AAPRP Medical Conference Update
The 7th annual medical conference of the American Association of Professional Ringside Physicians opened today at the Intercontinental Resort and Casino in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Over 100 ringside physicians, commissioners, media and guests were in attendance.
The conference began with a welcome from Mr. Jose Penagaricano (Puerto Rican Boxing Commission Chairman) and Dr. Raul Casas-Lopez (Puerto Rican Chief Ringside Physicians).
The day began with ABC Legal Counsel Bruce Spizler, Esq. discussing pending federal legislation intended to create the United States Boxing Commission. Mr. Spizler informed the group that it was unlikely that the federal bill would be passed this year, but was encouraged at the prospects that the bill would be reintroduced during the next congress in 2008.
Oklahoma Chief Ringside Physician, Dr. Larry Lovelace provided an excellent overview on the essentials of ringside medicine including information on the pre-fight evaluations, medical testing and post fight examinations. New Jersey Chief Ringside Physician, Dr. Domenic Coletta reviewed various medical dilemmas and controversial scenarios in boxing medicine entitled, “The show must go on”. During this segment, the doctors in attendance were given actual ringside medical situations and then were asked to discuss whether they would permit the contest to continue. Each were debated and then reviewed to determine the best course of action should similar issues be encountered by ringside physicians in future bouts.
Dr. Eric Bailey, Chairman of Neurologica Corporation, presented information on portable CT scanning technology and its application to boxing. Neurologica provided its technology to the Nevada State Athletic Commission for a boxing card on May 4 and May 5 of this year. During the scanning of these athletes it was determined that a fighter had suffered a small sub-dural bleed. Because of the scan, the fighter was transported to the local hospital and treated preventing a more serious injury. Dr. Robert Cantu and Dr. Albert Capanna followed Dr. Bailey discussing these results and their implications in boxing. It was determined that more research is needed to determine if Sub-dural bleeding is a common finding in boxing and how to best utilize this emerging technology.
The next lecture was given by Wisconsin Ringside Physician and Army Colonel Dr. Patrick Sullivan. Dr. Sullivan had recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq in which he cared for hundreds of wounded soldiers. In addition, while in Iraq, Dr. Sullivan started a boxing program for the troops in order to promote fitness and boost moral. Dr. Sullivan is being honored with this year’s “Meritorious Service Award”, which will be presented at the AAPRP annual awards presentation on Friday evening.
The day concluded with a cocktail reception for all the attendees, dignitaries and guests.
The second day began with a Symposium on Dehydration and Making Weight. The talk was given by Dr. Joseph Estwanik (North Carolina Ringside Physician), Dr. Craig Horswill (Researcher – Gatorade Sports Science Institute) and Dr. Alan Utter (Professor – Appalachian State University). This excellent presentation reviewed the dangers of rapid weight loss and the difficulties with proper re-hydration and electrolyte balance. It was determined that proper weight was best determined by body fat analysis and urine specific gravity. In addition, most in attendance agreed that the weigh-in should be held the night before the event in order to allow the athlete to begin the re-hydration process. However, everyone agreed that athletes needed to be better educated on the dangers of rapid weight loss and the importance of proper diet and fluid intake. Further research is needed to look into specific issues including brain chemistry and long term damage caused by rapid weight loss.
Mr. Joseph Svinth presented a talk on his boxing fatality index. This web site discusses research into boxing deaths over the past 200 years. Mr. Svinth reviewed trends in boxing fatalities and strategies to prevent future deaths in the ring. In addition, his research documented that boxing is less dangerous than many sports including football and mountain climbing.
The day continued with presentations by Dr. Patricio Reyes (Arizona Ringside Physician) and Dr. John Stiller (Maryland State Ringside Physician) discussing dementia and chronic brain damage in boxing including early detection and methods to prevent future long term brain injuries.
The MMA section of the day included an informative presentation by Ms. Lisa Faircloth and Ms. Jan Hubbard (International Fight League representatives) reviewing medical safety precautions taking by the international fight league as well as their belief that it is imperative that athletes be properly screened for pre-existing medical ailments. Ms. Faircloth informed the attendees that the IFL would only utilize the services of AAPRP physicians in order to insure that the most qualified doctors act as ringside physicians at their events.
Dr. Ricardo Nieves reviewed common injuries in MMA events and Mr. Michael Mazzulli (ABC Vice-President) discussed how a MMA fight was cancelled at the Mohegan Sun Casino due to the fact that most of the athletes failed their pre-fight examinations.
The evening concluded with the awards banquet. This year’s award recipients included Dr. Richard Weinstein (Ringside Physician of the Year), Mr. Michael Mazzulli (Administrator of the year) and Dr. John Stiller (Educator of the year).
The third day began with an excellent presentation entitled “Lab tests and Medical Dilemmas” given by AAPRP Chairman Dr. Michael Schwartz. Dr. Schwartz discussed the problems with pre-fight medical documentation and showed over 30 inaccurate or incomplete medical results and reviewed the potential dangers by allowing these individuals to participate. New York Ringside Physician and Ophthalmologist, Dr. Anthony Curreri discussed eye injuries and various surgical procedures which fighters undergo to improve vision. It was determined that fighters who undergo LASIK (vision correction surgery) could have permanent eye damage if they were to compete in boxing matches. Dr. Curreri suggested that instead, fighters undergo PRK (a safer procedure) should they require vision correction. Dr. Robert Smick from New Jersey reviewed HIV and hepatitis in boxing and New York Ringside Doctor, Angela Gagliardi presented a review on heart diseases in these athletes. Puerto Rican Ringside Physicians, Dr. Raul Casas and Dr. Giancarlo Luigi discussed boxing and medical safety in Puerto Rico.
The Commissioner’s panel included ABC President Tim Lueckenhoff, ABC Vice-President Michael Mazzulli, Maryland Executive Director, Patrick Pannella and Canadian Commissioners. Each discussed the concerns each commission has with medical documentation and determined that the ABC and AAPRP should form a close affiliation to improve health and safety. In addition. the commissioners expressed their desire to ultimately form one larger, more comprehensive organization incorporating the doctors, commissioners and ringside officials.
Professional boxer and world ranked Super Bantamweight Juan Manuel Lopez spoke on the boxer’s perspective on safety. His insight and passionate opinions will help doctors better understand the fighter’s hopes and dreams for success. However, he also emphasized that it is imperative that the doctor must understand that safety always comes first and that although a fighter will always want to continue, the ringside physician must act to prevent serious injuries or catastrophes.
The day concluded with a special boxing match at the Coliseo Mario Quijote Morales, in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico which was scheduled in the honor of the AAPRP Medical Conference. Puerto Rican Boxing Commissioners Dommys Delgado and Jose Penagaricano welcomed the AAPRP ringside physicians to the fight fans in attendance and AAPRP Chairman, Dr. Michael Schwartz served as a guest commentator on the live television broadcast discussing the importance of protecting the athletes.
Everyone attending the meeting remarked on the wonderful education they received and hoped that more doctors and commissioners around the world would attend these conferences in the future.
For More Information, Contact the AAPRP at Ringsidemd@aol.com