History and formation of “Limb lengthening and reconstruction surgery — LLRS” as a subspecialty of orthopedic surgery

In 1998, the first meeting of members of the Association for the Study and Application of the Methods of Ilizarov (ASAMI) was held in the USA to introduce and popularize the methods developed in Kurgan by Professor G. Ilizarov and his staff. During 2005-2016, other communities worked in parallel with ASAMI, which went beyond the use of only the Ilizarov apparatus. Since 2017, the joint meetings have been called “Combined congress of the ASAMI-BR and ILLRS societies”. This actually became the basis for the definition of “Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Surgery (LLRS)” as a subspecialty of orthopedic surgery that treats patients with nonunions, congenital and acquired long bone, large joints deformities of the upper and lower extremities. LLRS is based on the Ilizarov method and discovery (“Ilizarov effect”) with the rational use of external and internal fixation, osteotomy and soft tissue procedures. It takes at least three years for an orthopedic surgeon to become a specialist in the field of LLRS, and the education must be staged. A significant role in this is played by the ASAMI-BR & ILLRS congresses, ExFix & LLRS courses held in many countries, ExFix modules integrated into courses provided as part of the education of AO Trauma, as well as extensive world literature.