Fairfield, CT (April 14, 2015) – An orthopaedic surgeon from Fairfield will serve as “godfather” to a group of young doctors undergoing postgraduate training in sports medicine during a trip to Asia April 20 – May 9. In this case, the term godfather has nothing to do with a religious rite or Al Pacino movies.
Dr. Robert Stanton, chairman of Orthopaedic Specialty Group, will accompany three young surgeons to China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. They will present research to medical colleagues and exchange information about orthopaedic sports medicine techniques. The trip is part of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) Traveling Fellowship Program.
Dr. Stanton is a longtime practitioner of sports medicine. He is a past president of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine and currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of the Medical Publishing Board of Trustees of AOSSM. He is the team physician for Fairfield University and a member of the medical staff for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and the Bridgeport Bluefish. He has been a member of the medical group for the United States Alpine Ski Team since 1980.
Dr. Stanton is also a senior attending physician at Bridgeport Hospital. He is a member and treasurer of the Bridgeport Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees, and a member of the Finance Committee of the hospital Board of Directors.
The AOSSM initiated a traveling fellowship program with the European Society of Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy in 1985. The program has grown to include an exchange between AOSSM and the Asia Pacific Knee, Arthroscopy and Sports Medicine Society as well as the Sociedad Latino Americana De Arthroscopia, Rodilla, Y Desporto (SLARD), the South America Sports Medicine Organizations. Since its inception in 1985, the traveling fellowship program has given nearly 200 international sports medicine orthopedists the opportunity to form global alliances, foster scientific and cultural exchanges, and create friendships that will last a lifetime.
The program provides a unique opportunity for participants to witness orthopaedic sports medicine techniques and surgeries from around the world. Three fellows are selected to visit foreign sports medicine centers and are accompanied by a “godparent,” a well-known senior orthopaedic sports medicine specialist selected by the president of the national sports medicine organization sending the fellows.
Fellows from North America travel to Europe, the Pacific region of Asia or Latin America. In alternate years, fellows from those regions travel to North America.
