In 1982 the COA received an offer from one of their members, Dr. Igor Bitenc, to sponsor an annual travelling fellowship for a young orthopaedic surgeon from the then Yugoslavia. This Fellowship was named in memory of Dr. Igor Bitenc’s late mother, Mrs. Anica Bitenc. Funding for this Fellowship is sourced by an annual endowment from Dr. Igor Bitenc and is managed by the Canadian Orthopaedic Foundation.
Dr. Bitenc, 1925-2014
Dr. Bitenc was born in 1925 in Slovenia and came to Canada in 1953. The following year, he began his residency at Montreal’s Royal Victoria Hospital and then elected to stay in Quebec to practice as an orthopaedic surgeon. It was in 1982 that he offered to sponsor an annual Traveling Fellowship for a young orthopaedic surgeon from Yugoslavia. Read more.
Anica Bitenc Fellows
The first Fellow completed his Canadian itinerary in 1985. The COA now hosts one Fellow per year on a rotational basis from Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia. The Anica Bitenc Fellow visits various orthopaedic centres across Canada during his or her tour, and is invited to attend the COA Annual Meeting.
Previous Fellows include:
| 1985 | Dr. Ranko Bilic | Croatia |
| 1986 | Dr. Goran Ercegan | Serbia |
| 1989 | Dr. Rastko Stok and Dr. Zoran Blagojevic | Slovenia and Serbia |
| 1990 | Dr. Miroslav Lazarov | Macedonia |
| 1991 | Dr. Davor Popovic | |
| 1997 | Dr. Domagoj Delimar | Croatia |
| 1998 | Dr. Drago Dolinar | Slovenia |
| 1999 | Dr. Nenad Vladimir Atanasov | Macedonia |
| 2000 | Dr. Robert Kolundzic | Croatia |
| 2001 | Dr. Robert Kosak | Slovenia |
| 2002 | Dr. Hrvoje Klobucar | Croatia |
| 2003 | Dr. Dragan Savic | Yugoslavia |
| 2005 | Dr. Borut Pompe, Dr. Goran Bicanic | Slovenia, Croatia |
| 2006 | Dr. Alexsandar Lesl | Serbia & Montenegro |
| 2007 | Dr. Klemen Strazar | Slovenia |
| 2008 | Dr. Denis Trsek | Croatia |
| 2009 | Dr. Vladimir Harhaji | Serbia |
| 2010 | Dr. Blaz Mavcic | Slovenia |
| 2011 | Dr. Marko Bergovec | Croatia |
| 2012 | Dr. Nemanja Slavkovic | Serbia |
| 2013 | Dr. Gregor Recnik | Slovenia |
| 2014 | Dr. Tomislav Smoljanovic | Croatia |
| 2015 | Dr. Predrag Rasovic | Serbia |
| 2016 | Dr. David Martincic | Slovenia |
| 2017 | Dr. Ivan Bohacek | Croatia |
| 2018 | Dr. Tomislav Palibrk | Serbia |
| 2019 | Dr. Robi Kelc | Slovenia |
| 2020 | Dr. Damjan Dimnjakovic | Croatia |