Mehmet ¿akmak served as Professor in the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul Medical School, University of Istanbul, Turkey from 1992 to 2011. He first joined the Faculty of Medicine in Istanbul as a research assistant in 1973, subsequently becoming a Specialist in Orthopaedics and Traumatology in 1978 and Associate Professor in 1985. Dr. ¿akmak is a longstanding member of the Turkish Orthopaedics and Traumatology Association (TOTDER) and the Ilizarov Association. He is the author of 66 articles in peer-reviewed international journals and of numerous book chapters. Cengiz ¿en works in the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Istanbul Medical School, Istanbul, Turkey. He graduated from Cerrahpäa Medical School, Istanbul University in 1988 and subsequently completed a Specialization in Orthopaedics and Traumatology at the Medical School of Istanbul, Istanbul University, and Fellowships at Baltimore Sinai Hospital, Maryland, USA and University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. His special interests are limb lengthening and reconstruction and adult reconstruction. He is the author of more than 60 articles in peer-reviewed international journals. Levent Eralp is a Professor in the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Istanbul Medical School, Istanbul, Turkey, where he has worked since entering a Residency in 1992. His particular interests include oncologic orthopedics, adult reconstruction, bone lengthening and deformity correction, external fixation, and total joint replacement. He is a member of the International Society of Limb Salvage (ISOLS), Société Internationale de Chirurgie Orthopédique et de Traumatologie (SICOT), and the Turkish Society of Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology (TOTB¿D). He is the author of numerous articles in peer-reviewed international journals. Halil Ibrahim Balc¿ is an Orthopaedic Surgeon in the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Istanbul Medical School, Istanbul, Turkey. He graduated from Marmara University School of Medicine, Istanbul in 2004 and then completed a Residency in the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Istanbul Medical School and a clinical and research fellowship at the Paley Institute, St Mary Hospital, West Palm Beach, USA. He is a qualified Specialist in Orthopaedics and Traumatology (FEBOT) with particular experience in traumatology, deformity correction, and sports medicine.
