Newsletter International Society of Surgery (ISS) Société Internationale de Chirurgie (SIC) January 2022
Welcome by the ISS/SIC President John G. Hunter, President ISS/SIC & Congress President ISW 2022
Season’s greetings and happy holidays! At the year-end, it is customary to look back at the year that has passed and look forward to the new year. It’s probably best to lump 2020 and 2021 together, as the journey of the last 22 months has been shrouded in fog, drifting in and out of pandemic mist. Here and there, we have caught a glimpse of life as we knew it before the pandemic, but it may still be some time before we are assured of blue skies and bright sunshine again. Through the pandemic, we at the ISS/ SIC have learned the new skill of virtual meetings and demonstrated our ability to rapidly adapt to changing circumstances. One such rapid pivot was from a normal World Congress of Surgery in Kuala Lumpur (KL) to an online Virtual Surgical Week, held over the last week of August 2021. While we missed the face-to-face contact, the meals together, and the
The Ferris Wheel at the Prater in Vienna
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chance to renew friendships, Virtual Surgical Week 2021 was a resounding success. The content was extraordinary, and attendance far eclipsed our expectations. Kudos to our office team, Denise, Laurie, Chris, and Mike, to our Secretary-General, Ken Boffard, and to our primary organizer, Alessandro Fichera. Finally, we recognize that the Covid pandemic is not over. New variants are emerging and will continue to emerge. It
is highly likely that current vaccines will be less protective against new variants though will be sufficiently protective to limit disease severity. Europe, and now North America are during early winter surges in infection, but we have some confidence that by summer this surge will be behind us. The high vaccination rates and safety precautions in Austria will make this one of the safest venues in the world to hold our World Congress of Surgery. Overwhelmingly our ISS/SIC Council voted to
get together face to face this summer in Vienna. We hope that you will be able to join us. Best holiday wishes, John G. Hunter President ISS/SIC & Congress President ISW 2022
Hofburg/Heldenplatz, Vienna (© WienTourismus/Christian Stemper)
Report Secretary-General Kenneth D. Boffard, Secretary-General ISS/SIC
Best wishes for a Happy and successful 2022. May we put a lot of the insecurity and uncertainty behind us, and we look
forward to relative normality returning the course of this year. As most of our members are aware, the Council took the decision that holding International Surgical Week in 2021 was not feasible, and at relatively short notice, we replaced it with a Virtual Surgical Week, ably organized by Alessandro Fichera and strongly supported by our Integrated and Associated Societies. This turned out to be astonishingly successful and was free
for all current ISS/SIC members. It is our intention that in future, in the intervening years between International Surgical Weeks, we will continue presenting an ISS/SIC Virtual Surgical Week (VSW) and on an increasingly interactive basis. Next one is scheduled for August / September 2023. This will not only further raise the Global profile of ISS/SIC and increase the benefits to the membership but offer a wider appeal to those of our members who are unable to attend ISW.
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While the only predictability of Covid, is its unpredictability, we are delighted to announce as reported by our President, John G Hunter, International Surgical Week is confirmed as a Face to Face (F2F) meeting which will take place in Vienna, Austria from 15-18 August 2022. ISS/SIC Council Member, Prof Albert Tuchmann (who is also Secretary-General of the Austrian Surgical Society) has been able to make the arrangements with support from his own Society and to book a unique venue, the Hofburg Palace, in the centre of Vienna, (https://www.wien. info/en/sightseeing/sights/imperial/hofburg-vienna). The Hofburg is within easy walking distance of hotels and all the other famous attractions in this beautiful city, making it a great destination for families as well and with wide tourist possibilities before and after. We have support from the Tourist Authority of Vienna, as well as the Austrian Government. Though the meeting will be somewhat more compact than previously, and travel scholarships have had to be restricted, Chris Storz has put together a spectacular Programme, with involvement of all our Integrated, Participating, and Associated Societies.
The ISW 2022 venue - Hofburg, Vienna
The Abstract Centre opened just over a month ago, and closure has been extended until the 28 th of February 2022. We are delighted to note that the number of abstracts received even at this stage, exceeds those from previous years. There will of course be the Named Lectures, including the Allgower Lecture, and the American College of Surgeons / ISS Chapter, workshops, and all the educational activities you have come to expect. Austria has one of the most advanced Covid control programs in Europe, and it will be the middle of European summer. There is a real expectation that the pandemic will have been controlled across most of Europe, and that while it may continue to be endemic, both the measures for control, and the understanding of the disease itself have improved beyond recognition. We are aware that uncertainties will remain and have put financial safety nets in place (again also with support from the Government of Austria) to minimize any loss to ISS/SIC members including their registration fees, as well
The Ballroom at Hofburg, Vienna
as enhanced rates for early registration. Most airlines, too, are playing their part with cheaper airfares, no penalty flight changes or cancellation refunds.
lar: BSI, IAES, IATSIC, ISDS have regular presentations. Details are on our website.
The World Journal of Surgery, YOUR Journal, continues to expand across the board. My thanks to Julie Anne Sosa, Laura Shearer, and the entire Editorial team, and Editorial Board for their success. Read more below.
Egypt: El-Kased Ahmed Farag Nepal: Joshi Anip Sri Lanka: Ranil Fernando,
Please remember that several Societies have ISS/SIC based Webinars, which have proven to be exceptionally popu-
We welcome our new National Delegates:
We look forward to meeting as many members of possible in Vienna. Spread the word. There is life after a pandemic! Kenneth D. Boffard Secretary-General ISS/SIC
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Report General Treasurer Gerard M. Doherty, General Treasurer ISS/SIC
We are now in the 2nd year of the pandemic, forcing us to modify the budget once more. Against all odds, the financial situation is stable through financial discipline and cuts on expenditures.
After external finance revision, the financial closing for 2020 shows a benefit of 52’519 USD, and for 2021 a small surplus is expected. The ISS/SIC council decided to move our congress from Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) to Vienna (Austria). As time is limited until this congress and the global situation is still uncertain, the financial risk of this activity is high; all expenditures will be therefore controlled and handled with care. However, predicting the finances for 2022 is challenging.
Fortunately, the Austrian Government offers a protective shield that gets active if we must cancel the meeting due to the pandemic. So, our finance team works very hard to get this done as this needs a lot of paperwork. Gerard M. Doherty General Treasurer ISS/SIC
The ISS/SIC Council at a virtual meeting
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Report Editor in Chief WJS Julie Ann Sosa, Editor in Chief WJS
Hello and greetings to members of the ISS/SIC from San Francisco, where we are still masked, vaccinated, and now preparing for booster shots! The COVID-19 pandemic continues to transform the world around us, and we look forward to the time when we will be able to meet in person again for the collaboration and collegiality that we all so enjoy. Meanwhile, I hope that all of you are remaining healthy and safe. So far, 2021 has been yet another record-setting year for the World Journal of Surgery (WJS). Rising to the very top of our achievements was the announcement of our highest-ever impact factor, which
rose from 2.234 to 3.352, which was a 50% improvement from 2019! Among Google’s Top 20 surgery journals (WJS is #12), only one other journal had a bigger percentage increase than WJS, and only 24 of 208 surgery journals with an impact factor improved by more! This almost cer tainly is the result of many different active and intentional initiatives that we have developed over the last several years at WJS to position it at the leading edge of innovation among peer-reviewed surgical publications. These include ‘We asked the experts’ reviews, ‘My first paper’ highlights for authors whose first-of-career original manuscript was published in WJS, prioritization of invited commentaries and editorials which are at an all-time high, and our ‘Inspirational women in surgery’ series that shines a monthly light on women surgeons around the globe at different stages of their careers who inspire us through their extraordinary accomplishments. Professor Fiona Wood of Australia was the
first such woman surgeon highlighted. This figure shows the international distribution of all these new features over the last year! Another likely explanation for our rise in impact factor is almost certainly related to our affiliation with the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Society. Our collaboration with Professor Olle Ljungqvist of Sweden has allowed WJS to publish three different ERAS guidelines in the last year – for pancreatoduodenectomy, neonatal intestinal surgery, and perioperative care for emergency laparotomy; two more guidelines are in the pipeline, and we look forward for more to come. We have worked hard to increase the visibility of WJS across many different dimensions. On social media, more than 2,000 followers have been added to our Twitter account in just the last year, with more than 725,000 impressions through July 2021. Last year alone, we circulated 28 visual abstracts; each of these attracts
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nearly three times as much interest as a regular WJS tweet, and all of this helps to amplify the visibility of our authors and their science. In addition, we conducted the inaugural virtual Writers’ Workshops on August 23 and again on September 6. Ten members of our editorial leadership took time off from their busy schedules to teach the workshops, which provided an abbreviated curriculum about how perform peer-review and write a scientific paper for 155 registrants from around the world. Finally, WJS has doubled down on its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion under the leadership of our DEI ombuds, Dr Sanziana Roman of the U.S.; below is a visual abstract created to celebrate the newest additions to our WJS editorial board in 2021. You will see spectacular colleagues from all around the globe whose diversity is demonstrated
in so many ways. We are excited to have them join us!
De Oliveira and thank you for your service during the pandemic Dr Soubrane!
In addition, Dr Michelle de Oliveira of the University of Zurich in Switzerland joined our editorial team this fall as our associate editor for liver surgery, replacing Dr Olivier Soubrane of France. Welcome Dr
In summary, 2021 has been an exciting year already for WJS, and we are looking forward to continuing to work hard for the ISS/SIC and its members, as well as for our authors and their science, and our readers. With International Surgical now set to be held in Vienna in August, we expect all our authors and presenters to plan to submit their very best work for consideration for peer-reviewed publication in WJS. On behalf of our incredibly hard-working editorial board, associate editors, managing editor Laura Shearer, and our new publisher, Erin Duffy, thank you for the privilege of service!
Dr Michelle de Oliveira
Julie Ann Sosa Editor in Chief WJS
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Report ISS-Foundation Michael G. Sarr, Secretary/Treasurer ISS Foundation
As a secretary treasurer of the ISS Foundation, I am delighted to write this very brief update. As everyone knows, because of the Covid pandemic, very little international travel and educational in-country courses has happened; the outreach programs that the ISS/SIC supports as well as the travel scholars to the every other year ISS/SIC meeting have been put on hold, but we hope that will be able to resume all of this as soon as possible. As in the last newsletter, we had hoped to have about 7 travel scholarships funded by the ISS Foundation and a few others funded via IATSIC, ISDS and ASAP; these specific travel scholarships are managed via the website of the ISS Foundation. The BSI and IAES have their own type of travel scholarships via their organization. Several changes, unfortunately, have had to be made 1. The ISS Foundation has decided not to offer travel scholarships funded by the ISSF, IATSIC, ISDS and ASAP for the 2022 meeting in Austria, there are too many variables with the COVID virus and especially in the last few weeks with this omicron variant.
Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna
2. Whether the IAES and BSI travel scholarships for 2022 will still be offered will depend on those individual societies and I would suggest that you look at their websites for details. For the Scholarships for IAES go to: www.IAES-endocrine-surgeons.com, while for BSI go to: www.BSIsurgery.org. 3. The ISSF is planning actively to renew this travel scholarship program in 2024 more details will follow. Where appropriate, these travel awards will be open soon via these websites. I encourage all to review the guidelines concerning age, position, etc., but I encourage everyone who is a candidate to apply! Please when applying include all the necessary
documents required otherwise the application will remain dormant until all information have been included. I will remind you that the mission of the ISSF is to promote education of surgeons and anesthesiologists in the developing world through travel scholarships to our every other year meeting and via in-country educational seminars and hands-on training. Anyone or any group interested in developing an in-country educational course please contact me directly to help to facilitate this possibility. Michael G. Sarr Secretary/Treasurer ISS Foundation
Report Administrative Office ISS/SIC Administrative Office team Chris, Laurie, Mike, Denise
Dear ISS/SIC members In view of pathbreaking decisions to be taken by our Council recently, this newsletter appears with quite some delay but nevertheless should give you timely information on the developments. We hope that you have all well started into 2022 and that the newly born year may
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bring a lot of happiness and health to our lives. The team of the Administrative Office working on multiple projects over the last year. Introduction and execution of the webinars of some Integrated Societies, concept, and realization of the Virtual Surgical Week 2021 under the guidance of Alessandro Fichera and our Secretary-General Ken Boffard. The organization of ISW 2022 in Vienna within the given narrow time-frame surely is another challenge which our administrative staff accepts and we are confident to have a great meeting in Vienna. The novum in Vienna will be a governmental protective shield in case of cancellation due to the pandemic. Needless to mention that we count on the support of the ISS/SIC membership to spread the information and motivate your colleagues to submit abstracts and attend the meeting. After a long period of virtual meetings, this will be a great opportunity to meet colleagues and friends from all over the world again in person and to extend your networks. Abstract Center remains open until 28 February 2022. Updated information at www.isw2022.org. Current ISS/SIC members will profit from a reduced registration fee!
Vienna city center from St. Stephen's Cathedral
SAVE THE DATE: The ISS/SIC General Assembly 2022 will be on 17th August 2022 at 12:15 hrs at ISW 2022 in Vienna. The Council invites all members of the ISS/SIC to join. We are looking forward to welcoming you all in Vienna in August! On our internal membership platform https://issmembership.org, which is accessible exclusively for ISS/SIC Members,
our office team initiated and integrated all content available from Webinars, the VSW 2021, IAES Postgraduate Courses, and more. This content should be an attractive added value for our members. Please have a look and check it out. With our best wishes. Administrative Office team Visit us on: Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn
Message from ISW 2022 National President Albert Tuchmann, ISW 2022 National Congress President
Dear ISS/SIC Members, Dear Congress – ISW 2022 – participants in Vienna, As you all know the ISW2022 venue had to be transferred from Kuala Lumpur to Vienna/Austria. Be sure that the “Vienna Team” together with the ISS/SIC office organized everything in the shortest time ever (Nov. 6 to Nov. 25!! = less than three
weeks) for your satisfaction. At these days /around Dec. 8, Austria suffers the fourth Covid-lockdown, but the Covid incidence already decreases - Austria will get a law that all people must be vaccinated by Feb. 1, 2022. Therefore, we are optimistic for a safe and successful ISW 2022 in August 15-18, 2022 in Vienna, Austria. Please, do not hesitate to send your abstracts and attend the ISW 2022 either as an active or passive member! “Stay connected” as the ISS/SIC slogan tells!! – especially in difficult (Covid-) times! and please … Come to Vienna this year!!!
Best wishes! Albert Tuchmann National Congress President
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Report IAES Akira Miyauchi, President IAES
Janice L. Pasieka, Secretary-Treasurer IAES
Your IAES Council has been meeting and working remotely over this past year. We are in the process of updating our ByLaws thanks in part due to the ad hoc committee of Drs. Sally Carty, Jan Zedenius, Martha Zeiger and Stan Sidhu. The membership will be asked to vote electronically on these changes in the coming months. Council is also working on the development of a unique educational platform that will be offered in three time-zones and be as interactive as we can without gathering physically.
Given the inability for many members to gather safely in KL, the ISS / IAES meeting will be held in person, in Vienna, Austria August 15-18th 2022. Stay tuned for details regarding abstract submissions and our unique IAES program. We continue to add to our membership and many of our Associate members have started to transition to full Active membership roles. Come spring of 2022, we will be asking for nominations for a new President-elect, Secretary-Treasurer, and three new Councilors for the nominating Committee to consider. Please forward any nominations (and feel free to self-nominate as this process will be anonymous), through our email IAES_JP@icloud.com . INTEREST Program INTEREST (International Endocrine Surgical Teams) is our outreach program providing support for Endocrine Surgical teaching, operative supervision, and equipment provision to developing countries. Initially the concept was put forward to the executive by Mr. Rob Parkyn in 2008 and over the following 3 years opportunities and legalities were explored. From 2012
programs under the banner of the IAES have been provided in numerous countries throughout Africa and Asia. Unfortunately, the current program has been postponed due to the pandemic. At the recent IAES Council meeting Rob announced his retirement as Chair of INTEREST and council voted to elect Dr. Inne Borel-Rinkes as Chair. Rob will continue to serve during the transition for the next year. The IAES is indebted to Dr Parkyn for his vision and leadership of this program. Rob stated; “I have appreciated and enjoyed the enthusiastic collaboration of numerous IAES members during many ventures in developing countries. Many more have indicated their willingness to participate in future programs. I have no doubt that the INTEREST program we will continue to flourish. I am indebted to both the IAES and the ISS Foundation for the financial support of the INTEREST program.” The IAES Virtual 2021 Meeting Although we all would have preferred to meet in KL this past August, the cancellation of our annual in-person meeting did not deter the Council from putting together an education program for our members. I am indebted to those that quickly ‘stepped up to the plate’ and helped organize a cadre of educational videos. To try and make them as dynamic and interactive as possible given the static format, Drs. Marcin Barczyń ski and Inne Borel-Rinkes organized nine ‘how I do it’ videos from leading experts. Each video concluded with an informative ‘live’ discussion from other IAES leaders. Dr Barb Miller put together a ‘round table’ discussion from IAES leaders on the emerging ablative techniques for thyroid nodules. This video encompasses the current knowledge and is a must see for anyone interested in adapting such techniques into their practice.
Most impressing, the Hundertwasser house in Vienna
A ‘potpourri’ of rare, but very interesting endocrine surgical cases from the NIH un-
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der the leadership of Drs. Martha Zeiger and Naris Nilubol, were included. Two of our senior faculty Drs. Geoff Thompson and Britt Skogseid put together a Clinicopathologic Conference that highlighted many ‘pearls of wisdom’ in the management of pheochromcytomas. Its unique format illustrated once again the importance of a close working relationship endocrine surgeons must have with our endocrinologists in the care of these complex patients.
Sidhu and Dr Carmen Solorzano put forward in their talks. Thanks to Drs. Tracy Wang and Herb Chen for their kind introductions and leading the discussions of this years' lectures.
Both State of the Art 2021 Lecturers were pre-recorded with a live, dynamic discussion following the lecture that helped highlight the messages that both Dr Stan
Two distinguished IAES members receive ISS Honorary Fellowships The ISS Honorary Fellowship is awarded to ISS/SIC members that have an un-
All videos including those from the 2019 IAES Postgraduate Course are now available on our website. Just Login and look for our logo on the Webinar site of the ISS Homepage. See our December 2021 IAES Newsletter for a full listing of the videos.
doubted international reputation and have rendered distinguished services to the ISS/SIC. The IAES executive nominated two of our members for this honour and we are pleased to announce that Dr. Orlo Clark and Dr. Patricia Numann were awarded this honour at the recent ISS/ SIC Council meeting. See the December 2021 IAES Newsletter for a full biographical sketch of these distinguished Endocrine Surgeons. Akira Miyauchi President IAES Janice L. Pasieka Secretary-Treasurer IAES
Report IATSIC Elmin Steyn, President IATSIC
• Scott D’Amours, Acting President IATSIC
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Report on the activities of IATSIC March 2021– December 2021 Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, activities continued, various new opportunities are looming, and training courses evolved to accommodate the challenges of distancing and travel. DSTC and DATC training course activities • Due to COVID restrictions, innovative adaptations to educational strategies have been developed. This is support-
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ed, if core content and essential course components are preserved. Course directors are requested to provide feedback or request advice and input if required, to Tarek Razek or Scott D’Amours for DSTC, and to Jonathan White or Anders Holtan for DATC. Online meetings with all DS/ATC course directors internationally are ongoing, coordinated by Tarek Razek. Updated slide sets are available (2021 Edition) to structure each course to the needs of the country and are being maintained by Mr Chris Storz in a secure Drop Box location. 23 new NTMC faculty members were trained in Sri Lanka in August 2021 under the leadership of Dr Ranjith Ellawala The TCAA (Trauma Center Association of America) has signed an MoU with IATSIC to run DSTC courses in the US. As many experienced DSTC faculty members are already present in the US and Canada, this is likely to be very successful endeavour.
Webinars • The IATSIC webinar program strives to provide live online presentations with live interactions with the audience whenever technically possible. Especially successful over the past 6
months, were the collaborations with ESTES, with ANZAST and with the Milpark Trauma Unit. • The next IATSIC webinars are currently being planned. We are very keen to continue collaborative work with the efforts of our international and regional trauma colleagues and associations worldwide. • Topics and speakers will be announced through social media and the ISS/SIC office. Global commitments WHO Collaboration • IATSIC, together with the WHO Academy, are collaboratively developing an advanced trauma operative management course. International contributors were sought, and 40-50 experts volunteered. Working groups were formalised and contributions have been received up to a Christmas deadline. This is an especially important project as it will provide training opportunities worldwide for those from low resourced environments, who would otherwise never be able to attend courses such as DSTC. • Credit goes to Tina Gaarder and Tim Hardcastle, who have driven this pro-
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Reception scenario at Hofburg Vienna
ject forward, despite all the challenges and frustrations of our times! • Other than educational expertise provided, there is no funding from the WHO. IATSIC is providing input on a voluntary basis, although funds will be required for technical aspects such as development of video material. Virtual ISW August 2021 • The Virtual ISW took place on 30 th August to 2nd September 2021. Two IATSIC sessions were offered on provocative topics. Sadly, live panel discussions could not be offered, but we thank the speakers from all over the world who certainly provided some stimulating presentations. 49 th ISW 2022 (Vienna 15–18 August 2022) conference preparation: • As already announced- the 49th International Surgical Week this year will take place in Vienna, Austria, August 15–18. • The programme, topics and speakers have been reviewed and are currently being finalised. Some of the sessions originally planned for the 2021 conference have been retained. Others have been updated and changed. The program provides plenty of opportunities for debates, discussions, and interrogation of controversies, while also providing a platform for speakers from LMICs. • A specially selected hotel, as well as a restaurant for the Gala dinner have been provisionally reserved for IATSIC members and guests. More details to follow. • Although we are sad that we cannot have the Congress in Malaysia this year – we are excited to be planning to go there with the next ISW planned for 2024
The Great Hall at Hofburg, Vienna
ECTES 2021 collaborations • The ECTES online congress in April 2021 included a very successful IATSIC Guest Symposium on the topic of gender equity. Membership • The ISS/SIC administrative team have graciously enabled us to offer a first year of free membership to attendees at DS/ATC courses who apply for membership while attending the course. Please contact the ISS/SIC central office for slides/posters to advertise membership during courses. IATSIC leadership, constitution, and bylaws • The terms of office of members of the executive committees of all the ISS/ SIC integrated societies have been automatically extended to the next ISW meeting in August 2022. Due to work commitments the current IATSIC president, Elmin Steyn, requested the president elect, Scott D’Amours to step in as acting president until August 2022. All other roles and responsibilities of the executive committee remain unchanged. • The bylaws and constitution of IATSIC are being reviewed, and proposed changes will be submitted to membership before the next AGM, with the following goals: – To formally incorporate DATC leadership on the current DSTC committee, to achieve representation at the executive committee of IATSIC. This is overdue, as DATC has evolved to play an important and much needed role in trauma surgical education.
– To formally invite a representative of IASSS to serve on the executive committee, to provide insights in current youth culture, advise on utilization of media and to enable IATSIC to better invest in the promotion of trauma care to future generations of surgeons. – To create the funded administrative position of Operational Manager, who would be responsible for logistics, technical and administrative governance, updates, and content maintenance of the educational courses offered by IATSIC. – To reassess the roles of the executive committee office bearers and councilors to maintain and increase invested efforts With these changes we hope to strengthen the leadership and administrative capabilities of the organization. Considering the already significant role IATSIC is playing in improving trauma care globally, the governance of expanded courses and projects requires input and energy, best served by expanding the footprint and capabilities of the organization. Best wishes from the IATSIC executive committee. ‘til we meet again! Elmin Steyn, President Scott D’Amours, President Elect and Acting President Hayato Kurihara, Secretary/Treasurer Tina Gaarder, Past President and Congress Program Chair
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Report IASMEN Anders Thorell, President IASMEN
Dear IASMEN members We are still facing the pandemic Covid situation, and although restrictions might not be as severe as before in many countries, all our lives are still being affected in one way or another. This also applies to all our daily activities and duties, being either clinical or academic. Many of us are still involved in the care of patients suffering from Covid infection, and the burden associated with the need of “catching up” with the need of care of patients that has been postponed during the pandemic is tremendous and will keep many of us busy for a long time. As all of you are aware, the plans to arrange a face-to-face meeting in Kuala Lumpur 2021 was abandoned since long and the meeting is postponed until 2022. To compensate for the loss of activities, ISS/SIC arranged a virtual meeting (VSW) Aug 30 – Sep 3, 2021. According to preliminary reports, the meeting was a great success. Obviously, this will also be thoroughly evaluated soon. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank all of you who contributed by presentations, comments, discussions, and attendance at the meeting as such. I hope that you all will be able to respond to follow-up queries that will be circulated, to give us information as to how we could improve these meetings in the future. As usual, IASMEN had one session on various aspects of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS). Amongst other new interesting data, some intriguing observations regarding improved long-time survival in patients submitted to ERAS pathways were presented by Olle Ljungqvist, Sweden. The reduced stress exposed to the
patients with less inflammatory response was one suggested mechanism to explain the findings. Another session covered various Nutritional aspects in patients in the ICU. Some very interesting data from Japan was presented by Shigeaki Inoue, suggesting that electrical stimulation of skeletal muscle might improve muscle mass and function. We are looking forward to taking part of data from future studies in this area, in since this is an effect that has not previously been convincingly demonstrated in healthy individuals. Finally, one session was focused on the impact of metabolic and nutritional issues on the outcome after various types of surgery. Again, a warm thank you to all of you who contributed and /or attended the program. During year 2021, the SNS activities, supervised by IASMEN SNS Secretary Naomi Nakayama, has increased further as illustrated by the 2.5- and 5-fold increase in the numbers of followers on Facebook and Twitter, respectively. We do believe that this is one very important way to expose important issues within our area of interest, and we plan to continue these activities during 2022 as well. To further attract young colleagues to become members in IASMEN, our Secretary General, Joji Kotani, has actively approached several of the PEN-societies in Asia to find ways to increase our number of members for future collaboration. Although no formal agreements have been reached, there is good hope that
we will be able to offer block membership in IASMEN for members of the various Asian PEN-societies, which might have a tremendous potential to improve our collaborative activities. The nature of the next planned ISW meeting 2022 in Kuala Lumpur has been very uncertain until now. It gives me therefore great pleasure to inform you that International Surgical Week has been confirmed as a face-to-face meeting and will take place in the city of Vienna, Austria Monday 15 – Thursday 18 August 2022. The meeting will take place at the Hofburg Palace in downtown central Vienna. (https://www.wien.info/en/sightseeing/ sights/imperial/hofburg-vienna). The Abstract Centre has been opened for submission of papers and will close on the 28th February 2022. We have therefore good hope that the next ISW 2022, although maybe somewhat “down-sized”, will be a success. To achieve this, we also need to summarize our experiences from the VSW 2021 and “extrapolate” these to a full congress. We should also be able to get some guidance in evaluating the outcome from the questionnaires that were completed by participants and attendees to further guide us in this decision-making. Ultimately, we also need to adopt to the actual pandemic situation at the time of the congress, which is not only beyond our control but also impossible to foresee. Best wishes to all of you in these challenging times.
Tempting… chocolate cake and coffee in Vienna
Anders Thorell President IASMEN
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Report BSI Gaurav Agarwal, President BSI
Sharon W.W. Chan, Honorary Secretary BSI
Chen, Prof. Owen Ung and Prof. Mikael Hartman. Leading global experts shared their experience in Oncoplastic Surgery techniques and Novel Sentinel Lymph Node techniques in Video sessions. We received lots of positive feedbacks regarding the program, the scientific contents and the extensive experience shared by our prominent speakers. These would not be possible without the passion of our
faculty in contributing to global breast surgery education, who spent their valuable time even at their inconvenient times.
It was a busy summer for Breast Surgery International! The rich and comprehensive program of Virtual Surgical Week and the well-planned series of BSI Web-utorials kept everyone engaged and updated of the latest advances in breast surgery. After considerable churning and changing, the ISS/SIC and all integrated societies have arrived at the decision to hold a face-to-face ISW 2022 on 15th to 18th Aug 2022 at Vienna, Austria.
BREAST SURGERY INTERNATIONAL at VIRTUAL SURGICAL WEEK 30 th August – 3rd September 2021 The BSI joined the International Society of Surgery’s first virtual event – the Virtual Surgical Week 2021. Thirty-five high profile international faculty and speakers delivered a high-quality scientific program of the BSI. These eminent speakers including Dr. Krishna B. Clough (France), Dr. Jill Dietz (President ASBrS, USA), Prof. Lynda Wyld (UK) and Prof. Ben Anderson (USA), who delivered the four keynote lectures, covering topics relating oncoplastic breast surgery, post-neoadjuvant axillary treatment, and global breast cancer initiatives. The program also included 2 symposia on hot topics, i.e., breast cancer treatment during COVID pandemic and breast cancer care round the globe. The most exciting sessions are always our debate sessions in which stimulating ideas were brought forward by world renowned exper ts Prof. Chip Cody, Dr. Steven
BSI speakers and moderators
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BSI Keynote: Oncoplastic Surgery: Classification and long-term results by Dr. Krishna Clough
BSI Debate: Breast conservation surgery offers survival advantage over mastectomy in EBC patients by Dr. Steven Chen and Prof. Mikael Hartman
BSI Symposium: Breast cancer care around the globe by Dr. Rajendra Badwe, Dr. Polly Cheung, Dr. Ines Buccimazza and Prof. Nur Aishah Mohd Taib BSI Video Session: Oncoplastic surgical procedures by Dr. Ashutosh Kothari, Prof. Elisabeth Elder, Dr. Amit Agrawal, Dr. Tiina Jahkola, Prof. Shawna Willey.
BREAST SURGERY INTERNATIONAL WEB-UTORIAL 5 June 2021 BSI initiated a series of periodical on-line web-utorials, which are planned to be held throughout the year till the next International Surgical Week in August 2022. All meetings were planned to be held live. In the first web-utorial, under the moderation of the President BSI, Prof. Gaurav Agarwal (India) and President-elect Prof. Owen Ung (Australia), Prof. Michael Douek (UK) and Dr. Jean-Francois Boileau (Canada) delivered lectures on contemporary axillary management in breast cancer. After the lectures, there was a panel in which all aspects of the issue were discussed by reputed panelists including Prof. Emiel Rutgers (The Netherlands), Dr. Viviana
BSI Web-utorial: Personalized axillary management in breast cancer by Prof. Michael Douek and Dr. Jean-Francois Boileau.
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Galimberti (Italy) and Dr. Anusheel Munshi (Radiation Oncology, India). Prof. Sarkis Meterissian (Canada) moderated this 1 hr. panel with over 300 surgeons participating from all over the world. The next web-utorial in this series will be held again live on Saturday 4th December 2021. The theme of the meeting will be Oncoplastic Breast Surgery. The third web-utorial of the series is planned to be held on Saturday 07th May 2022. In this meeting the faculty will discuss issues about high-risk breast lesions. Mark the dates and let’s meet online live! In the recent months, BSI has participated in numerous online academic meetings conferences and workshops. These have included the Egyptian Society of Surgeons International Surgical Week held in collaboration with International Society of Surgery 7-9 April 2021; “BreastGlobal” conference, 25-27 June 2021 – which was a collaborative event of many likeminded breast and oncology societies including the EUSOMA and ESSO, the “Breastics24” a unique meeting on breast oncoplastic surgery organized by friends of BSI in the Senaturk. Besides, the society has been invited to collaborate in the WHO’s Global breast cancer initiative, which is led by our own Prof Ben Anderson from Seattle, USA. The BSI is being represented in this truly global think tank by Prof Cheng-Har Yip and Prof Gaurav Agarwal. This newly constituted body of the WHO is working on making sure that the three vital pillars of breast cancer care, namely - health promotion, timely diagnosis, and comprehensive treatment & supportive care are all given due importance in public health programs all over the world. It is working with various global partners, experts, and other organizations in direction of at formulating guidelines for the various resource settings across the globe and engage with governments, non-governmental organisations, and other stake-holders to help implement resource-appropriate breast cancer care. INTERNATIONAL SURGICAL WEEK 2022 and FUTURE EVENTS With number of uncertainties relating the COVID pandemic, plans for the ISW
2022 has seen number of changes. In the March 2021, as well as subsequent September 2021 meetings of the BSI council, various options have been discussed, considering the information received from the ISS/SIC headquarters, and the local organizers of the ISW 2022 at Kuala Lumpur, as it was originally planned. BSI council members unanimously committed to work out the best possible arrangement and the same high-quality program for ISW 2022, despite all the uncertainties. With recent decision of the ISS/SIC council and congress organizers to shift the ISW 2022 from Kuala Lumpur to Vienna, Austria, where a face-to-face conference is now planned to be held from 15th to 18th August 2022, the BSI council, and the Program chair Dr Jean-Francois Boileau have initiated the re-designing of the BSI scientific program. The BSI program for ISW 2022 will feature experts from all around the world and present state-of-the-art sessions in breast cancer management. Professor Krishna B. Clough, founder of the Paris Breast Centre, pioneer in the development of, and international expert in breast oncoplastic procedures, will deliver the 2022 BSI Umberto Veronesi Lecture. Efforts are on to hold at least one pre-conference course (BSI oncoplastic/ reconstructive breast surgery, which is ever so popular). Additionally, the new “Breast Ultrasonography and Interventions Course” will be offered (limited availability) may also be held if local logistics are worked out.
The 2022 BSI program will feature experts from all around the world that will present state-of-the-art sessions in breast cancer management. The usual features of symposia, debates and key-note lectures will be there. These sessions include updates in management of the axilla and oncoplastic breast surgery. The BSI main sessions will cover neoadjuvant therapy in operable triple negative and HER2+ breast cancer, management of high-risk patients and special considerations of breast cancer treatment in the Asian population. The greatly anticipated and very informative “BSI debate” and “Stump the Expert” sessions are always a highlight of the BSI meeting and will again be part of the program. New in 2022, the Association of Women Surgeons (AWS) and BSI will hold a joint session that will cover important topics in global health and gender issues related to breast cancer care. The ISW 2022 abstract center is now open, and BSI members and others are invited to submit their best works for podium presentations and posters sessions. Other future events where BSI would be collaborating with other societies were discussed too. Stay tuned for many more exciting activities to come! Gaurav Agarwal Sharon Chan President BSI Honorary Secretary BSI
BSI council meeting on 19 September 2021
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Report ISDS Alessandro Fichera, President ISDS
The ISS/SIC Virtual Surgical Week 2021 that took place August 30th to September 2 was a big success. ISDS was an integral component and a major contributor to the outstanding program. We have had participation from integrated, participating, and associated societies. ISDS specifically had session covering the whole spectrum of disorders of the gastrointestinal tract including hernia and bariatric surgery. Experts from around the world participated and contributed. Very diverse faculty presented their findings. This is a great prelude to the International Surgical Week 2022 to be held in Vienna 15-18 August 2022 as a physical congress. ISDS also has put together a comprehensive program of monthly webinars that
will go on until spring 2022. They have also been extremely well received and attended. Due to the pandemic we had to quickly change of plan and implement solutions to keep ISS/SIC and all the integrated societies front, center and relevant in the academic environment. The ISDS executive Council promptly responded to the challenge and delivered. While the pandemic is still putting up a fight, we are now slowly going back to the normal planning stages of the in-person meeting. We are looking forward to seeing each other again in person in Vienna. The planning faces will start immediately and will continue until the International Surgical Week. Of note the abstract deadline is February 28, 2022. Please follow us on the ISS/SIC website where members will be able to access the 2021 Virtual Surgical Week as well as the entirety of the ISDS webinars. They will serve as a prelude to the amazing in person meeting in Vienna.
president. Due to the pandemic, I had the privilege of serving an extra year, a total of three as the Society president. It was indeed a privilege and a heartwarming experience seeing people from all over the world coming together to push the society through these difficult times. I know that the Society will be in great shape after I pass the baton to President Elect Mr. Jamie Murphy from London. I wish him and the entire executive Council all the best in the future and I will remain available to support and assist him in the continued growth of the society. Alessandro Fichera President ISDS
At the upcoming 2022 International Surgical Week I will end my tenure as ISDS
Horse-driven carriage at Hofburg palace
January 2022
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Report IASSS Shadé Breedt, President IASSS
Jessica Davies, Administration Officer 2021 IASSS
The International Association of Student Surgical Societies (IASSS) is reaching the end of a productive and eventful year, despite the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our vision is to promote surgical education and interest through supporting surgical interest groups and as such, one of our focus points has been to strengthen our membership base. This time last year, our members totaled 433. As of September 2021, we have 995 members. In line with providing support to surgical interest groups, we have begun partnerships with local surgical societies and have over 50 societies that are directly affiliated with the IASSS at present. These societies appear on our website. We hosted sessions at Virtual Surgical Week (VSW) in August and it was a huge success. The sessions included a range of topics and themes such as Speciality Superiority, Brains vs Braun, All is Fair in Love and War, Battle of the Airways and Mentorship. We hope to assist in the Organisation of International Surgical Week (ISW) in Vienna, Austria, in 2022. Our Academy portfolio has hosted regular talks for our members. Some of these talks included topics on research in the field of surgery, as well as the power of women in surgery. These events played
a huge role in the rapid increase in our membership base this year. The Academy portfolio is also pursuing a second research article focused on establishing the benefits and learning opportunities available to members of the IASSS committee. Their first article was titled: “Artificial Intelligence and Global Surgery: Opportunities and Challenges” and has been submitted to the British Journal of Surgery. How to Guides have been developed by the portfolio and continue to be expanded on a regular basis. Some of the topics covered in these guides include mentorship, writing a research question and how to write a manuscript.
to continue this upward trajectory going forward. Shadé Breedt President IASSS Jessica Davies Administration Officer IASSS
Our Capacity por tfolio has been extremely busy with many events hosted by each of our Chapter Leads. Our Oceania Chapter Lead recently held a fundraiser for the Fred Hollow’s Foundation which provides eyes services and surgeries in Australia. Our Asia Chapter Lead hosted a talk in August on Surgical Ward Rounds and is hosting a talk in October as well. Our Europe Chapter Lead held a talk in September based on Robotic Heart Surgery and the Ozaki Procedure and is hosting their next talk at the end of this month on Colorectal Surgery. We are assisting in the sign-up process for a student emergency abdominal surgery course (sEASC) happening in November this year. IASSS members who are from low- and middle-income countries will receive a substantial discount to the course. To increase our visibility throughout our term, the Editorial Portfolio continues to play a huge role in our presence on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF SURGERY Administrative Office (ISS/SIC) Seefeldstrasse 88 CH-8008 Zurich Switzerland Phone: Fax: E-Mail: Web:
+41 44 533 76 50 +41 44 533 76 59 surgery@iss-sic.com www.iss-sic.com
The 2021 IASSS Committee has pioneered more events than any committee before it. We are extremely proud of the massive growth our society has had over the last year and the increase in engagement with our members. We hope
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Obituary:
Jorge Cervantes Castro April 27, 1938 – May 2, 2021, ISS/SIC Honorary Fellow 2009 From the beginning he showed his interest in academic activities. He was appointed as professor of surgery by the National University 1996 to 2011. He was on the editorial board of 7 medical journals. He was the author of over 200 papers and 52 book chapters. He wrote 4 surgical books, two of them on laparoscopic surgery.
It is with deep sorrow that we mourn the passing of Doctor Jorge Cervantes Castro, of Mexico City on May 28 th, 2021, at the age of 83 years. Professor Cervantes graduated from medical school at the National Mexican University (UNAM). After completing his studies in Mexico City, he did his residency in General/vascular surgery at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. After completing his surgical training, he returned to Mexico City and established his practice at the American British Cowdray (ABC) Medical Center.
There weren´t many international meetings where his name wasn´t known. He always carried the name of Mexico and the ABC Medical Center with great pride and put the name of both very highly. Jorge was the best ambassador of surgery that any country could have asked for. He was a member of over 30 surgical societies, and was active in many of them, including the American College of Surgeons (ACS), and the International Federation of Societies of Endoscopic Surgeons (IFSES). He was president of the Mexican chapter of the Latin American Federation of Surgery (FELAC) and became an honorary fellow of FELAC as well. He was active in the International Society of Surgery (ISS/SIC) hosting one of the most successful International Surgical Week’s in Acapulco in 1997. He
became also an honorary member of the ISS/SIC in 2009. In Mexico he was one of the founding members of the Mexican Society of General Surgery (AMCG). He was the president of the Mexican Board of Surgery and was a member of the Mexican Academia of Surgery. Dr. Cer vantes was a person who wasn´t able to stay still, to the point that even in his early 70s he decided to do a PhD in law because he could never learn enough. Then he wrote a book about it! Despite all his academic achievements, the thing that Jorge was proudest about was his family. He is survived by his wife, his one true love Lucero, who was always by his side. She was his inspiration and his organizer of the social agenda. As well his five children Jorge, Arturo, Ignacio, Pablo, and Lucero and many grandchildren and great grandchildren filled out many wonderful holiday photos. We´ll miss you my dear friend! Samuel Shuchleib MD FACS
January 2022
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Obituary:
Ronald K. Tompkins October 14, 1934 – August 17, 2021, WJS Editor in Chief 1993-2004 laryngology Service at the Griffiss USAF Hospital in New York, and receiving the Air Force Longevity Service Award and Flight Surgeon Rating and Wings. After the military, Ron completed general surgery residency under the mentorship of the legendary Dr. Robert M. Zollinger at the Ohio State University.
Ronald K. Tompkins, M.D., served as Editor of the World Journal of Surgery from 1993-2004 and will be remembered for his compassion, kindness, and expertise. Ron passed away on August 17, 2021, in Santa Monica, CA. He was 86 years of age.
In 1969, Ron moved his family to California and joined the UCLA faculty, becoming full Professor in 1979. He was Chief of the Division of General Surgery from 1982 to 1988 and Chief of the Section of Gastrointestinal Surgery from 1988 to 1997. He also served as Assistant Dean for Student Affairs and Associate Dean for Veterans' Affairs. He served as Director of the Basic Surgical Training Program from 1970-80, Director of the General Surgery Residency Program from 1982 to 1988, and inaugural Director of Surgical Education from 1999 through 2004.
Ron was born in Malta, Ohio, and received his undergraduate degree with highest honors in chemistry from Ohio University in Athens in 1956 and his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1960. Ron served in the United States Air Force from 1959-64, rising to the rank of Captain, serving as Chief of Aerospace Medicine and of the Oto-
Ron was an internationally acclaimed hepatobiliary and gastrointestinal surgeon, and much of most cited work was in the field of biliary disease. He held membership in 44 prestigious surgical societies and leadership positions including presidency of the Pacific Coast Surgical Association, International Biliary Association, Los Angeles Surgical Society, Southern California Chapter of the Amer-
Ronald K. Tompkins, 1934-2021
ican College of Surgeons, and Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract. He was awarded Honorary Membership in the French Surgical Association and the Japan Surgical Society and received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Bordeaux bestowed by his friend and colleague, Professor Jacques Perissat. He also served as a Director of the American Board of Surgery and as editor of The World Journal of Surgery. Ron was the Secretary of the US Chapter and National Delegate to the International Committee of the International Society of Surgery. Ron is survived by his beloved wife of 65 years, Suzanne Colbert Tompkins; three children, Gregory (Elizabeth), Teresa Read (Stuart) and Geoffrey (Amy); and six grandchildren and one great granddaughter, all of whom adored “Grandpa Ron”. O. Joe Hines, MD Jonathan R. Hiatt, MD David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA Department of Surgery Los Angeles, CA 90095-6904
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Vienna, Austria 15-18 August 2022 49th World Congress of the International Society of Surgery ISS/SIC
International Surgical Week The World's Congress of Surgery
Congress President: John G. Hunter, USA
National Congress President: Albert Tuchmann, Austria
International Society of Surgery ISS / SIC
isw2022.org
Abstract Deadline 28 February 2022
and its Integrated Societies IAES - International Association of Endocrine Surgeons IATSIC - International Association for Trauma Surgery and Intensive Care IASMEN - International Association for Surgical Metabolism and Nutrition BSI - Breast Surgery International ISDS - International Society for Digestive Surgery ASAP - Alliance for Surgery and Anesthesia Presence
surgery@iss-sic.com
isw2022.org
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