© Tomix-Pix
On September 25, 2024, the Belgian Society of Orthopedic and Traumatological Surgery (SORBCOT) offered an orthopedic surgeon’s costume to the famous Manneken Pis. The opportunity for its president, Dr. Bernard Lefebvre, to look back on the challenges facing the profession, including the growing impact of artificial intelligence and new technologies, while celebrating the resilience of the medical community.
The ceremony began in the morning at Brussels City Hall. Although SORBCOT celebrated its centenary in 2021, it had to adapt its festivities to the COVID-19 health crisis, as Dr. Bernard Lefebvre, President of SORBCOT and President of Orthopaedica Belgica 2025, explained: “We were keen on this event and the presentation of this orthopaedic surgeon’s costume to the Manneken Pis, which symbolizes not only the resilience of the medical community, but also its continued commitment to Belgian society.”
Challenges for the profession
The Belgian Society of Orthopaedic Surgery will therefore celebrate its 103rd anniversary: ”As a reminder, the Belgian Society of Orthopaedics was created on 19 November 1921, in the Clinic Room of the Saint-Jean Hospital in Brussels, with Albin Lambotte as its first president. Many Belgian surgeons have left their names in the history of world orthopaedic surgery.”
A witness to its time, the Society saw the emergence in 1963 of the foundation of the Belgische Vereniging voor Orthopedie en Traumatologie (BVOT) on the initiative of several Flemish orthopedists. “Since 1985, the SORBCOT and the BVOT have come together again in the form of a federation: Orthopaedica Belgica and a single teaching structure: the Collégium Orthopaedicum.”
A congress in April 2025
The challenges for the future are numerous: “We are a profession in full evolution, with artificial intelligence and new technologies, in particular. We will also talk about it at our national orthopedics congress which will be held on April 24 and 25, 2025 in Brussels. AI is enriched by the results to improve itself. We already use it in our practices (knees, hips, etc.), and in our presentations, we mention it among colleagues,” adds Dr. Bernard Lefebvre.
For him, another aspect will impact the future of the profession: “Robotization and other elements are profoundly changing the way of approaching an operation and the patient’s recovery time. Today, incision techniques allow microscopic openings. With this quality and precision care, this offers the patient a faster return home and a better recovery.”
As a reminder, to date, Manneken Pis has worn a medical costume 19 times, representing several medical specialties. The specialties represented include cardiology, pediatrics, general surgery and urology, to name a few. But by the way, from being on his feet all day, doesn’t he have orthopedic problems? “Probably a hip and spine problem, but the urologists have already found something for him…” jokes Dr. Bernard Lefebvre.
