthopaedic surgeons, scientists and specialised European clinicians around the challenges in knee arthroscopy and sports traumatology. To date, the society has more than 3,000 members, mostly orthopaedic surgeons, from over 100 countries. The organisation publishes two journals: the open-access basic science “Journal of Experimental Orthopaedics” and the journal “Knee Surgery Sports Traumatology and Arthroscopy” (KSSTA). The latter ranks among the top-ten journals worldwide for orthopaedics and sports medicine, and has an impact factor of 3.05. Its scientific office is located at the CHL and receives more than 1,500 article submissions per year. Prof Seil has been involved in the ESSKA since the beginning of his career and organised that the society’s secretariat can be based in Luxembourg. The ESSKA currently employs eight people.

‘I could not have dreamt of a better moment to be granted the Presidency of such a splendid society’, tells. Prof Seil. ‘I shall make every effort to take ESSKA to the next level. If we are to follow the path of success, we need to continue the hard work that has brought us so far. It will be my role as ESSKA’s president to coordinate the various teams, to keep the volunteers together, and ensure a well-structured, welcoming and productive environment. This will benefit ESSKA, it will benefit Europe, and it will benefit our patients’ he tells.