Native of Lyon France and pure product of the Lyonnaise Orthopedic school, Doctor Gilles Walch focused on shoulder disorders very early in his career. After numerous publications on patello-femoral instability and natural history of cruciate ligament rupture, he travelled to the United States to visit Dr Franck Jobe and Dr Ch Rockwood. Since his return to France Dr Walch has focused completely on the shoulder, improving the understanding and treatment of various shoulder disorders.

In 1993 he organised the first ‘Journées de l’épaule’ in Lyon. Over 1000 European specialists including orthopaedic surgeons, rheumatologists, radiologists and rehabilitation specialists consolidated 10 years of collaboration with the purpose of identifying and quantifying the different shoulder pathologies. The results of the collaboration have allowed careful analysis of poor results, complications and failures to improve treatment.

From 1987 to 1995 Dr Walch was the General Secretary of the European Society for Surgery of the Shoulder and Elbow before holding the office of President from 2005 to 2007. He is corresponding member of the ASES since 1994 and was elected President of the French Society of Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology (SOFCOT) 2014-2015.

He was distinguished as Honorary Member of several European Orthopedic Society including Switzerland, Portugal, Italy and Greece. He is also member of 8 scientific societies and was invited as Visiting Professor in many University Hospitals all around the world.

He published more than 300 articles in national and international journals and has lectured at some 500 conferences across the world. He wrote numerous book chapters and edited 4 books on Shoulder Arthroplasty.

Dr Walch is one of the designers of the Aequalis Shoulder prostheses family. He has been a pioneer in the understanding of shoulder conditions and has developed several concept including internal impingement, arthroscopic tenotomy of the biceps in massive RCT, hidden lesion of the Subscapularis, the Latarjet procedure, the classification of arthritic glenoid, the role of the Teres Minor in MRCT and the musculo-tendinous rupture of the Infraspinatus

For the last 20 years he has concentrated exclusively on surgery and arthroscopy of the shoulder with shoulder instability, rupture of the rotator cuff and shoulder arthroplasty forming the basis of his day to day work.