Society

The Middle East Paediatric Orthopaedic Society (MEPOS) traces its roots back to the inaugural Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery Conference (POSC) in 2012. Held at the stunning Atlantis Hotel Palm Jumeirah on May 2nd and 3rd, the event was a collaborative effort led by Marc Sinclair and supported by EPOS and POSNA, with the esteemed Prof. Ralph Sakkers from the Netherlands, then serving as EPOS General Secretary, lending his invaluable support.

The momentum from the first POSC carried over into the second meeting in 2013, once again graciously supported by EPOS and POSNA. Notable speakers from Boston Children’s Hospital, including Brian Snyder and Young-Jo Kim, along with respected figures like Ralph Sakkers and Pierre Lascombe from EPOS, graced the event. Among the cherished memories of 2013, Picture 1 captures a moment shared by Yasser Elbatrawy, Gamal Hosny, and Marc Sinclair.

In 2014, the third POSC meeting marked a significant milestone as it transitioned into the inaugural MEPOS gathering. This transformative event saw the founding members—Ifthikar, Ayman Jawadi, Yasser Elbatrawy, Gamal Hosny, Zaid Alaubaidi, Marc Sinclair, alongside representatives from Oman, namely Yaqoub Al Mufargi and Abdullah Ali Al Ajmi—come together to lay the foundation of MEPOS (Picture 3). Noteworthy invitees such as the International Hip Dysplasia Institute’s Pablo Castaneda, Nick Clarke, Travis Matheney, and Simon Kelley enriched the discussions with their expertise.

The journey continued with the second MEPOS meeting in 2015, featuring distinguished guests like Peter Waters, Andrea Bauer, and Brian Snyder from BCH, fostering further collaboration and knowledge exchange.

Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, MEPOS persevered, albeit with a pause in 2019, but resumed its activities in 2020 with a meeting in Dubai. The society’s footprint expanded in 2021 with its first meeting outside the UAE, hosted in Cairo, and continued with another successful gathering in Abu Dhabi in 2022 and Qatar in 2023.