Destination Announcement for ISHA 2026 Annual Scientific Meeting
International hip preservation society travels to Bruges
Press Release November 2023
The General Board of ISHA – The Hip Preservation Society recently voted to appoint the city of Bruges, Belgium as the host destination for its 18th Annual Scientific Meeting, to be held from 8th to 10th October 2026. Returning to Europe for the first time since 2022, the congress will bring together the whole spectrum of health professionals with an interest in the hip, to learn about and discuss the latest techniques and trends in hip preservation.
Dr Filiep Bataillie MD, an experienced orthopaedic surgeon based at AZ Herentals with a focus on hip-spine syndrome and proximal hamstring pathology, is the Local Host responsible for bringing this prestigious meeting to Belgium and was delighted with the announcement. He said: “I am so honoured to welcome the ISHA community to this most beautiful medieval city and UNESCO heritage site, Bruges, in the heart of Europe. Historic buildings and wonderful art from the Flemish Primitives are always nearby. We have excellent accessibility to Bruges from the whole world by plane and train, and during the Meeting you can reach any place by walking in a safe and sustainable city.”
The capital of the Flemish-speaking West Flanders province has a longstanding connection with medical science, being home to one of the oldest hospitals in the world (now a museum). At the same time, this charming heritage location offers the most modern of facilities, with cutting-edge innovation centres, knowledge institutions and academic hospitals with an outstanding reputation in areas such as robotic surgery.
In spite of its global clout in shaping developments and spreading expertise, Bruges sees itself as a small city on a human scale, with the majority of its sights, hotels and amenities accessible on foot. The 2026 Annual Scientific Meeting will be spread across two state-of-the-art meeting spaces, just two minutes’ walk apart and only 10 to 15 minutes’ walk from the city’s many attractions, which include cobbled streets with outdoor cafés, museums, canal tours, breweries, and chocolate shops.
The breakout sessions for the Meeting will take place in the brand-new Bruges Meeting & Convention Centre (BMCC), an almost energy-neutral building which opened in January 2022 and was designed by world-famous architect Souto de Moura. Plenary sessions will be held in the impressive Concert Hall Bruges (Concertgebouw Brugge), which has held iconic status since its opening in 2002 for its spacious auditorium with exceptional acoustics. The Scientific Programme, which will have sessions grouped to allow for easy movement between the two venues, promises to be both highly educational and memorable. Programme Chair Dr Oliver Marín-Peña MD, Chief Hip Surgeon at the Infanta Leonor Hospital in Madrid, Spain, explains: “We are preparing an exciting and ‘haunted’ scientific programme for Bruges 2026. We will prepare interesting discussions where everybody will be involved in a ‘magic’ environment. We will invite ‘wizards’ from around the world to create the best hip preserving ‘elixir’. Looking forward to seeing you in Brugge!”
Numerous medical conferences have been successfully held in Bruges over recent years, and 2026 promises to be an important year in spreading awareness of hip preservation and of ISHA as a society in northern Europe. With an eye firmly on leaving a lasting legacy, the Meeting will aim to be as inclusive as possible, drawing in professionals such as orthopaedic nurses and sports traumatologists alongside its core audiences and facilitating non-English-language focus sessions with a view to improving the skills and knowledge of early-career hip specialists and graduates in the Benelux area and beyond. The organising team for the ISHA 2026 Annual Scientific Meeting looks forward to the support of a range of regional societies and groups to help carry forward this message of encouraging growth in hip preservation, promoting early intervention and optimising patient care in the region.
More information:
Web: ishasoc.net/upcoming-meetings
Email: info@ishaconference.com
Tel.: +44 (0)203 519 9427
About ISHA:
ISHA – The Hip Preservation Society has been the creation of many individuals, each united by a common interest in the expanding arena of hip preservation. The Society was officially formed in Paris (France) in May 2008 with a focus on hip arthroscopic surgery, and its Founding Members represent but a few of the many individuals around the world who are interested in this evolving area of hip surgery. Over time, ISHA has gone from strength to strength, deciding in 2017 to expand the Society’s remit with a change in name to “The Hip Preservation Society”. ISHA now counts practitioners engaged in all areas of hip preservation, including open surgery, sports medicine, and rehabilitation, among its great fellowship of friends. In 2022 ISHA achieved charitable status in recognition of its undertaking to improve patient education, globalised learning and patient care through early screening to improve early disease diagnosis, supporting education, training and research in hip preservation surgery and rehabilitation. Find out more and join ISHA at ishasoc.net/join-ISHA.