1
General assembly Scandinavian society for the surgery of the hand (SSSH)
Malmö August 26th, 2022 Lecture Hall 1, Scandic Triangeln at 08.00 – 09.00 a.m.

Present:
Members of board: Martin Clementson, Sweden (president);Ole Reigstad, Norway (treasurer), Michel Boeckstyns, Denmark; Markus Pääkkönen, Finland; Kristo Kask, Estonia. Meeting started at 8:04 with 7 additional society members present.
Agenda:

  1. Election of chairman and secretary for the meeting
    Dr. Martin Clementson was elected chairman. Dr. Markus Pääkkönen was elected as secretary. Marcus Landgren was elected as cosignature.
  2. Minutes from last meeting o From Tallinn and from last GA in 2014
    The president reviewed the minutes from previous SSSH meetings. At Levi, Finland, meeting no general assembly was organised. In Tallinn meeting only a board meeting of the SSSH was held. Minutes of the previous meetings have been posted to SSSH website. The current board of SSSH was introduced.
  3. Presentation of SSSH webpage / Michel Boeckstyns
    The SSSH webpage includes information on upcoming courses and information on activity relating to hand surgery Scandinavia. Also, in 2022 a statement that SSSH has condemned the Russian aggression in Ukraine was added to the webpage.
  4. Bylaws
    The new bylaws are presented. The old and new bylaws were sent beforehand to member nations for review. Dr. Boeckstyns presented the proposed changes for the bylaws. Iceland was included in the potential member nations. In the future the surplus of the SSSH meetings will be shared 50% : 50% between the national society and SSSH. 16 society members were present at the vote. Bylaws were accepted after discussion without objection.
  5. Newsletter
    Dr. Pääkkönen presented the biannual newsletter. The newsletter will contain information on courses, fellowships and other current issues for hand surgeons in Scandinavia.
  6. Visions
    6 board meetings have been held after the Tallinn 2019 meeting. Dr. Kask presented collaboration and coordination of training and courses in hand surgery in Scandinavia. Further Nordic cooperation was discussed. Young Researcher scholarships of 2022 were given to Dr. Joona Ikonen, Finland, Dr. Iveta Beinarovica, Latvia and Dr. Henrik Alfors, Sweden. Short visits for residents and senior consultants are encouraged. Grants of 500-1000e could be provided for applicants when financially possible.
  7. Report of the treasurer / Dr. Reigstad
    The society currently have approx. 6000 e. The account is currently in Norway. Due to Norwegian legislation all board members have to be registered in Norway. The budget for 2023-24 was presented. The sum will be approximately 7000 e. Most of the budget will be used for travel grants for Scandinavian hand surgeons. An annual membership fee of 5 e /member for membership societies was proposed, which has been accepted by the national societies. 22 society members were present during the vote. The proposal for 5 e fee was unanimously accepted. Dr. Rasmus Thorkildsen, Norway was elected as an auditor for the Copenhagen meeting.
  8. Honorary members
    Dr. Göran Lundborg was elected as an honorary member of SSSH.
    Vote was held Aug 25th 2022. Dr. Lundborg was unanimously accepted as an honorary member of SSSH.
  9. Presentation of the Icelandic society /Ólöf Sara Árnadóttir
    Dr. Árnadóttir presented the Icelandic society. The founding meeting for the Félag Íslenskra Handanskurolækna (FÍSH) was held at Dec 7th 2020. Currently there are 7 hand surgeons as members.
  10. Presentation Gulf Area Meeting 2022
    SSSH has been invited as guests for the Gulf area meeting of the United Arab Emirates Nov 2022.
  11. Presentation of SSSH 2024 Copenhagen and the new president
    Dr. Martin Clementson withdrew as president. Dr. Boeckstyns will function as the new president. The SSSH 2024 will be organized in CPH at the Panum institute. The meeting will be a joint meeting with the Polish society.
  12. Conclusion The chairman closed the meeting at 8:53 a.m. with 25 members present.
    Signatures,
    Martin Clementson, President
    Markus Pääkkönen, Secretary
    Marcus Landgren, Co-signature