ACS welcomes Nigeria Chapter
At its June 5–6 meeting, the Board of Regents of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) unanimously approved the establishment of the Nigeria Chapter, the 108th chapter of the College. With this addition, the College now has 67 domestic and 41 international chapters, with other proposed chapters in regions around the globe in various stages of formation.
The newly elected officers of the Nigeria Chapter are as follows: Stanley Anyanwum, MB, BS, FACS, President; Bello Bala Shehu, MB, BS, FACS, Vice-President; Samuel Adesina Ademola, MB, BCh, FACS, Secretary; Lukman Abdur-Rahman, MB, BS, FACS, Treasurer; and Adesoji Ademuyiwa, MB, BS, FACS, Councilor. Emmanuel Ameh, MB, BS, FACS, is the Governor of the Nigeria Chapter and was instrumental in its formation.
While attending the 10th Annual Scientific Conference and All Fellows Congress of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria in Abuja, officers and members of the new Nigeria Chapter met for a celebratory dinner on August 12 at the Nigerian Air Force Conference Centre. Non-member surgeons attending the Congress in Abuja were encouraged to join the festivities as guests of the Nigeria Chapter Fellows to learn more about the ACS and the benefits of membership.
North Carolina and South Carolina Chapters hold annual meeting
The North Carolina and South Carolina Chapters of the ACS held their combined annual meeting at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina. On the first day of the three-day meeting, Clifford Y. Ko, MD, MS, MSHS, FACS, FASCRS, Director, ACS Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care and the ACS National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, was the guest at a North Carolina/South Carolina Council and Quality Collaborative Lunch, where he co-moderated a discussion on building a surgical collaborative in the Carolinas. ACS President Andrew L. Warshaw, MD, FACS, FRCSEd(Hon), delivered a keynote address, How the American College of Surgeons Is Leading in Our Profession. Dr. Warshaw presented the breadth of ACS activities, including quality measure activities from the past to the present, the growth of international membership, and the current focus on specialty membership.
Arthur R. Ellenberger, longtime Executive Director of the New Jersey Chapter, dies
Dr. Ellenberger
Arthur R. Ellenberger, former executive director of the Essex County Medical Society and the first Executive Director of the New Jersey Chapter of the ACS, died July 28 at the age of 89. He served as the Executive Director of the New Jersey Chapter for 56 years, from 1952−2008. Mr. Ellenberger, a Jersey City native, was a decorated combat infantryman during World War II, serving in both the European and the Pacific theaters. After the war, Mr. Ellenberger received a bachelors of arts degree in 1950 from Saint Peter’s University, Jersey City, and later pursued graduate studies at New York and Columbia Universities, New York, NY. He worked in the current events library of Time, Life, and Fortune before entering the association management field.
Mr. Ellenberger’s association expertise included being well-versed in the areas of constitutional requirement, parliamentary procedure, and meeting management. He also developed clinical and socioeconomic continuing medical education symposia for practicing professionals. Mr. Ellenberger supplied developmental and managerial services to many associations, all with practicing physician members. He contributed articles to American Medical Association and ACS publications, including the Bulletin.
Both the Essex County Medical Society and the New Jersey Chapter elected Mr. Ellenberger to honorary membership, and in 2003 the ACS established the Arthur Ellenberger Award for Excellence in State Advocacy in his name.
Mr. Ellenberger is survived by his wife, Anna Lee (née Gilbert), and his brother, Donald Ellenberger. He is fondly remembered by colleagues and the surgeons he served not only for his tireless dedication to the medical and surgical professions, but also for his legendary sense of humor and his love of sailing and fishing.
Donna Tieberg, Chapter Services Manager, attended an Association of Women Surgeons (AWS) luncheon, where Nancy Gantt, MD, FACS, President of the Ohio Chapter of the ACS and the AWS, offered a keynote speech on work-life balance, suggesting to the surgeons and residents assembled that “goals are important—plus balancing the different phases of who or what needs help in your life besides your surgical practice.”
Terry Sarantou, MD, FACS, Past-President of the North Carolina Chapter, provided the Governors Report. Mark C. Weissler, MD, FACS, Chair of the ACS Board of Regents and Joseph P. Riddle Distinguished Professor and chief, division of head and neck oncology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, addressed the specialty surgeons in the audience, noting, “The College pulls us all together as specialists—we have much in common with general surgeons.”
Walter J. Pories, MD, FACS, Second-Vice-President-Elect of the College, gave the Leo Waldenberg Lecture and facilitated a discussion, Curing Diabetes with Surgery…Really? According to Dr. Pories, the gastric bypass procedure often produces full and double remission of type 2 diabetes.
Representing the ACS Foundation at the meeting were Martin Wojcik, CFRE, Executive Director of the ACS Foundation, and Richard B. Reiling, MD, FACS, member of the North Carolina Chapter. Dr. Reiling noted that the Foundation helps to facilitate the Kankuben B. Gelot Scholarship Program through the funding of Raghuvir B. Gelot, MD, FACS, a North Carolina Chapter member. The Scholarship was created in honor of Dr. Gelot’s mother, Kankuben B. Gelot, and provided support for this year’s residents’ papers and poster competitions held at the North Carolina/South Carolina meeting.
The last night of the meeting featured a Carolina barbecue in the Pinehurst Resort Clubhouse, attended by chapter members and their families, staff, and other guests. After-dinner festivities included an hour of Group Surgical Jeopardy. Next year, the combined chapter annual meeting will feature a resident Surgical Jeopardy competition, including awards and teams composed of resident surgeons from local surgical training programs. The North Carolina/South Carolina Chapters received their Resident Surgical Jeopardy Kit via the Education Committee of the Resident and Associate Society (RAS) of the ACS. The committee is pilot-testing the toolkit through the end of 2015. Your chapter may request a pilot Surgical Jeopardy toolkit at rasnews@facs.org.
Illinois Chapter Annual Meeting held with Central Illinois Surgical Week
The Illinois Chapter of the ACS held its annual meeting during the 2015 Central Illinois Surgical Week, June 16–21, at the Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center, Peoria, IL. This year’s Surgical Week comprised three different events—the second Annual Norman C. Estes Surgical Symposium, the Robotics Symposium, and the 65th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Illinois Chapter. Nearly 100 members attended the chapter meeting, the largest attendance in several years. Annual meeting Educational Program Co-Directors Steven S. Tsoraides, MD, FACS; Robin A. Alley, MD; and Allison R. Tanck, MD, created a diverse program, adding an educational segment specifically designed for mid-level health care professionals.
Keynote speakers included Theodore J. Saclarides, MD, FACS, division director, colon and rectal surgery, Loyola University, Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, IL, who spoke on Providing Quality and State of the Art Care in Colorectal Surgery, and Richard A. Prinz, MD, FACS, endocrinologist, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL, and clinical professor, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. Dr. Prinz discussed Thyroid Cancer: More or Less. ACS Regent Margaret M. Dunn, MD, MBA, FACS, presented an Update on ACS Activities. Also included in the program were sessions on career planning for residents, political issues, new technology, and robotics in general surgery.
A social event for chapter members and guests took place at the Caterpillar Visitors Center in Peoria. Guests explored the museum and experimented with large equipment simulators before dinner.
In the evening, the Founder’s Resident Papers Competition award winners were announced, as follows:
- Jamie Harris, MD, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, was the first-place award winner of the competition, receiving $500 for his paper Intra-tumoral Implantation of Vincristine-Loaded Sustained-Release Silk Sponge is Effective in Tumor Control in an Orthotopic Neuroblastoma Murine Model.
- Second place, with an award of $300, was given to Shaun D. Mendenhall, MD, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, for A Microbiologic Comparison of Acellular Dermal Matrices as an Aseptic Reconstructive Materia and a Scaffold for Stem Cell In-Growth.
- Third place, with an award of $200, went to V.A. Fleetwood, MD, Rush University Medical Center, for Therapeutic Influenza Infection Significantly Abrogates Development of Type I Diabetes in the NOD Mouse.
Metropolitan Philadelphia Chapter forms new Resident Subcommittee
A newly formed Resident Subcommittee of the Metropolitan Philadelphia Chapter of the ACS (MPACS) held its inaugural planning session July 9. The subcommittee strives to be the pulse of resident physicians in the Philadelphia, PA, area and to increase MPACS participation among residents. Rebecca Hoffman, MD, a general surgery resident at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia, chairs the new subcommittee and is the voice of residents at MPACS Council meetings. The Resident Subcommittee includes resident representatives from every Philadelphia-area surgical institution. The subcommittee will plan resident and young surgeon events in the metropolitan Philadelphia area and facilitate inter-institution networking. Currently, the Resident Subcommittee of the MPACS is planning a Fall 2015 Citywide Metro Philadelphia Surgical Jeopardy competition. For more information, go to the Metropolitan Philadelphia Chapter website or e-mail mpcacs@pamedsoc.org
Lebanon Chapter hosts 15th Surgical Congress in Beirut
The Lebanon Chapter of the ACS and the Lebanese Society for General Surgery hosted the 15th Surgical Congress June 11–13 at the Hilton Habtoor Grand Hotel in Beirut. Approximately 180 surgeons from Lebanon and other countries, including France, the U.S., the U.K., Jordan, the U.A.E., Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, and Egypt, attended the meeting. The Congress consisted of three days of multidisciplinary educational sessions and updates, case presentations, and workshops led by recognized experts from around the world. A gala dinner took place June 12, with many local and international faculty and their guests in attendance. The 15th Surgical Congress was preceded by the much-anticipated ACS General Surgery Review Course June 5−7 in Lebanon at the American University of Beirut Medical Center.
Alberta Chapter meets in Banff, votes in new president
The Alberta Chapter of the ACS met in February in conjunction with the Alberta Association of General Surgeons. The chapter sponsored two resident research winners to the association and chapter meeting. Pang Young, MD, was the resident research award winner from the University of Alberta for his paper Oncostatin M Plays a Critical Role in Survival following Acute Intestinal Ischemia Reperfusion Injury. Christopher Blackmore, MD, was the resident research award winner representing the University of Calgary. His presentation, Should We Still Be Performing Open Appendectomies?, compared outcomes for laparoscopic versus open appendectomy. The chapter also sponsored the annual Robert Pow Lecture, delivered by Rebecka L. Meyers, MD, a pediatric surgeon at Primary Children’s Hospital, Salt Lake City, UT. Dr. Meyers addressed specialty training and workforce planning in the U.S. The Fellows of the Alberta Chapter also announced that they have elected Bruce C. Rothwell, MD, FACS, general surgeon, Peter Lougheed Centre, Calgary, and clinical assistant professor, Cumming School of Medicine, Calgary, as their Chapter President for 2015−2017.
Greece Chapter helps to organize Scientific Congress, participates in ATLS board meeting
The Greece Chapter of the ACS helped to organize an international meeting May 15−16 at the Athens Concert Hall, which took place in conjunction with the 21st Scientific Congress of the Scientific Society of Hellenic Medical Students. The theme of this international meeting was Cutting Edge Trauma and Emergency Surgery: Tricks, Tips, and Techniques. This unique joint academic event featured internationally renowned faculty, including Dr. Warshaw; Demetrios Demetriades, MD, PhD, FACS, professor of surgery and director, division of acute care surgery, Keck School of Medicine, University of Los Angeles County and Southern California Medical Center; Marc De Moya, MD, FACS, Massachusetts General Hospital; director, surgical clerkship for Harvard Medical School; and medical director, Trauma Nurse Practitioner Program, Boston; Jamal Hoballah, MD, FACS, ACS Governor for Lebanon; Miguel Cainzos, MD, FACS, ACS Governor for Spain; and Guiseppe Nigri, MD, PhD, FACS, FRCS, FASCRS, Treasurer, Italy Chapter.
Dr. Patrick Bailey keynote speaker at Hawaii Chapter annual meeting
The Hawaii Chapter of the ACS hosted its annual meeting August 15 at the Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu, with 49 members and guests in attendance. Patrick V. Bailey, MD, FACS, Medical Director of Advocacy, ACS Division of Advocacy and Health Policy, was the keynote speaker. Dr. Bailey spoke on surgical outcomes as they relate to physician payment, specifically describing provisions in the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) that establish a Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). Dr. Bailey also served as a judge/evaluator at the chapter’s Resident Research Competition. Christopher H. Loo, MD, PhD, a second-year resident at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu, won the competition. Dr. Loo was awarded $300 for his paper Identification of Prostate-Specific G-Protein Coupled Receptor (PSGR) as a Tumor Associated Antigen: Using a Bio-Informatics Approach to Cancer Immunotherapy. In appreciation of Dr. Bailey’s participation, the Hawaii Chapter has contributed $1,000 to the ACS Foundation.
Portugal Chapter participates in panel session at Portuguese Society of Surgery conference
The Portugal Chapter of the ACS participated in the 35th National Congress of the Portuguese Society of Surgery (PSS) March 5–7 at the Hotel Eurostars Plaza in Figuora de Foz. Each year the Portugal Chapter invites Fellows to organize a panel discussion at this national surgical congress. The panel’s theme this year was Research and Training of Residents and Young Surgeons; Francisco Castro e Sousa, MD, PhD, FACS, professor of surgery at the University of Coimbra, served as panel chair. Panelists included Paulo Costa, MD, PhD, FACS, professor of surgery, Universidade de Lisboa, who spoke on Research and Training: Why, When, and How; Guilherme Tralhão, MD, PhD, FACS, professor of surgery, Universidade de Coimbra, who spoke on Translational Research; Jose Costa-Maia, MD, FACS, director, surgical department, University Hospital, Porto, who addressed Research during Clinical Training; and Jorge Soares, MD, PhD, professor of pathology and director, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, who presented on The Challenges of Research during the Training Period. Many residents and senior surgeons attended the ACS Portugal Chapter panel session. Several ACS Fellows also helped to organize and participated in presentations offered at the larger Portuguese Society of Cardiology Conference, where more than 500 Portuguese surgeons were in attendance.
Connecticut Surgical Quality Collaborative Launches ERAS Initiative
Earlier this year, the Connecticut Surgical Quality Collaborative (CtSQC), a statewide partnership of Connecticut hospitals, launched its first major quality improvement initiative—a rollout of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols to member hospitals.
The project launch began in late March when the CtSQC hosted Olle Ljungqvist, MD, PhD, professor of surgery at Örebro University Hospital, Sweden, and chairman of the ERAS Society, for an evening conversation with local surgeons and Connecticut Chapter members on the effectiveness of ERAS protocols to reduce postoperative morbidity and mortality and length of hospital stay. As a result, more than 175 surgeons, nurses, and hospital executives were able to quickly rally around the launch of an ERAS program in Connecticut.
In July of this year, the first four Connecticut hospitals began their ERAS training. Over the next four years, 16 more hospitals are expected to cover the majority of surgical cases in the state. The CtSQC is providing financial support to the hospitals that are participating in the ERAS protocols rollout to offset the cost of staff training. The ERAS Society, using a “train the trainer” methodology to facilitate the initial training, will help to reduce implementation costs.
Tennessee Chapter hosts Resident Surgical Jeopardy program at annual meeting
More than 100 surgeons, affiliate members, and guests attended the 2015 annual meeting of the Tennessee Chapter of the College (TNACS) at the Hilton Knoxville. Presenters included Mary C. McCarthy, MD, FACS, member, ACS Committee on Trauma, and chair, Wright State University department of surgery, Dayton, OH, who discussed The History, Impact, and Future of Women in Surgery at an American Women in Surgery (AWS)/ACS Liaison Session. Luncheon keynote speaker, Kenneth L. Mattox, MD, FACS, ACS Second Vice-President, delivered a presentation titled DaMattox Code: A Trauma Mystery. Dr. Mattox also offered an Update from ACS—Innovations within the House of Surgery. Kenneth W. Sharp, MD, FACS, ACS Foundation Board Secretary and Tennessee Chapter Member, explained how donations to the Foundation support professional education, scholarships, and other special program initiatives at the College. More than 25 residents participated in four different resident paper competitions at the meeting, and teams from each training program entertained attendees with a Resident Surgical Jeopardy Competition using a the toolkit developed by the RAS Education Committee.
Argentine Chapter organizes international course on advances in hepato surgery
On June 11–12, the Argentina Chapter of the ACS presented its XXIV International Course.
The year’s program focused on Advances in Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic and Esophageal-Gastric Surgery and was presented at the Auditorium of the Medical Association of Argentina in Buenos Aires. More than 70 people attended the events. The course was facilitated by Lucas McCormack, MD, FACS, director, surgery and liver transplantation, Hospital Alemán de Buenos Aires; and Adolfo Badaloni, MD, FACS, chief of surgery esophagogastric, Favaloro Foundation, University Hospital, Buenos Aires. Three international guests for the course included Michael D’Angelica, MD, FACS, Enid A. Haupt Chair in Surgery; director, hepatopancreatobiliary fellowship program; and director, surgical oncology fellowship program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY; Blair A. Jobe, MD, FACS, general surgeon, Western Pennsylvania Hospital, Pittsburgh; and Nicolas Jarufe Cassisi, MD, chief, gastrointestinal surgery and associate professor, Catholic University of Chile, department of digestive surgery, University of Chile, Santiago. The chapter is organizing the 2016 International Course, which will focus on bariatric surgery.
