On March 9–13, 2010, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Annual Meeting returned to New Orleans (LA, USA) for the first time since the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina. The infrastructure of the city having been rebuilt, the Ernest N Morial Convention Center was selected to play host to this 5-day event. The meeting offered 24 symposia, 720 podium presentations, 196 instructional course lectures, 89 scientific exhibits, 567 poster presentations, over 500 technical exhibits, and single Specialty Day presentations by each of the various specialty societies. The AAOS meeting was preceded by the 56th Annual Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS) Meeting held at the same location on March 6–9. This event involved an additional 2000 poster presentations, 245 paper presentations, 180 short talks, and 10 ORS/AAOS workshops. The overall breadth and depth of research and education presented at these two meetings was astounding and nearly impossible to review in a few pages. However, this report will attempt to highlight the most important aspects of the meeting, including the incoming and outgoing presidential addresses, general research trends and themes, and specialty day discussions in total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA).