Kari Kanto successfully defended his PhD Thesis on ASD for subacromial pain on July 1st, 2022, making it the 3rd FICEBO Thesis within the year 2022. The aim of Kari’s Thesis was to assess the efficacy of arthroscopic subacromial decompression in patients with subacromial pain syndrome. Basing on our FIMPACT project, Kari’s thesis concluded that ASD provides no clinically relevant benefit over placebo surgery and the findings do not support the current practice of performing subacromial decompression in patients with subacromial pain.
According to the FICEBO archeological registry, the seeds for Kari’s Thesis were planted on May 23, 2014 at Raine Sihvonen’s PhD defense after-party: Allegedly, around 4 AM, Kari and Teppo Järvinen crept from the crowd to contemplate on the idea at Raine’s backyard… Many may consider the circumstances somewhat suboptimal for making such a huge commitment but occasionally, people can beat the odds.
Below please find some moments of Kari’s big day:
10 minutes prior to the Big Moment – Perhaps there was some excitement and even anxiety in the air…
Opponent Petri Virolainen pulled off yet another wonderful show, managing to keep the defense interesting for the audience. As a proof, Kari’s two sons Lassi ja Konsta (left) were both still awake during the closing arguments!
The PhD defense is obviously (at least formally) the real event of the day but in all fairness, the party held in the even among the core team, which is coined ‘Karonkka’, is the most memorable event for many. Kari’s Karonkka was held at a wonderful French restaurant called Bastis.
Given that July 1st was exceptionally hot in Finland, we had to resort to a brief intermission after the Karonkka speeches to enjoy refreshing beverages (from left to right: Minna Laitinen, Simo Taimela, Jari Inkinen, Kari Kanto and Teppo Järvinen
PhD defense day is a long day: First the actual event, then Karonkka, and then an after party with friends and relatives. As the day proceeds, the atmosphere tends to get more relaxed. In Kari’s case, there were about 50 of his closest friends and relatives to join his after party. One of the highlights of the event was the closure of a bet/wager between Kari and Raine. The story began almost five years earlier, on December 6, 2017 (Independence Day in Finland) when Kari and Raine agreed on a race, for a bucket full of beer. Kari argued that he would defend his PhD Thesis before Raine completes his title of Docent (Adjunct professor). As you can appreciate, Raine was the one handing the bucket over to Kari.
Even though Kari proved his skills in mastering scientific debates, Teppo decided to show that there are still some additional skills to acquire in life..
FICEBO, as a group, is not geared at producing PhD Theses, rather simply strive for high-quality evidence. Nevertheless, we must confess that a completed PhD thesis is always a very valid cause for a celebration. And for Kari, also a reason for a well-earned summer vacation. But when vacation is over, new exciting projects await our new PhD!
