Faculty

Prof. Niek van Dijk is a leading authority for arthroscopic surgery of the ankle. He is the founder of the Amsterdam Foot & Ankle School, which places particular emphasis upon a painstaking diagnosis, followed by arthroscopy as a surgical resource rather than a mere diagnostic. His operative techniques have spread throughout the world, and have benefitted leading athletes, as well as ordinary people suffering from ankle problems.

Mariano de Prado is an international expert and opinion leader on minimally invasive surgery of the foot and ankle. Along with Professor of Anatomy, Pau Golano (†), he established the anatomical and scientific bases that validated the large majority of these surgical techniques, developing new techniques, establishing their current indications and contributing towards their dissemination amongst orthopaedic surgeons worldwide.

As an Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology Specialist, Dr Ripoll has worked in a number of hospitals such as the Lyon Sud Hospital with Professor DeJour in Lyon, Merignac Hospital in Bordeaux with Dr Michel Allard, the Sport Medicine Institute in Miami with Dr Uribe and the University of Pittsburgh Monteori Hospital with Dr Freddy Fu.

Currently Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology. Specialist in Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology. Tenured Professor at the University of Alcalá, Madrid. Professor in the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Navarre, consultant in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology of the University Clinic of Navarre in Pamplona, and Director of the Experimental Orthopaedics laboratory since its foundation.

Prof. Vilá y Rico has a PhD in Medicine from the Complutense University – is Head of the Hospital Complex Quirón Ruber de Madrid and Director of the Foot and Ankle Unit of the University Hospital October 12, Madrid. He is an Associate Professor at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

He is currently President of the Spanish Society of Foot and Ankle Surgery (SEMCPT) and has been an honorary Treasurer of the European Foot Ank Ankle Society (EFAS) and honorary Secretary of the Spanish Society of Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology (SECOT). He holds the Honorary European Certtification in Trauma and Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Surgery (EFAS Certificate)..

Ricardo Larrainzar-Garijo has developed most of his professional career in the foot and ankle surgery.

He has also been member of the board of the Spanish Foot and Ankle society as well as Co-Director of the Spanish Foot and Ankle journal. He has published many national and international papers in the field.

At present he works as Chief of the Orthopedic and Trauma Department at University Infanta Leonor Hospital in Madrid combining clinical practice with the teaching activities of the Madrid Complutense University.

Dr. Eduard Rabat is currently the head of the “Quirón Barcelona Foot and Ankle Unit”.

Although Dr. Rabat began to concentrate on foot and ankle surgery in the 70’s, when he studied under Dr. Antonio Viladot, he combined it with the practice of general orthopedic surgery.

In 2002, he founded the “Foot and Ankle Unit” at the Hospital General de Catalunya. Since then, he has exclusively dedicated his professional practice to this super speciality.

Dr. d’Hooghe is a Belgian passionate sportstraumatologist and he specializes in the arthroscopic surgery of knee, ankle & foot.

Currently he works in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Aspetar Sportsmedical Hospital in Doha, Qatar.

He holds a Master in Sportsmedicine, a Master in Tropical Medicine and also an MBA in Sportsmanagement. He is the editor of 4 textbooks on injuries in Football and has authorship over +30 book chapters and numerous peer-reviewed publications.

Graduate in Medicine and Surgery in 1975 from the University of Barcelona.

Qualified as a specialist in Traumatology and Orthopaedics in January 1978 through the University of Barcelona.

Doctorate in Medicine and Surgery in December 1983 from the University of Barcelona.

Professor at the University of Barcelona’s School of Sports Medicine from its opening in 1987 until 2005.

Helder Pereira (Portugal) is specialized in surgery of the ankle and knee, sport traumatology and arthroscopic surgery. Recently he is about to finish his PhD thesis at the university of Minho (3B’s Research Group) on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine for Knee Pathology. For his research projects he is affiliated to Minho university at ICVS/3 Bs – Associated Laboratory, Portugal.