International Association of Endocrine Surgery IAES

Janice L. Pasieka, SecretaryTreasurer IAES

Greetings from the Office of the Secretary-Treasurer of the IAES.

On behalf of Dr Akira Miyauchi and the entire IAES Council, our thoughts turn to those of our colleagues and their families affected by the COVID-19 virus. The start of 2020 has been a trying and difficult one for each and every one of us. At the writing of this newsletter, it is unclear where this pandemic will take us, but it is important that we work together to combat this global threat to our world. Many of the spring activities such as meetings and courses on endocrine surgery that our IAES members normally would attend, have been cancelled or postponed. As such face to face meetings with friends and colleagues have been lost for the time being. However, in the words of Per-Ola Granberg, we are the ‘Friendly Society’ and your IAES friendships remain strong. Let us hope that in the coming months we will be able to once again enjoy each other’s company, if not in 2020, then in Kuala Lumpur 2021. This past year we met for the 20th meeting of the International Association of Endocrine Surgeons in Kraków, Poland. For those in attendance, the overall feeling was it was one of our best meetings in recent memory. Not only were the scientific papers, posters, and panel discussions topical, entertaining and insightful, the city of Kraków was a wonderful and welcoming venue. Highlights of the meeting would have to include the Peter Heimann Lecture given by Dr. Megan Haymart, an endocrinologist from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Jerry Doherty's presidential address, published in the February issue of the World Journal of Surgery, was inspiring for both the young and the young at heart endocrine surgeons in the audience. The State-of-the-Art Lectures highlighted the diversity and ever-evolving changes in the field of endocrine surgery. From Dr. Peter Stalberg’s historical address on neuroendocrine tumours to Dr. Carrie Lubitz’s exciting work in the field of thyroid cancer care.

Peter Heimann Lecture given by Dr. Megan Haymart

Dr. Jerry Doherty

Dr. Carrie Lubitz

Kraków, Poland

The two panel sessions, one on Surgeon’s Well-being and the other on Endocrine Surgery without the ‘Bells

and Whistles’, were well attended and from the discussion that followed, quite thought-provoking. I am grateful to each of the panel speakers that contributed to the recently published WJS articles highlighting the discussion that took place on both these panels.

The surgical scientists among us, gave a brief outline of their work at the IAES sponsored luncheon. To the packed audience, they clearly demonstrated there is a bright future in the field of endocrine surgery.

The meeting also provided a great opportunity for our members to explore the surrounding area and historical sites.

Thanks to Dr. Marcin Barczynski our LOC, the Gala Dinner was filled with the opportunity to catch up with old friends and make new ones.

Dr. Akira Miyauchi has assumed the position of President of the IAES. Dr. Jan Zedenius (Sweden) was elected as President-Elect. We welcome three new counsellor members Dr. Marcin Barczynski (Poland), Dr. Barb Miller (USA) and Dr. Inne Borel-Rinkes (Netherlands) to the group.

The February issue of the World Journal of Surgery has all the peer-reviewed

scientific papers that where presented, a summary symposium on Surgeon’s Well-being, and two technical ‘How I do it’ articles on adrenal and parathyroid surgery. In addition, at this year’s meeting we had four invited discussants of the more controversial or novel papers. These invited editorials have been published along side the scientific article. Thank you to all the reviewers and authors for their contributions to this excellent issue of WJS. Our INTEREST Program continues to flourish under the leadership of Dr. Rob Parkyn. Two very successful programs to Viet Nam and Malaysia were carried out in the latter part of the year. In November, The Central Hospital in Hue and National Cancer Hospital in Hanoi, Viet Nam were visited by our Swedish colleagues Drs. Kenth Johansson and Bo Wängberg.

Hue has previously been part of the INTEREST program but this was the first visit in Hanoi. In both cities we were very well received with a generous, open minded and friendly attitude. The training comprised lectures, case presentations and activities in the operating theatres. Active discussions on challenging situations were encouraged and difficult cases from the two hospitals were highlighted. Participants were endocrine surgeons, urologists managing adrenal tumours, head and neck specialists, radiologists and oncologists. Both hospitals expressed a wish to continue this exchange. Despite limited resources, they perform a high standard of care in the area of endocrine surgery and we also learned a lot from the visits with many valuable insights to bring home.

The 7 th Malaysian Breast and Endocrine Surgery Course took place in October 2019 at the Waterfront Hotel, Kuching, Sarawak. Drs. Jesse Pasternak and Schelto Kruijff travelled to the remote Malaysian city Kuching on the island of Borneo. 178 subspecialty surgeons took part in the 3-day event. The

course featured the motto, “exploring possibilities, unraveling certainties” Changing venues from the previous year in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, the course was held on the world’s second largest island, home to a jungle and many endemic animals including the native Orangutan. The main organizer and hosts were Dr. Adibah Ali who resides in the local city of Kuching, supported by her advisors Drs. Imi Sairi Ab Hadi and Rohaizak Muhammad and Nik Azim Nik Abdullah. Collaborating with a course such as this provided Malaysian surgeons performing endocrine surgery with a framework with which to obtain the professional development in the area of surgical endocrinology. It was felt among participants that the divestment of the IAES support for this partnership has had a serious effect on the viability of the

endocrine surgery since this educational initiative began 7 years ago.

Thank you to all the IAES members who have taken the time out of their busy practices to participate in this course over the years. It has exceeded our exceptions and is a model for future INTEREST programs going forward. The INTEREST Program is supported by you, the membership of the IAES. We are, however, grateful for the additional financial support recently received from the ISS Foundation.

The 18 th IAES Postgraduate Course

held in Xiamen Fujian Province, P.R.

China was very successful. Not only did the faculty learn a lot from each other, our Chinese endocrine surgical colleagues demonstrated many new and innovative techniques in the field of Endocrine Surgery. All of us enjoyed the wonderful hospitality from Dr. Wu and his colleagues. After a very intense two and a half days

of lectures, our hosts treated us to a wonderful visit in the historical Kulangsu island.

The 19 th IAES Postgraduate Course in Endocrine Surgery organized by

Drs. Keat Cheah and Rajeev Para

meswaran was to be held in Singapore May 15-17, 2020, however it has been postponed. One of the potential plans is to have this course September 2021 or in Singapore just before the World Congress in August 2021. Stay tuned…

The 21 st meeting of the IAES will be held in Kuala Lumpur August 29 th to September 2, 2021 during the World Congress of Surgery. The IAES along with the other Integrated Societies are actively planning for the congress. Dr. Imi Sairi Ab Hadi has agreed to be our Local Arrangement Chair and is currently working on arrangements for our Gala Dinner the Tuesday night. I am delighted that Dr. Tracy Wang has agreed to take on the task of our Abstract

Program Chair and thanks to those of you that have agreed to moderate sessions. To date we have organized the following speakers and topics for the scientific sessions:

The 2021 Peter Heimann Lecture will be given by Professor Shunichi Yamashita from Japan a leading expert on radiation induced cancers.

Dr. Akira Miyauchi’s Presidential Address will be entitled Chronology of Thyroid Cancer.

The two State of Art Lecturers will be as follows: 1. RNA-based therapeutics in disease and cancer: Is there a role in Endocrine malignancy? by Dr. Stan Sidhu 2. The Use of Fluorescence in Endocrine

Surgery by Dr. Carmen Solorzano The IAES Panel Session will be on Scientific Misconduct, something that should be of interest to all IAES members.

Our Eye-Opening Video Session will take place once again and will highlight endocrine surgical techniques. Members who have educational videos that they would like to present should get in contact with me to discuss this. (IAES_JP@icloud.com)

The IAES sponsored Luncheon Session will be on Surgical Dilemmas. This will be a case-based practical session on intra-operative problems that arise with an expert panel providing some thoughtful

tips and solutions. This will be a valuable resource to not only our trainees, but to all endocrine surgeons, young and old…

The world is changing rapidly and currently there is much uncertainty about future world travel and attending large scientific meetings. At the present time, each of us must focus on our own countries, family and friends during these difficult times. The IAES will continue to reach out to our members through our website and through social media. The IAES council will plan for the future, but be ready to adapt to the current situation. I hope each of you will be vigilant and remain safe and healthy in the days, weeks and months to come.

Janice L. Pasieka Secretary/Treasurer IAES