The 2nd AWR training course in Belle Vue Kolkata, endorsed by HSI and IAGES was held on September 11th-12th, 2017. We had 11 enthusiastic surgeons not only from the country but from as far as Phillipines. This is a reflection of the increasing popularity of the AWR concepts in this region. 

With Dr Rajesh Khullar, the immediate past president of the Hernia Society of India, present as the chief guest for the training course, and stalwarts such as Dr Om Tantia, Dr Ramesh Agarwalla, Dr S P DeSarkar and Dr Nandkishor Dukkipatti, the program witnessed 7 live surgeries and an interactive academic session threadbaring the concepts of ventral hernia repair. The cases demonstrated were recurrent, atypical sited and giant hernias.  

The plethora of surgeries- open TAR, eTEP RS, eTEP TAR, IPOM plus and onlay mesh hernioplasty- were demonstrated to stress the importance of knowing many procedures to deal with complex ventral hernia. Trainee surgeons observed as well as assisted  for the procedures to get a first hand experience.  We learnt a lot in these two courses and hope to continue this exciting journey with our third edition of the AWR training program on 19-20 January 2018. ” 

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HSI 2017 – the XIth International Congress of Hernia Society of India

HSI 2017 – the XIth International Congress of the Hernia Society of India was held at Hotel Pullman, New Delhi on August 11-12, 2017. It was attended by around 350 participants from India and Asia Pacific region.

The theme of the Congress was “Complex Hernias- Management Strategies”. The Congress aimed at discussion of various complex situations faced in hernia repair and the techniques to handle them. There were four symposia, one keynote lecture, two Presidential addresses, one Dr H G Doctor oration, three debates and one video workshop as the main highlights of the scientific agenda. There were two best paper award sessions during the event which drew lot of appreciation from the participants.

In total, there were 22 scientific sessions during the two days of the event. Seventy abstracts were submitted for the meeting and out of these forty were accepted for oral presentations.

The highlights of the scientific program were the three debates on “Midline closure is always required for hernia repair”, “Intra-peritoneal mesh for hernia repair should be avoided” and “Laparoscopic groin hernia will never be the gold standard”. All three debates drew appreciable response from all the delegates and faculties. The discussions around the topics grew very interesting and highly involving with varied opinions from the house.

August 10th, 2017

A day prior to the commencement of the Congress, the Executive committee meeting of the HSI was held at Hotel Pullman between 6 to 7 pm followed by dinner.

Day 1: August 11th , 2017

The organizing Chairman, Dr Pradeep Chowbey delivered the welcome address and declared the congress open at 9 am on August 11th, 2017. The first session of the congress was “Symposium – 1- Understanding the abdominal wall”. After the exhaustive presentations in this symposium, Dr Pradeep Chowbey delivered the Keynote address on “Herniology- Evolution towards excellence”. He received a standing ovation from the entire house and chairpersons!

Post the keynote address, the Dr H G Doctor Oration was presented to Dr Davide Lomanto in view of his significant contributions in the field of herniology. This was the second Dr HG Doctor Oration. Dr Rajesh Khullar, President HSI , presented and highlighted the contributions of Dr HG Doctor. Dr Davide Lomanto delivered his lecture on “Hernia- A game Changer” during this oration.

This was followed by two parallel sessions: “Symposium II- Understanding the groin” and “Experiences and Innovations- I”.Two debates on day one were the most involving and lively sessions!

Post lunch, two parallel sessions on “Rives Stoppa Best paper award” and “Shouldice Best Paper award” were conducted. Dr Sumeet Shah won the Rives Stoppa best paper award and the Shouldice Best paper award was won by Dr Arshad Rashid. The two winners were felicitated with Best paper award certificates and a cash prize of Rs. 10,000 each during the banquet dinner.

The last two parallel sessions of the day were “Ethicon symposium- Challenging the status quo” and “Medtronic symposium- The rare and the unusual”

The General Body meeting was organized in the evening between 7 to 8 pm.

The delegates and faculties enjoyed the evening networking and interacting over banquet dinner!

Day 2: 12th August, 2017

The second day started with enthusiasm and vigor with the Video Workshop organized as an alternative to the Live surgery workshop. The workshop was a visual tutorial by experts which included a step wise demonstration of newer innovative techniques.

The video workshop comprised minimally edited videos of various procedures which were laparoscopic repair of giant scrotal hernia, TAPP in recurrence following previous laparoscopic repair, hybrid technique for complex abdominal wall hernias, endoscopic Rives-Stoppa sutured technique, endoscopic Rives-Stoppa stapled technique, IPOM Plus technique, open TAR, laparoscopic TAR, laparoscopic anterior component separation and redo hiatal surgery. The session was highly appreciated with important tips, tricks and healthy discussions.

This was followed by the Presidential addresses by the HSI and APHS President’s. Dr Rajesh Khullar, President HSI, delivered his address on “Recurrence in Inguinal Hernia- The journey so far!”

Dr Anil Sharma, President APHS delivered his address on “Ventral / Incisional Hernia repair with minimal access techniques – where are we headed?”

Another major highlight of the congress was the session on complications (Video stories) in complex hernia repair. In this session, the presenters highlighted the complications they faced during complex hernia surgeries and step wise demonstration of their management strategies.

The congress concluded on a positive note by evening 5 pm. The two day exhaustive and comprehensive scientific program witnessed great participation from the delegates, faculties and industry partners.

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