Welcome Message
Dear Friends & Colleagues,
We are delighted to extend a “Céad Míle Fáilte” (a hundred thousand welcomes) to Dublin for the 6th International Symposium for Surgery of the Spastic Upper Limb, 21-22 May 2026. Our meeting takes place in the historic Trinity College, with the conference dinner in Guinness Storehouse.
It is our honour to take up the baton following on from the success of Paris, 2017, Venice 2019, Amsterdam (2021 virtual & 2022) and Mayo Clinic, Rochester, USA 2024.
Surgery for the spastic upper limb is a complex, challenging and highly rewarding field of medicine, which truly relies on a collaborative multidisciplinary team input. It is gaining in recognition and interest Internationally. Through sharing of knowledge and experience, we hope to increase our collective understanding, enhance skills and improve care for our patients.
This Symposium will have a specific focus on clinical decision making “What to Do, When to Do and When not to Do”with an expert International Faculty from all disciplines. We want to encourage open questions and robust discussion with input from surgeons, neurologists, rehabilitation physicians, occupational therapy, physical therapy and specialised nursing.
With demonstrations on Clinical Examination techniques, Interactive Case-based Discussion, Rehabilitation protocols, Patient Input and “Ask the Expert” panel session, we hope this will be a lively and fruitful meeting.
Ireland is renowned for its literary history, vibrant culture and hospitality “ceoil agus craic”, which we hope to share with you throughout your visit.
Looking forward to hosting you in Dublin,
Grainne Colgan, Course Chair
Dear colleagues & friends
Nine years have passed since we organized the first International Symposium on Surgery of the Spastic Upper Limb which took place in Paris in March 2017.
At the time, there was a crucial need to gather the few of us who delt with this topic, in order to confront our practices, learn from each other, and finally share common experience with others. To our surprise, the meeting attracted an audience much larger than expected. This was the time of childhood.
Then came the adolescence, and a thirst to experiment and develop new methods, new ways, new concepts, as demonstrated at the second International Symposium (Venice, 2019).
Adulthood was marked by recognition of the expanding role of nerve procedures in the treatment, and of the need to create collaborative teams between surgeons and rehabilitation specialists. Consensus across different practices improved, and structured teaching developed: regular courses, cadaver workshops, multiple webinars. A cadlab day was incorporated in the next two International Symposia (Amsterdam, 2022, and Mayo Clinic, USA, 2024).
The surgical treatment of the spastic upper limb has now reached maturity, and the time has come to question our practice, and evaluate our results. Dr Grainne COLGAN must be thanked for agreeing to take up this challenge, and graciously hosting the meeting in Dublin. The focus on decision making will reiterate the fundamental role of clinical examination, which will be discussed in detail. Many international experts will share their experience, and trigger interactive discussions through a number of clinical cases presentations.
Welcome to an exciting 6th International meeting on Surgery of the Spastic Upper Limb !!!
Caroline Leckercq