Inauguration of the Singapore Orthopaedic Association
The first meeting of prospective members of the Singapore Orthopaedic Association was held on 14 October 1967. The members attending the meeting included Dr V K Pillay, Dr K H Yeoh, Dr W G S Fung, Dr P C N Wong, Dr B T Khong, Dr C Y Tan and Dr S Ayaduray. Dr Pillay was the Chairman of the meeting. At the meeting the following office-bearers were elected :-
President : Dr W G S Fung
Vice-President : Dr V K Pillay
Honorary Secretary : Dr B T Khong
Honorary Treasurer : Dr P C N Wong
Honorary Editor : Dr K H Yeoh
On 3 February 1968, a special meeting was held to elect Honorary Auditors. Dr S Ayaduray and Dr P B Chacha were elected Auditors.
The first dinner of the Association was held on 11 February 1968 at the Majestic Restaurant. The Guest-of-Honour was Robert Roaf, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Liverpool. Other official guests at the dinner included Dr Y Cohen, Chairman of the Singapore Surgical Society and the Chapter of Surgeons, Academy of Medicine. It was only in March 1968 that the Association was formally registered with the Registry of Societies, Singapore.
The Growth of Singapore Orthopaedic Association
At the inauguration of the Association, the membership of the Association stood at less than ten. Today, 36 years later, the membership of the Association stands at :-
Full Members - 115
Senior Members - 11
Honorary Members - 5
Associate Members - 12
The first scientific meeting of the Association was a combined meeting of the Singapore Orthopaedic Association and Singapore Surgical Society and was held on 30 April 1968. Following the success of this meeting further meetings were held covering a wide range of topics. The 3rd Singapore Orthopaedic Association meeting was held in September 1968 and this meeting was the first international orthopaedic conference held by the Association. Since then Singapore Orthopaedic Association Scientific Meetings have been held at two year intervals and more recently annually. In conjunction with the beginning of the Silver Jubilee of the Association, the 15th Singapore Orthopaedic Association Meeting was held from 12 to 15 November 1992. In addition to these annual scientific meetings, the Association now organises other scientific meetings as and when necessary.
The organisation also holds regular Saturday conferences to foster the growth of the science of orthopaedic surgery.
Affiliations of the Singapore Orthopaedic Association
The Association has been a founder member of the ASEAN Orthopaedic Association. The SOA convened three ASEAN Orthopaedic Association meetings in 1984, 1989 and 1994 to promote the spirit of co-operation and friendship within the ASEAN nations. The Association although not having any formal affiliation with the Western Pacific Orthopaedic Association has a number of its members who belong to the Western Pacific Orthopaedic Association and takes an active interest in the WPOA. In 1971 there was a move for all members of the Association to become members of the Western Pacific Orthopaedic Association and this was successfully instituted.
The Singapore Orthopaedic Association has maintained close ties with the Malaysian Orthopaedic Association and regular annual meetings were held beginning in 1971 to foster closer ties between these Associations. With the founding of the ASEAN Orthopaedic Association, this tie between the Singapore Orthopaedic Association and Malaysian Orthopaedic Association has been maintained in the context of the AOA. The last formal social scientific get together between SOA and MOA was held in conjunction with the Western Pacific Orthopaedic Association and ASEAN Orthopaedic Association meetings in 1989 in Singapore.