ISS/SIC Newsletter May 2021

Newsletter International Society of Surgery (ISS) Société Internationale de Chirurgie (SIC) May 2021

Welcome by the ISS/SIC President John G. Hunter, President ISS/SIC & Congress President ISW 2022

When we all said a fond goodbye to 2020, some months ago, it was with great optimism that life would soon return to the life we knew before the SARS-CoV-1 global pandemic changed our lives forever. Vaccine studies were yielding positive results with few side effects for several different vaccines, and the supply chain was ready to crank out hundreds of millions of doses in rapid fashion.

Alas, things are not that simple. New Covid variants emerged, large swaths of our populations are fearful of vaccines, and willing to take the risk of Covid infection rather than undergo vaccination.

Globally, vaccine is scarce in low- and middle-income countries. The public is exhausted from social isolation, working and schooling from home, mask wearing, and travel restrictions. As such, pressure to relax public health measures coupled with widespread disregard of national, re-

Join us at the

VIRTUAL SURGICAL WEEK VSW 2021 30 August – 3 September 2021 organized for ISS/SIC members only!

Free of Charge www.isw2021.org

May 2021

1

gional, and local restrictions has allowed the pandemic to linger in nearly all locales, and pick up momentum in Europe, India, and many other parts of the world.

All this, to say we’re not done yet. And as such, we at the ISS/SIC are not ready to declare that we are ready to return to “old” ways. What is more, we suspect that we never will. And while we are profoundly saddened by the pain resulting from illness, death, isolation, and job loss, we are excited to embrace a “new normal”.

What might that new normal look like?

While it would be presumptuous for me to declare a new vision or direction for the ISS/SIC, several things seem clear: 1) We will be travelling less for business. The pandemic forced us to take action that we have long contemplated amongst ISS/SIC leadership, transitioning our face to face (F2F) Council and Executive Committee meetings to virtual meetings. For an international society like ours, this saves time, money, days away from work and family, infection risk, and helps reduce our carbon footprint. When site visits to ISW congress sites are needed, we may find our ISS/SIC Council meeting in person, but this will be a rare event.

2) Educational content will be increasingly digital. Our first foray into this will occur from August 30 to September 3 this year, a Virtual Surgical Week (VSW). Pre-recorded video content is already in preparation by ISS/SIC members and by all the Integrated Societies and many of our Participating Societies for this event. While the timetable for the first showing of each session has been created around Central European Time, all content will remain available to members to view at their convenience. For those able to view these sessions at the appointed hour, it is my hope that we will have some limited opportunity for a question and answer session at the end of some of the pre-recorded sessions.

3) Face to face meetings have value.

We anticipate that travel restrictions, economic circumstances, and the availability of digital education will result in smaller international congresses than we have previously seen. Nonetheless, most of us who grew up professionally attending large surgical congresses recognize that the important conversations, those that we remember, and the friendships that we have made over the years require face to face meetings. As well, the chance

for learners (and that means all of us!) to engage the world’s experts in informal conversations will be hard to duplicate in the virtual world. Currently, we remain hopeful that we will be getting together in Kuala Lumpur at the end of August in 2022. We are hopeful that all our international delegates and other attendees of ISW will join us in Malaysia, although the meeting might be a bit smaller than previous ISWs. In closing, let me wish you all well. We are saddened by the passing of an ISS/SIC honorary member and longtime friend, Alberto Montori. We recognize that our lives will be forever impacted by SARSCoV-1 and other emerging infectious diseases. If we seize the opportunity for this global battle against a common foe to bind us closer together as an international community, not divided by national borders, all striving for a single goal, perhaps we can advance peace, understanding and global scientific collaboration to a degree that we have not seen in the past.

It would be a shame to do otherwise.

John G. Hunter President ISS/SIC & Congress President ISW 2022

Kuala Lumpur Convention Center

May 2021

2

Report Secretary-General Kenneth D. Boffard, Secretary-General ISS/SIC

In my last message, the only predictability of C****19 was in its unpredictability, and the only certainty was its uncertainty. Vaccinations programs had not yet begun, (nor had the second surge).

Six months later there is more optimism, though there is still a long road to be travelled. For most countries, the second surge and even the third surge is subsiding. Vaccination programs are expanding worldwide, often unfortunately restricted by funds available, and the developing, resource-challenged world is sadly far behind. Israel, Bahrain, the United Kingdom, Chile and the United States have made huge strides and by the time of writing will have inoculated in excess of 60% of their populations. The disease will not be eradicated by the vaccination of the population of wealthier countries alone. Like trauma, it does not respect anatomical or economic boundaries. The knowledge about the disease itself has continued to expand (as have the “old wives’ tales” regarding untested drugs). Nonetheless, there is some order returning, although still with Draconian travel restrictions. Humans are, by their nature, a gregarious species – our younger members even more so. The wish to travel, to meet, to interact with one another will always be there and will re-assert itself.

In the November Newsletter, I wrote that what I miss most, is the opportunity for social contact. The strength of the ISS/ SIC has always been our unique ability to network and communicate, for developed and developing country members to meet face-to-face and exchange ideas, for Professors and Students to meet each other over a cup of coffee, for oncologists and trauma surgeons to find that they have more in common than differences, and for the unique mix that the International Sur-

gical Week brings to the Global Surgical world. There will never be a true substitute for face-to-face communication. We recognize that the time for this is not yet here, but also that it will return.

As you are aware, International Surgical Week (ISW) could not be held this year, although as mentioned by our President, John Hunter, we hope it will return after the extra year, in August 2022. We have therefore paused the Administrative processes until then and all Society, including Integrated Society Leadership will remain in place for an extra year, with their terms of office ending in August 2022. Of necessity, the timetable for future International Surgical Weeks has also been postponed by a year. However, it has also become clear that it is essential not to have a hiatus between meetings, and beginning in August this year, your Society will have an annual meeting with alternating International Surgical Weeks (ISW) in even-numbered years – 2022, 2024, and Virtual Surgical Weeks (VSW) in odd-numbered years 2021, 2023. As you know, ISW has multiple simultaneous sessions. VSW will have 50 sessions, but only one session will take place at a time, in real time.

These will be readily available even if you cannot listen to them in real time, but in keeping with the wide nature of your Society, we really hope that you will have the opportunity of participating in sessions in a much wider sphere, than you thought your interests lay. The VSW is entirely free of charge to ALL paid-up members of the Society. It will NOT be available to anyone whose membership is not valid at the time that VSW takes place (30 August – 3 September 2021). Besides the full program, John Hunter as our President, is leading the resurgence of your Society so please attend the President’s address on Monday 30 August and the (virtual) General Assembly on Wednesday 1 September, to keep yourself updated on your Society’s progress, and to help us listen to what you, our members and Fellows feel, and where you want your Society to grow.

A particular note of appreciation for the efforts of Alessandro Fichera, President of

ISDS, who is coordinating the entire VSW program between the Office, six Integrated Societies, seven Participating Societies, and eight Associated Societies, and has produced a spectacular virtual mix of something for everyone.

Another enhancement is the introduction of monthly Webinars by some of the Integrated Societies, currently ISDS, IAES and IATSIC, with others following. These have been incredibly successful, with great attendance, some excellent lateral thinking on a wide range of subject material. Congratulations to the Societies for this initiative. Our aim is, of course, for the ISS/SIC to be providing something for its members all the time, rather than in bursts, and something that is relevant to our global members. Together with the success of the World Journal under the Editor in Chief, Julie Ann Sosa, our footprint and influence in Global Surgery has expanded dramatically.

As you will be aware, through the generosity of the ISS Foundation, led by Michael Sarr, a donation has been made to allow a 20% reduction in all membership fees for the 2021 year. We are aware of the economic effects of the pandemic, and this will help in no small measure.

If you have not yet paid your annual dues, now is the time to do it, especially as VSW will only be accessible to current paid-up members of the Society.

Most of you will be aware that we have entered into Association with several National or Regional Societies, including the Sociedad de Cirujanos Perú - SCGP, The College of Surgeons of Eastern Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA), The College of Surgeons of Sri Lanka (CSSL), The College of Surgeons Academy of Medicine of Malaysia (CSAMM), The Egyptian Society of Surgery (ESS) and the International Association of Student Surgical Societies (IASSS). We have developed successful partnerships, including membership discounts for their membership, and ISS/SIC members have been Faculty and participants in local meetings. This is all part of our campaign

May 2021

3

WJS Writer’s Workshop at WCS 2019 Krakow

to listen to what world surgeons want, rather than tell them what we think they need. Many of our members have already participated as Faculty in these meetings.

If you would like to assist, please let us know.

It is with great pride that we welcome our two newest Association partners, Federación LatinoAmericana de Cirugía (FELAC) and the Royal College of Surgeons of England. We feel that there is a very strong symbiosis and look forward to welcoming Members and Fellows into our Global Community. We look forward to broadening our presence in South America, as well as broadening our educational initiatives in association with the Royal College.

Many of you will have benefited from the WJS Writer’s workshops held at International Surgical Week, and we will now, with the Royal College be launching a frequent Virtual Writer’s Mentorship Program which will be free of charge to the Society’s members. Watch this space.

If we forget or ignore our History, we do so at our peril. Maya Angelou was an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist who said: “I have great respect for the past. If you don't know where you've come from, you don't know where you're going. I have respect for the past, but I'm a person of the moment. I'm here, and I do my best to be completely centered at the place I'm at, then I go forward to the next place”. I think that summarizes your Society as well. We are the world’s oldest International Surgical Society and are looking forward to going forward to the next place.

We have been contacted by the American College of Surgeons regarding the Academy of Master Surgical Educators.

“The Mission of the Academy of Master Surgeon Educators is to play a leadership role in advancing the science and practice of education across all surgical specialties promoting the highest achievements in the lifetimes of surgeons.

Dorothea Liebermann was our Historian who documented our first 100 years since 1902. We are looking for an enthusiast who would assist us in documenting the 20 years, as history moves faster and faster. If you have an interest in Surgical History, and the history of one of its most senior Societies, please contact the office.

The History Book covering the first 100 years of ISS/SIC. PDF version vailable at www.iss-sic.com

May 2021

4

The Goals of the Academy include defining megatrends in surgical education and training; steering advances in the field; fostering innovation and collaboration; supporting faculty development and recognition; and underscoring the critical importance of surgical education and training in the changing milieu of health care. This is a hugely prestigious Academy, and if you want to know more and perhaps to be part of it, go to https://www.facs.org/education/academy Members can nominate the Society’s prizewinners and individuals, who are not necessarily members, but who should be considered for Honorary Fellowship of the Society – our highest honor that we can give. Please give consideration to the section on Prizewinners below and let us have any nominations.

Prize of the ISS/SIC “Société Internationale de Chirurgie”

The prize of the ISS/SIC “Société Internationale de Chirurgie” is awarded to the surgeon who has published work which has made the most notable and useful contribution to surgical science. The prize winner needs not to be a member of the ISS/SIC.

In the pandemic, our Integrated Societies have taken the lead with monthly Webinars, which have been spectacular. Go, listen, and be impressed. Details can be found elsewhere in this Newsletter. The shared vision of this Society is to enhance the education and skills of those looking after the surgical patients, no matter where that care has to take place. To do so, we must look at ongoing expansion of our activities globally, as well as value for our membership, both in what your Society is able to do to support and stimulate you, but also what we can put back into global surgery. Albert Schweitzer, Nobel Peace Prize winner, Theologian, and Physician, who created a hospital Lambaréné, Gabon, founded more than a century ago to atone for colonial crimes said: “You must give some time to your fellow man. For remember, you don’t live

in a world all your own. Your brothers are here too.”

Robert Danis Prize

ISS/SIC Honorary Fellow

The Robert Danis Prize is awarded to the surgeon who has made the most important and personal contribution to the fields of trauma (incl. skeletal fractures), burns or critical care. The awardee must be a national of one of the countries represented at the ISS/SIC. It is not necessary for the candidate to be a member of the ISS/SIC.

The ISS/SIC has endorsed the World Health Assembly WHA Resolution 68:15 and WHA Decision 70.22. These resolutions are based on well established principles of the sustainable development projects of the WHO, the World Millennium Development Goals, as well as the report of the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery and Safe Surgical Care, as it is about safe surgery in LMIC’s.

For the last year, the world has looked in on itself. With the optimism of a re-opening and of better times, we all have a role to contribute. We look forward to our shared vision.

Kenneth D. Boffard Secretary-General ISS/SIC

Recipients of Honorary Fellowship shall be members of undoubted international reputation who have rendered distinguished services to the ISS/ SIC. They have all of the rights of Active Members but are not required to pay dues or assessments. They shall receive all of the publications of the ISS/SIC without charge.

More information and application form at: http://iss-sic.com/about/awards.html

Report General Treasurer Gerard M. Doherty, General Treasurer ISS/SIC

Thank you for the trust placed in me as the treasurer for this august society. As with much in our lives, there has been little of the fiscal operations of the ISS/ SIC that has proceeded according to the anticipated plan. However, due to pru-

dent management by our central office, we have limited our operating expenses to meet our restricted revenues, after forgoing our planned ISS/SIC meeting in 2020.

Recognizing these novel times, we have made some adjustments to the ISS/SIC operations: • The ISS Foundation supported ISS/ SIC operations this year allowing a 20% discount in dues for each ISS/ SIC member.

• We have adapted to virtual council meetings with limited expense, and

used this technology to plan Virtual Surgical Week 2021 • All ISS/SIC members will have free access to VSW 2021, which will have little impact on our budget.

• We are actively reminding members who have not yet paid their dues to bring their accounts to current status.

With best regards.

Gerard M. Doherty General Treasurer ISS/SIC

May 2021

5

Report Editor in Chief WJS

Hello and greetings to members of the ISS/SIC from San Francisco, where we are still masked but fortunately vaccinated and optimistic about our reopening! The COVID-19 pandemic continues to transform the world around us, and I hope that all of you are remaining healthy and safe.

than ever to accommodate, and we have maintained an overall acceptance rate of 21%, keeping quality very high. Despite the higher throughput, in the last year, 59% of our decisions were made in under 30 days compared to 45% of decisions in 2019. We remain committed to this quick turnaround for our authors. Our impact continues to spread, with 859,216 downloads in 2020, up 22% from 2019.

That comes out to 2,354 article downloads per day, making WJS the 68th most downloaded Springer-published journal out of 3,690. Based on our h5-index of 52, Google ranks WJS the 11th most influential surgical journal in the world.

2020 was a record-setting year. With the pandemic, we experienced a sharp increase in the number of submissions to the World Journal of Surgery (WJS), such that we moved 2,741 submissions, up 25% from 2,187 in 2019. If we include resubmissions, the total was an extraordinary 3,105! Our editorial board, associate editors, managing editor and publisher (and yours truly!) have worked harder

To stay at the leading edge of surgical science, we embarked on a number of journal initiatives in 2020 in spite of the pandemic. We published or offered online (a highest ever!) nearly 60 invited commentaries, editorials, symposia and We Asked the Experts reviews for the year. Our My First Paper initiative, where we showcased 27 fist-time authors, hopefully will encourage surgeons around the world to

Julie Ann Sosa, Editor in Chief WJS

Rowan Parks, Associate Editor for Pancreatic Surgery

Welcome Rowan, and thank you Reid for your faithful service. Also, Lisa Aquilino replaced Sean Beppler as our Springer publisher, welcome Lisa, and thanks Sean!

consider scholarly pursuits. We also have worked to build out our relationship with the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Society, and in 2021, WJS is planning to publish ERAS guidelines in cardiac surgery (already online!) and emergency laparotomy, which will come in two parts; stay tuned! To continue to showcase our authors and their science, we have enhanced our social media platform, with a 40% increase in the number of Twitter followers and a 67% increase in the number of engagements with our posts.

In the end, I remain most impressed and inspired by my colleagues on the WJS editorial board and by our associate editors, managing editor, and publisher. Early this year, we welcomed Professor Rowan Parks of Scotland, who has long served on our editorial board, as our Associate Editor for pancreatic surgery, replacing Reid Adams of the USA.

Lisa Aquilino, Publisher from Springer

2021 is going to continue to be an exciting – and hopefully healthier and happier – year! WJS is committed to advancing science and also the broader tenets of diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEI) in our profession and also in publishing.

To that end, we celebrated International Women’s Day 2021 and are planning to have our new Ombuds for DEI, Dr Sanziana Roman of the USA, review all accepted manuscripts to check for unconscious and implicit bias.

May 2021

6

International Women’s Day: Diversity in leadership at WJS We believe this will help to raise the quality of the science that we publish. More to come!

Again, I’d like to thank the ISS/SIC for the privilege of serving as EIC. 2020 was a most challenging year for all of us, but we nevertheless were able to deliver on several new initiatives to assure that WJS remains at the leading edge of surgical science internationally!

Best wishes, Julie Ann Sosa Editor in Chief WJS

Report ISS-Foundation Michael G. Sarr, Secretary/Treasurer ISS Foundation

I have little to tell over this past year, related to this pandemic!

Income this past year has been sparse as expected - all to be used to support travelers to the 2022 meeting.

Other points of interest.

• There were 4 travel scholars who were unable to attend ISW2019 all of whom have committed to 2022 in Kuala Lumpur.

• As the Executive Committee knows, the ISSF has committed USD 20,000

each to the IAES, BSI, and IATSIC to support their outreach Educational programs in the developing world - one of the primary missions of the ISSF. These programs have been on hold for the last year.

Michael G. Sarr Secretary/Treasurer ISS Foundation

May 2021

7

Report Administrative Office

ISS/SIC Administrative Office team Chris, Laurie, Mike, Denise

The team at the Administrative Office is working continuously on the different webinars by Integrated Societies as well as preparing the Virtual Surgical Week VSW 2021 taking place from 30 August to 3 September 2021. The first Webinar of a series by the ISDS has just passed, was well attended and received very positive feedback. Also IATSIC conducted a live webinar as a starter of a series and BSI is planning to do similar. Check their respective websites for more information!

VSW and ISS/SIC General Assembly 2021 VSW 2021 is accessible to all current ISS/ SIC members only and is at no charge!

So make sure you are in good standing to avoid any disappointment. Non-members may apply for membership in good time before the virtual week to take advantage of attendance.

SAVE THE DATE: The ISS/SIC General Assembly 2021 will be held on Wednesday, 1 September 2021 at 16.00 hrs CEST. The Council invites all members of the ISS/SIC to join. Please note that

this will be a live event – apologies for an inconvenient time for some of our members.

FISS – Fellow of the International Society of Surgery It is the Council’s pleasure to congratulate the following members to their election as Fellow of the International Society of Surgery (FISS). The election to this honor is a direct recognition of the achievements and the high reputation among colleagues. With the FISS letters, these members are now a strong voice for surgeons and surgical patients around the world.

• •

Sabaretnam Mayilvaganan, India Vishal Mago, India

Updates membership network A new section "Webinars" is now accessible in the ISS/SIC Membership Network.

Discover at: www.issmembership.org Some of the webinars are open access for non-members as well; some are accessible to members of a specific Integrated Society only.

Feel free to share information of the open-access webinars with your colleagues.

With our best wishes.

Administrative Office team Visit us on: Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn

More information and requirements can be found at: http://iss-sic.com/membership/fellowship.html The next deadline for applications for ISS Fellowship is June 30, 2021.

May 2021

8

Report LOC ISW 2021/2022 Hisham Abdullah, President LOC ISW 2022

We look forward to welcome you all to the International Surgical Week in Kuala Lumpur come 2022!

Hisham Abdullah President LOC ISW 2022 Hanafiah Harunarashid Secretary LOC ISW 2022

Hanafiah Harunarashid Secretary LOC ISW 2022

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic affecting the world, the International Surgical Week slated to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2021 has been postponed to 2022.

In Malaysia, a new normal as well as standard operating procedures, as has been practiced by most other countries, have been established with the mandatory wearing of face masks in public, temperature checks and registration to enter an establishment and maintenance of social distancing rules. Physical or hybrid conferences are being organized and allowed following the SOP requirements.

The National Vaccination Programme has already started at the end of February 2021 and we hope to have the majority of the population vaccinated by early 2022.

We have been greatly encouraged by the resolve to ensure that we have a good meeting next year under these difficult circumstances, be it a virtual or a hybrid meeting.

Let us all take the opportunity to continue to network and learn from each other in the meantime.

Monorail at Kuala Lumpur

May 2021

9

Report IAES Akira Miyauchi, President IAES

Janice L. Pasieka, Secretary-Treasurer IAES

This time last year the world stopped pivoted - and re-calibrated. This past year what each of us has faced has been as diverse as the IAES membership. Many have experienced loss of loved ones from this virus - and for that, our hearts go out to each of you. Some have experienced the frustration and loneliness that comes from being social isolated from family and friends. Others have had to re-adjust family life as kids of all ages returned home to study ‘online’.

While others, have had little disruption of daily living, yet remain isolated from world travel. Day to day life is constantly changing as we navigate through the various waves of this pandemic. We have also all experienced a change in our work environment that has left us adapting to the new norms of clinical practice and surgical education. For fun, take the IAES-COVID Test below.

IAES Council Meeting

As we all navigate the new norm, the IAES council has been busy trying like most organizations to adapt in a way that continues to meet the needs of our membership, recognizing that our biennial meeting has always been the main focus of this organization. In July of 2020, the council of the IAES met (virtually) and decided on your behalf that an in-person meeting in August 2021, although a year away, was not in the best interest of our membership. We informed the ISS/SIC that we would not be able to attend in-person in Kuala Lumpur 2021, which set into motion other integrated societies doing the same. In September 2020, the ISS/SIC agreed that it was not feasible for the clinical congress to proceed and delayed the in-person meeting in Kuala Lumpur of the ISS/IAES for one year to August 28th, 2022. This meant that we had to decide on how best to move forward with the governance of the IAES. After evaluating the options, the council voted to postpone the nomination of new officers and council members for one year. Thus, the IAES 2-year cycle will start in August 2022 going forward. It is our hope that we will be able to meet in person for the ISS/IAES meeting in Kuala Lumpur August 28th - September 1st, 2022 (save the date…).

ed once again that we all do things a little differently, and we all continue to learn from each other’s experience and wisdom on these challenging cases. Despite the time difference, the audience varied from trainees to experienced endocrine surgeons from 23 different countries.

We attracted 140 registrants, 7 exhibiters and 19 speakers. Australia was the largest group at 41, Malaysia 25, Singapore 22, USA 12, Europe 9, India 7, New Zealand 6, and up to 2 registrants from Taiwan, Canada, Japan, South Africa, Columbia, Salvador, Philippines and Mexico respectively. Highlights from this course will soon be available on our website for members to access.

We are currently in discussion with other endocrine surgical organizations to expand our involvement in educational webinars, podcasts, virtual journal clubs and case discussions. Stay tuned as the council works to bring quality material to its members.

IAES Postgraduate Course

19th IAES Post Grad Course Although the faculty were all disappointed when we had to cancel the in-person Post-Grad course in Singapore last May, Keat Cheah and Rajeev Parameswaran found a solution for a virtual platform to host this meeting. So, without the usual jetlag, the Faculty put together a 2-day course that included pre-recorded didactic sessions on thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal diseases. Each of these was followed by a live discussion Q&A format.

There were three interesting case sessions done in real-time which demonstrat-

This August in lieu of our postponed in-person meeting, the IAES will join the other integrated societies of the ISS/ SIC in a virtual meeting that will be free for all members in good standing (gentle reminder to pay your 2021 dues…).

With a tight deadline thrown upon us, the council very quickly was able to put together IAES content for each of our designated time slots. This meeting that will air from August 28th to September 3rd, 2021 will be pre-recorded, but we are working hard on making each session as interactive as possible. See our tentative

Thanks to Alex and his team at for helping organize a great course…

2021 Virtual IAES Meeting

May 2021

10

program that includes two State of the Art Lectures, nine instructional/innovative videos, a panel discussion on the evolving techniques for thyroid nodule ablation, a potpourri of unusual endocrine surgical cases and a clinical case presentation (www.isw2021.org).

World Journal of Surgery

Publications from our IAES Krakow meeting can be found in the February issue of the World Journal of Surgery 44:2; 2020.

It includes: • 35 peer-reviewed papers • 5 editorials for accompanying papers by: Fausto Palazzo, Jan Zedenius, Carmen Solorzano, Haggis Mazeh, Janice Pasieka • Dr. Jerry Doherty’s Presidential Address: Mastery in Endocrine Surgery • Summary paper from the panel session on Surgeon’s Wellbeing by; KA Nicholson, James A Lee, Cia Lundgren, Sally Meade, Fred Triponez, Sally Carty • 2 instructional reviews on ‘Endocrine surgery without the Bells and whistles’ – one on Parathyroid by Meei Yeung the other on Adrenal surgery by Barb Miller Thank you to all the authors and the reviewers for helping put together this great issue in a timely fashion.

Endocrine surgical content continues to be published in the WJS and under Julie Ann Sosa’s leadership, more editorials and summary paper that would be of interest to our membership are published monthly.

INTEREST

Our INTEREST Program has clearly been grounded through this pandemic. We hope to look to innovative ways to maintain the relationships and the connection that Rob Parkyn has established to date.

Many surgeons have through their fellowship programs reach out to train surgeons from underprivileged countries.

Membership

This past year we elected nine new Active members and 14 Associate members to the IAES. Ten of the new Associate

From left to right: Deborah van Dijk, Willemijn van der Plas, Pascal Jonker, Milou Noltes, Laura Aggenbach, Jan Koetje, Frederiek Bosscher, Alex Lin, Wendy Bruinsma Not pictured Madelon Metman, Luc Sondorp

members are from the University Medical Center Groningen, Netherlands and joined en mass this year. We are looking forward to having them present their research and

meeting each of them in Kuala Lumpur 2022. The future of the IAES appears to be very bright, indeed!

The IAES COVID Test

One Point for an affirmative answer to each of the following During this past year you: Binged watch at least 4 Netflix (or any streaming services) programs/movies Renovated your house / condo / or cottage Reorganized at least one of either your pantry / spice rack / bookshelves / garage Gained weight Made a significant dent in your wine cellar Stockpiled toilet paper or hand sanitizer early on Adopted a pet Recognized you were not much help when it came to home-schooling the kids Have been known to turn off the video feed on a Zoom meeting to ‘multi-task’ Haven’t worn a full suit (not just the top) for at least 6 months Have saved enough money on dry-cleaning to help pay for the renovations Haven’t seen the inside of your local airport Have had take-out within the past two weeks Have purchased home-gym equipment A trip to the grocery store at times was the highlight of your day Sub-TOTAL Subtract 1 point from the total above for each affirmative answer below.

During this past year you; Took up a new hobby Discovered or visited something new within your own city/town Learned to reach out to friends and family in new innovative ways Found beauty / enjoyment in your own backyard (or within 100 km from home) Sub-TOTAL YOUR TOTAL IAES-COVID Test Score

May 2021

11

Minus 4 to 0 You have been living on a remote deserted island for the past year…

1 to 4 You have been living on an island the likes of New Zealand or Australia 5 to 10 You have been affected (not infected) by COVID… 11 to 15 … in a serious way

I hope that the IAES-COVID test helped put a smile on your face (although hard to see hidden behind a mask!). Okay, I will admit I spent an entire afternoon putting it together, but truth be told, my spice rack has already been re-organized!

We will get through this, yet as we all know, the world will look and feel different going forward. Our new reality of virtual meetings is here to stay. The ability to be more inclusive and decrease our carbon footprint by having meetings online has clearly been a bonus. The downside has been the increased connectivity to

so many committee meetings, guideline writing groups and webinars that has us no longer suffering from jetlag, but up at all hours in the night “Zooming”. Yet, we are all human and as such crave for that person connection with friends and colleagues from the international endocrine surgical community. The close connection we have all experienced at prior surgical meetings and forums will need to return.

I envision the future of the IAES biennial meetings will become a hybrid model, with both in-person and virtual content and as the technology grows so shall we as an organization.

I do look forward to the day when we can meet in person once again. In the interim, keep your family and friends safe and healthy, be sure to protect your own health and be kind to one another.

Akira Miyauchi President IAES Janice L. Pasieka Secretary-Treasurer IAES

Skyline Kuala Lumpur at night

May 2021

12

Report IATSIC Elmin Steyn, President IATSIC

Activities of IATSIC November 2020 – March 2021

The pandemic remains challenging to health care all over the world. As a trauma society our focus is on maintaining optimal care for our injured patients, despite the challenges to health care systems,especially in under-resourced environments.

The festive season of 2020/21 was overshadowed by the second and third waves of Covid-19, leading to cancellation of many planned trauma training courses worldwide. In certain countries, lockdown measures led to a fortuitous drop in injury numbers, which facilitated the re-deployment of hospital resources to support Covid-19 cases. Sadly, an increase in gender-based violence and interpersonal violence was noted in various susceptible communities during lockdown periods.

Alcohol prohibition and reduced road travel led to a drop in serious injury numbers, although mishaps around the home, as well as intentional self-harm occurred with greater frequency.

Despite the cancellation of courses and conferences, online activities and planning continued.

Training Educ ation Commit te e Chair: Scot t D’Amours DSTC – Chair: Tarek Razek DATC – Chair: Jonathan White NTMC – Chair: Ranjith Ellawala • Due to Covid restrictions, and the nature of the advanced practical skills training requirements of DSTC, standard courses were mostly not possible.

Hybrid DSTC courses are evolving.

Contact Tarek Razek for advice and input.

• A series of online meetings with all DS/ ATC course directors internationally is in progress, to advise on hybrid courses, consisting of an emphasis on case discussions and surgical decision-making, possibly with online external instructors. This would be an interim training solution until standard DSTC courses with their unique practical skills teaching sessions can resume.

• A basket of slide sets and lectures are available to structure each course to the needs of the country. The slides have been reviewed and renewed.

Clinical cases have been updated.

• After establishing NTMC instructor training in Ethiopia during 2019, 2 further courses, planned for 2020, were cancelled due to the pandemic. NTMC courses are offered in Sri Lanka and remain a cost-effective option to provide trauma training for larger groups.

Webinars • We started the year with a successful webinar co-hosted with ESTES, on February 8th. The title was Trauma Care in Times of Covid, when resources are limited.

• IATSIC monthly webinars will focus on optimal trauma care in different resource settings. Themes such as clinical governance, leadership and development of Trauma Systems will be included, with presentations and panel discussions. The webinars are intended for a wider audience of international trauma care professionals and trainees across the economic divides, hopefully also creating opportunities to expand membership. The web presentations will be recorded for future access by IATSIC members.

• The last IATSIC webinar took place on Thursday April 15, at 6pm CET. Title: 'Results from the iTACTIC trial – are Viscoelastic Hemostatic Assays indispensable? Case presentation with panel discussion.

Speaker: Tina Gaarder Moderator Elmin Steyn

Panelists: Ranjith Ellawala (Sri Lanka), David Zonies (US), Tarek Razek (Canada), Hayato Kurihara (Italy), Alain Chichom Mefire (Cameroon) The next IATSIC webinar will take place on Thursday, 13 May 2021 at 5pm CEST. Title: How we run a Trauma Morbidity and Mortality meeting in a Pandemic!

Mortality meeting, Audit, and Grand Rounds Chair: Elmin Steyn Presenter: Ken Boffard and

Milpark Trauma Team Moderator: Lenworth Jacobs • Webinars will continue monthly and information will be published on the IATSIC website and also emailed to our membership. The registration will be free and we hope to see as many members as possible during these events, as well as future members, to exchange ideas and stimulate discussion.

Global commitments WHO Academy • Based on talks over the last couple of years, Teri Reynolds of the WHO invited IATSIC to collaborate to develop an advanced trauma surgical course, much like a DSTC, but for resource challenged environments. This would be a continuation of the Basic Emergency Course (BEC) once the advanced skills module have been added to the BEC (chest tubes, intubation).

• This advanced trauma skills course will be co-branded (WHO with IATSIC) and developed together with the WHO Academy. The educational format is currently under discussion.

• The WHO requires all manuals etc to be freely available online, thus no copyright.

Virtual ISW August 2021 • The International Surgical Week (ISW), planned for Kuala Lumpur in August 2021, has been postponed to August 2022, and replaced by Virtual Surgical

May 2021

13

Tastes like heaven, smells like hell – Durian, the King of Fruit

Week (VSW) planned for 30th August to 3rd September 2021.

• A freshly compiled program, consisting of two different IATSIC sessions, will include short presentations and panel discussions on provocative topics on a global theme. Speakers representing all quadrants of the globe promise to provide some stimulating online conversations.

KL 2022 conference preparation • The excellent programme, topics, and speakers, compiled by Tina Gaarder for the original 2021 conference, will be retained. Closer to the event, topics will be reviewed in conjunction with the allocated speakers, for updating if required. The program provides plenty of opportunities for debates, discussions, and interrogation of controversies, while also providing a platform for speakers from LMICs. • IATSIC Travel Scholars will be selected via the ISS Foundation infrastructure.

• A specially selected IATSIC hotel and an illustrious Gala dinner will be on offer – prioritized for IATSIC members and guests. More details to follow.

Collaborations • The World Trauma Congress was recently very successfully coordinated by Dr Coimbra and team, with IATSIC as one of the collaborating trauma organisations.

• Cooperation with ECTES 2021 in the form of an IATSIC Guest symposium takes place in April 2021.

Elmin Steyn President IATSIC Hayato Kurihara, Secretary/Treasurer Tina Gaarder, Past President Scott D’Amours, President Elect

Membership • The ISS/SIC administrative team have graciously enabled us to offer a first year of free membership to attendees at DSTC/DATC courses who apply for membership while attending the course. Please contact the ISS/SIC central office for slides to advertise membership during courses.

More information regarding the webinars and events in 2021 will follow.

The IATSIC Executive Committee wishes you safety and good health, till we meet again!

May 2021

14

Report IASMEN Anders Thorell, President IASMEN

Dear IASMEN members.

The pandemic situation is still affecting our lives. Nevertheless, most of us have been able to find alternative ways to proceed with our clinical as well as academic activities. Virtual meetings and conferences have been proven to work more effectively than most of us would have thought, and collaboration/networking/educational activities has proceeded better than expected. In the meantime, we have faced an increased burden associated with care of patients suffering from Covid, and I am impressed by how many of us have been able to increase our workload and efforts to cope with this pandemic situation.

As all should be aware by now, the ISW in Kuala Lumpur 2021 is postponed to 2022.

The Executive Committee of ISS/SIC have decided to compensate for this by organizing a virtual meeting Aug 30 – Sep 03, 2021, Virtual Surgical Week (VSW) 2021.

An “Ad-Hoc committee” with representatives from all ISS/SIC integrated societies has worked with the program and all technical issues to make this happen. For IASMEN, Joji Kotani and Naomi Nakayama have represented our society and together with the other integrated societies created an IASMEN program including 3 sessions. There are still some issues associated with the Technical platform to be solved but the work is progressing surprisingly well, and we have good hope that VSW 2021 should be a great success.

For the scientific program, IASMEN have, as usual, a session on ERAS (Enhanced Recovery After Surgery). This time it will cover aspects on ERAS from a survival and rehabilitation perspective. The other two sessions will focus on general nutritional aspects in the ICU and in general surgery, respectively. All invited speakers have accepted their participation and we are convinced that we should be able to deliver interesting presentations/updates as well as fruitful discussions.

The IASMEN Executive Committee has proceeded with our work through regular video conferences. In addition to work with the scientific/educational programs for VSW 2021 and ISW 2022, we have proceeded with the IASMEN SNS (Social Network Service) activities. Naomi Nakayama (IASMEN Secretary SNS Communication) has made a great effort in order to establish a website in collaboration with Mrs. Denise Eggler Braun at the Administrative Office ISS/SIC. Presentations, announcements of meetings related to IASMENs area of interest, journal clubs and recent scientific reports/publications have regularly been posted on Facebook as well as Twitter during a 3-months trial period Nov 2020-Jan 2021. At the end of this period, the Ex. Com of IASMEN has evaluated the outcome of this effort in terms of number of posts, number of “reaches” (maximal 575, Facebook) and followers (200, Twitter). Our evaluation of this trial period shows that the activity on our SNS was higher than we expected and that although the number of followers might be considered somewhat low, it was increasing during this period. Our lessons learnt is that to grow an audience on Twitter takes some time and that regular publications as well as likes and reposts/ retweets will increase the attraction on our media platform. We have concluded that the cost-benefit relation with these

activities is satisfactory and therefore decided to proceed with this collaboration.

We hope to further increase our activities, aware of the fact that the success is depending on the degree of our own engagement.

It is with great confidence that I am looking forward to further communication through these activities with all members of IASMEN and other colleagues with engagement in our areas of interest. Finally, I would like to welcome all of you to actively participate in the upcoming VSW in August/September 2021.

Best wishes to all of you in these challenging times.

Anders Thorell President IASMEN

May 2021

15

Report BSI Gaurav Agarwal, President BSI

Sharon W.W. Chan, Honorary Secretary BSI

The ongoing COVID pandemic has put on hold or has impacted many activities of the BSI. At the same time, it has presented us with an opportunity to reach out to members and other breast surgeons from various parts of the world virtually, using various online platforms. Several online activities have been undertaken by the BSI, and many more are planned to be held in coming months, details of which will be shared with membership in due course.

BSI Program at Virtual Surgical Week 2021 BSI is glad to be part of the Virtual Surgical Week (VSW) on 30th Aug to 3rd Sept 2021 being organised by the International Society of Surgery (ISS/SIC). VSW 2021 is the first virtual event presented by the ISS/SIC and is the online "sister" of the International Surgical Week. BSI online program at the VSW will feature eminent speakers, including Dr Krishna B. Clough (France), Dr. Jill Dietz (President ASBrS, USA), Professor Lynda Wyld (UK) and Professor Ben Anderson (USA) who would deliver the keynote lectures.

Leading global experts will share their experience in Oncoplastic Surgery techniques and Novel Sentinel Lymph Node techniques in Video sessions. Symposia and Debate will be held to discuss on hot topics like post neoadjuvant management of axilla, breast conserving surgery new

survival outcome data, and breast cancer management practices across the globe in the covid times. It will certainly be an exciting program with useful contents for audiences from all parts of the world. BSI council members met virtually on 6th March 2021 to finalise the BSI VSW program, and agreed that the BSI contents of VSW 2021 will be available free of charge for all BSI/ISS members. Please stay tuned for registration details and be prepared to get involved in the program!

BSI Program at the International Surgical Week ISW 2022, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia During the recent BSI council meeting, BSI program for the ISW 2022 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was presented by program chair Dr. Jean-Francois Boileau.

The 2022 BSI program will feature experts from all around the world that will present state-of-the-art sessions in breast cancer management. These sessions in-

clude updates in management of the axilla and oncoplastic breast surgery. The 2022 BSI Umberto Veronesi Lecture will be delivered by Professor Krishna B. Clough, founder of the Paris Breast Centre, pioneer oncoplastic breast surgeon.

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, BSI will partner the Association of

Virtual Meeting of the BSI Council finalising VSW 2021 and ISW 2022 programs

May 2021

16

Women Surgeons (AWS) to hold a joint session that will cover important topics in global health and gender issues related to breast cancer care. On the day prior to the commencement of the main program, the popular optional “Advanced Oncoplastic and Reconstructive Breast Surgery Course” and the “Breast Ultrasonography and Interventions Course” will be offered (limited availability).

UMMC Webinar on BRCA Genetic Testing and Risk Management Breast Surgery International collaborated with the Faculty of Medicine University of Malaya (UM), UM Cancer Research Institute, Cancer Research Malaysia (CRMY), Medical Genetics Unit UMMC, and TAC - Together Against Cancer Association Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to organize an online clinician webinar titled “BRCA Genetic Testing and Risk Management”, and a public forum with the theme “Making Smart Decisions on Genetic Testing”. During the webinar held on 18th October 2020, six speakers with expertise in breast surgery, gynae-oncology, oncology, molecular genetics and

BRCA genetic Testing and Risk Management - University of Malaya collaborated with BSI

genetic counselling shared updated information and recommendations regarding BRCA genetic test and risk management.

BSI was represented by council members Prof Owen Ung from Australia and Prof Nur Aishah Taib from Malaysia.

The Clinician Webinar reached 88 registered participants from multiple fields i.e., surgery, oncology, nursing and genetics professionals. In the afternoon, Together Against Cancer Public Forum in Conjunction with the 7th UMMC Breast Cancer Fo-

WHO Global Breast Cancer Initiatives Technical Consultation – Pillars, Goals and Targets

May 2021

17

rum launched The BRCA Decision Aids.

The public forum received participation of 397 registrants. In this public forum, experts from molecular genetics, breast surgery, genetic counselling, oncology, palliative care and nutrition discussed important information to the public relating - who needs to undergo BRCA genetic testing, what is genetic counselling, risk management and the role of food in relation to cancer.

Global Breast Cancer Initiative Technical Consultation - World Cancer Day 4th February 2021 World Health Organization (WHO) is developing a program called the Global Breast Cancer Initiative (GBCI). BSI was invited to join the technical consultation on 4th Feb 2021. Representatives from WHO and world leading organizations met online and discussed the objectives, pillars, goals, targets and implementation of GBCI. ISS/SIC President-elect Professor Cheng-Har Yip, BSI president Professor

Gaurav Agarwal and BSI Honorary Secretary Dr Sharon Chan joined the meeting as representatives of BSI. We joined the Health education, cancer management and partnership working group discussion. We will continue to participate and support the program, aiming to reduce global breast cancer mortality, especially in the LMICs in the coming decade.

Gaurav Agarwal Sharon Chan President BSI Honorary Secretary BSI

Report ISDS Alessandro Fichera, President ISDS

The ISDS Program Committee and Executive Council have been feverishly working to make sure the educational mission of our Society is fulfilled despite the pandemic.

ISDS has been an integral part in organizing the ISS/SIC Virtual Surgical Week (VSW) 2021. This will be the first time ISS/ SIC hold a totally virtual meeting that will take place 30 August to 3 September 2021.

ISDS will have five one-hour sessions covering upper and lower GI benign and malignant disorders and HPB. The sessions will highlight the level of expertise, innovation and diversity our Society has to offer. We hope you decide to attend this unique event free to members.

In addition to the VSW ISDS has been planning and will launch a series of monthly one-hour free webinars (April 2021 to March 2022) covering different basic topics geared toward young general surgeons and trainees run by members of the Executive Committee. We decided to call the series “Saturday at the movies with ISDS”. The prerecorded webinars will be released the first (or second) Saturday of the month. Recordings of the events will be available on the ISDS website.

Last, but not least we had scheduled several live virtual talks at the Egyptian

Surgical Society (ESS) April 7-9, 2021.

Another opportunity to highlight ISS/SIC and ISDS and to support an important Associated Society.

We are trying very hard to make the most out of these difficult times as we wait for the time we will be able to meet in person again.

Respectfully submitted.

Alessandro Fichera President ISDS & Chair ad hoc Organizing Committee ISS VSW 2021

ISDS Executive Board members

May 2021

18

Report ASAP Russell L. Gruen, President ASAP

VSW 2021 with the launch of a new global surgery mentorship program. Designed to support career development and leadership, and strengthen the current and future workforce, the program will employ new communications and virtual technologies, to enable participants to share experiences and provide inspiration, guidance and support across time-zones and

generations. We look forward to working with the Integrated Societies and National Chapters as well as the IASSS and other affiliated groups of ISS/SIC, to bring to life this unique mentoring network.

Russell L. Gruen President ASAP

ASAP is the ISS/SIC’s youngest integrated society, and also the only international organization that specifically represents Global Surgery throughout the life-course, spanning students (in partnership with IASSS), trainees, consultants, and emeritus professors.

The ASAP executive is proud that ISS/ SIC has taken a whole organization approach to leadership in global surgery, which has allowed ASAP to focus on the specific value it provides as an integrated society. This project, encompassing the 3Ms - Mission, Membership and Money - has been underway since WCS 2019, and will reach an important milestone at

Gamelan music originated from Indonesia and is very popular in Malaysia

Report IASSS Shadé Breedt, President IASSS

Jessica Davies, Administration Officer 2021 IASSS

The start of the new year has come and gone and with it has brought fresh opportunities and perspective. As we welcome our new committee for 2021, we look forward to a productive year of growth and expansion.

We would like to congratulate Shadé Breedt (South Africa) and Eimear Kirby (Ireland) on their appointment as IASSS President and Vice-President, respectively. We know they will guide and grow our team and have already proven themselves to be strong and compassionate leaders. Shadé joined the IASSS executive committee in 2020 as she desired to be part of a society of like-minded aspiring surgeons, passionate about providing a

collaborative platform for young surgical interest groups.

Helena Franco (Australia) has joined Sulé Burger (South Africa) in the role of Secretary-General for 2021. Helena was our 2020 President, and we are excited to continue working with her in this new capacity.

Our Dean of Academy for 2021 is Kashish Malhotra (India) who aspires to stay

May 2021

19

connected with the global community of future surgeons. Benjamin Wong (Malaysia) is our Editor in Chief and believes the IASSS is a great platform to nurture the surgical interests of students and doctors whilst providing continuous opportunities to partake in surgical education.

Jessica Davies (South Africa) is fulfilling the role of Administration Officer this year and hopes to form new connections with aspiring surgeons around the world. Susie Lee (Australia) is the Capacity Director for 2021 and wants to expand her skills to the global surgical platform.

Egide Ahishakiye (Rwanda) and Akatya Vidushi (India) form our Academy Team alongside Kashish. Our Editorial team consists of Federico Lavagno (Italy) and Laura Cabrera (Columbia) and our Admin Team of Habab Iraqi (Sudan).

For the first time, we have welcomed a Chapter Lead from North America: William Gopar. Our remaining Chapter Leads include Oscar Wong (Asia), Amanda Alves (South America), Tugba Ugur (Europe), James Harelimana (Africa) and Grace Borchert (Oceania).

One of our goals for 2021 is to expand the team of National Delegates. Their term will run till September 2022 and they will work closely with the Chapter Lead for their region.

Our membership base currently sits at 644 members. The biggest representa-

tion comes from the African and Middle Eastern regions with a 32.5% proportion of the total members: We saw a large increase in new member registration during the month of March due to a virtual talk we hosted on 22 March with Dr Julie Ann Sosa. This talk was titled: Asking the right questions.

How Research during your surgical training can impact practice. The talk was a success, with around 30 participants from many countries.

We hope that with the addition of a new North American Chapter Lead, we will be able to expand the reach in that region and increase our membership base. Our South American Chapter Lead is planning innovative ways to increase the following from her region as well and provide support to new student surgical societies in the lead up to the International Surgical Week in Mexico in a few years.

With the vision of providing our members with a fun and more informal resource on our website, we have expanded our database of book reviews with new titles such as When Breath Becomes Air, Every Second Counts and How Doctors Think. Every month we aim to upload at least one new book review to the website page providing our members with a brief synopsis and rating of the respective title.

Our Editorial Team has launched a brand new MedTwitter and YouTube channel to expand our social media accounts. Our

talks and other events are uploaded to our YouTube channel and the links made available to our members. We hope to foster more open engagement with our members via Twitter, especially during our events. The Team will also be hosting a series labelled “In the OR” with short videos demonstrating surgical skills in May. In the week of 25-30 April 2021, the European Society for Trauma and Emergency Surgery (ESTES) will be hosting a virtual conference and we will be assisting with a 45-minute session designed for students. This session will be in the form of a panel discussion, covering basic ATLS principles with illustration through a case study.

Additionally, we are also hosting three sessions during the ISS/SIC Virtual Surgical Week that will include light-hearted debates as well as collaborations with the Association of Surgeons in Training (ASiT) and the Alliance for Surgery and Anaesthesia Presence (ASAP). The collaborative sessions will cover topics such as Innovation in Surgical Education and Mentoring in a Connected Era while the debates will take place in three parts and cover disciplines such as Orthopaedics, Cardiovascular Surgery, Trauma Surgery, ENT, Anaesthesiology and Neurosurgery.

We will also be assisting in the registration of students for the new Student Emergency Abdominal Courses being held virtually every few months and will be working to start a Mentorship Programme following the Virtual Surgical Week in August.

We look forward to a busy 2021 with monthly talks, collaborations, Virtual Surgical Week and the planning and preparation for International Surgical Week next year.

Shadé Breedt President IASSS Jessica Davies Administration Officer IASSS

IASSS membership representation

May 2021

20

Hisham Abdullah, ISS/SIC Council Chair Global Affairs

Global Surgery has long been neglected in public policies and countries' agenda, but this situation is progressively changing.

In 2015, The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery recommended the development of National Surgical, Obstetric, and Anesthesia Plans (NSOAPs) to address existing gaps using a systems-based approach. The five key messages, six surgical indicators and roadmap to improve access by 2030 in the report have become the primary guidance for surgical fraternities worldwide to translate into action and impactful outcomes.

The final key message in the Lancet Commission report, "Surgery is an indivisible, indispensable part of health care", aptly describes the pivotal role surgery plays in functioning healthcare systems. Since the report was published, many countries have either undertaken or expressed their commitment to the process of national surgical, obstetric and anesthesia planning. Undeniably, many Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) face difficulties in addressing surgery, obstetric and anaesthesia services inequity due to financial and other non-financial barriers. Herein lies national and international bodies' role in engaging multidisciplinary stakeholders and horizontal system strengthening towards improving population surgical care.

Between 16 - 20 September 2020, a fourpart global surgery webinar series titled "From Pandemic to Progress: Building Capacity Through Global Surgical, Obstetric, Trauma and Anaesthesia Systems" was hosted by the G4 Alliance for Global Surgery and Harvard Program in Global Surgery and Social Change in conjunction with the 75th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The webinar called for

deliberate planning post-pandemic and predictable management of current and future emergency and essential surgical care gaps. This calling aligns with the endorsement made by member nations at the 68th WHO World Health Assembly in Resolution WHA 68.15 - "Strengthening emergency and essential surgical care and anaesthesia as a component of universal health coverage."

Meanwhile, the webinar component on surgery held on 16 September 2020, in which I participated as a panelist, touched on health security, the value of surgical capacity in responding to COVID-19, the role of governments, NGOs and funders in ensuring the availability of emergency and essential surgery, and the process of strengthening surgical capacity. In addressing surgical access inequity in LMICs, it is crucial to have political and funders' long-term commitment towards investing in health capacity building and policies implementation continuity. A whole government approach is required to integrate and pool resources in addressing healthcare access inequities.

Nations that invest more in health and education, for instance, are shown to perform better in strengthening their human capital to achieve sustained and inclusive economic growth.

More recently, on 9 October 2020, the World Health Organization Regional Committee for the Western Pacific endorsed the Action Framework for Safe and Affordable Surgery in the Western Pacific Region (2021–2030). Member States unanimously welcomed the Framework as a useful tool to improve patient safety and advance the Region's Universal Health Coverage and Sustainable Development Goals achievement. The Framework's four proposed operational shifts align with 'For the Future: Towards the Healthiest and Safest Region', the five-year vision of WHO's work with the Regional Member States and partners. Furthermore, the Framework paved a way to improve access to safe and affordable surgery consistent with national plans and strategies.

In February-March 2021, Malaysia, together with internationally renowned

speakers, participated in the Strategic Planning to Improve Surgical, Obstetric, Anaesthesia, and Trauma Care in the Asia-Pacific Region meeting. This virtual meeting series convened a broad group of key stakeholders to lead initiatives to strengthen surgical care in the Asia-Pacific region. Organized by the Global Surgery and Social Change, Harvard Medical School, the target audience included governments, funding agencies, health and development organizations, professional societies, academic institutions, and private companies. There were three 2-hour long sessions hosted fortnightly from 18 February to 17 March 2021 on: 1. Current status and opportunities in surgical system strengthening 2. Financing for surgical care; and 3. Strategic partnerships in supporting surgical care Dr Mohamed Yusof Abdul Wahab, General Surgery Consultant & Head of Service for General Surgery, represented the Ministry of Health, Malaysia and shared updates on Malaysia's Global Surgery framework implementation. The series of meetings also identified challenges and opportunities to improve surgical care in the Western Pacific region; discussed the role of partnerships with the WHO, funding agencies, professional organizations, academic institutions, and private organizations; and explored the possibilities for coordinated efforts and regional collaboration.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many health systems faced unprecedented disruptions in providing safe and affordable surgery. These include resource constraints, supply chain interruptions, increased wait times, difficulty sending patients for specialized care either regionally or overseas (for countries lacking local capacity) and adoption of the new normal to cater for healthcare workers' protection needs. As a result, many healthcare systems have had to delay or cancel outright, elective surgical procedures. For example, public hospitals in Malaysia postponed 27,838 non-cancer elective cases and 277 elective cancer cases during the peak of the second wave of the pandemic

May 2021

21

in Malaysia from March until April 2020.

The highest casualty was Ophthalmology, involving mainly elective cataract surgeries. These postponements were due to healthcare staff's mobilization, especially from anesthesia to resource-intensive areas. There were also reduced elective surgical admissions to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) as hospitals prioritized beds for critically ill COVID-19 patients.

Surgeons are working under stressful conditions and in new and unfamiliar environments. The International Society of Surgery (ISS/SIC) must continue to advocate safe surgical practices to remain a crucial priority for all stakeholders during and after the pandemic. Even as we look forward to a post-pandemic future, there is still much uncertainty of when or if we can return to what we practiced before.

We can prepare for the worst but always hope for the best.

Hisham Abdullah ISS/SIC Council Chair Global Affairs

Virtual Surgical Week VSW 2021 Organization and planning for Virtual Surgical Week VSW 2021, 30 August – 3 September 2021, are advancing well. The Integrated, Associated and Participating Societies have planned a program which is aimed to cover topics for surgeons and anesthetists in all stages of their career.

The Program at a Glance shows the release times of the sessions (CEST – Central European Summer Time) and indicates the organizing society. It is planned to have the records of sessions available to the ISS/SIC membership after the first release as scheduled.

Also, we like to draw your attention to the ISS/SIC General Assembly which will take place on Wednesday, September 1, 2021 at 16:00 hrs. CEST and which will be a live event. All members are kindly invited to participate to get the latest

information about the societies business.

Our apologies to those living in a timezone where this will be an inconvenient timing, though we hope on your understanding.

The access to VSW 2021 will be available to all current ISS/SIC members only and be free of charge, so take advantage of this unique opportunity. Please feel free to disseminate this information to your network, your colleagues might wish to apply for membership as well.

More detailed information should become available soon and will be published on the congress homepage at www.isw2021.org We look forward to a great participation.

The VSW Organizing Committee

INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF SURGERY Administrative Office (ISS/SIC) Seefeldstrasse 88 CH-8008 Zurich Switzerland Phone: +41 44 533 76 50 Fax: +41 44 533 76 59 E-Mail: surgery@iss-sic.com Web: www.iss-sic.com

May 2021

22

May 2021

23

Obituary:

Alberto Montori

26.09.1933 – 08.03.2021, ISS/SIC Honorary Fellow 2017 ing his degree in Medicine at the University of Perugia in October 1962, he spent all his professional and academic life at the Sapienza University in Rome, becoming full Professor in 1980, and Emeritus Professor of General Surgery upon his retirement.

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Professor Alberto Montori on March 8, 2021. A friend, a colleague, a pioneer, a mentor.

Professor Alberto Montori was born in Ascoli Piceno, Italy, in 1933. After earn-

Alberto Montori devoted his scientific and professional career to disseminate the culture of all endoscopic methods for diagnosis and therapy of gastrointestinal diseases, being a pioneer in the early 70’s for flexible endoscopy and 20 years later for laparoscopic surgery. His activity was recognized by many organizations: he was an Honorary Fellow of the International Society of Surgery, the American College of Surgeons, and SAGES, and during his career he was President of the

EAES, the UEG, and SICE. In addition, he was awarded the EAES Lifetime Achievement Award and the BERCI SAGES Lifetime Achievement Award.

Alberto was a constant presence during the meetings of the International Society of Surgery and attended all of them during the last 30 years, last in Krakow in 2019. We will miss his scientific contributions, his human touch and will always remember his smile.

To his beloved wife Pauline and to his daughters Christine, Victoria and Jessica the condolences of every member of the International Society of Surgery.

Marco G. Patti Past President ISS/SIC

Obituary:

Daniel Rignault (Co-Founder of APIMSF) eral Surgery at the American Hospital of Paris from 1991 to 1996.

Professor Daniel Rignault, a French visceral and vascular surgeon, died in September 2020, at the age of 90. He began his career in 1951 in the French Military Health Service and served as a young surgeon in Algeria and Libya, and then in the military hospitals in Paris. He was the Head of the department of vascular and visceral surgery of Begin Military Hospital from 1972 to

1988. Named Professor in 1970 he was the chair of the Department of War Surgery at the French Military Health Service Academy, Ecole du Val-de-Grâce, in Paris, from 1977 to 1985. In 1988 he retired from the military with the rank of Major General. From 1985 to 1991 he was professor at Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda (USA. He was the Head of the Department of Gen-

Daniel Rignault was especially interested in technical innovations (he was one of the pioneers in France for the use of surgical staplers). He was much involved in war surgery and the teaching of military surgeons. He was also excited by international relations and he was the fellow of several societies (FACS, FRCS …). General Daniel Rignault founded in 1988 with his friend, Professor Norman Rich, the Ambroise Paré International Military Surgical Forum, and was the first President of this Society. For the ISS/SIC he was president of the French Chapter from 1981 to 1985 and Vice President for the Congress held in Paris in 1985.

François Pons and Norman Rich

May 2021

24

May 2021

25