XVI Congress of the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders

Hamburg, Germany, August 31—September 3, 2011

by Rudolf A. Weiner, MD

Professor Weiner is President of the European Chapter of IFSO and President of the upcoming 16th World Congress of the International Federation for Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders; Professor in Surgery, University of Frankfurt, Germany, Head of the Department for General, Visceral and Trauma Surgery in Frankfurt, Sachsenhausen, Germany.

Bariatric Times. 2010;8(7):19

It is a great honor and pleasure for the German Society for the Surgery of Obesity to invite you to the XVI Congress of the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO) in Hamburg, Germany.

About Hamburg
Visitors to Hamburg are enthusiastic about its flair and maritime charm. Whether visiting the Elbe River, Lake Alster, the “Port City,” the ancient storehouse city, fish market or “Reeperbahn,” something new can be discovered and marveled at every day.  Crossing the Elbe to Lower Saxony takes you to the fruit farmers in the “Old Country,” the largest European fruit-producing area. Buxtehude and Stade offer visitors freshly harvested fruit and thatched farm houses, wide dike landscapes, and picturesque villages. Hamburg, which was declared a World Heritage site by United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), is a living memorial of rich merchants, a cultural center, and a modern university city. What makes Hamburg really special is its attitude toward life–but this is what you have to find out for yourself!

IFSO 2011 highlights
Scientific program. For the first time in the history of IFSO, nearly 1,000 abstracts were submitted. The full program will be published  in the August issue of Obesity Surgery.

During the Congress, there will be basic and advanced courses, five postgraduate courses, presentations by leading experts, lectures, seven plenary and 23 scientific sessions, 350 posters, 85 video presentations, consensus meetings, and a highly professional exhibition showcasing more than 40 companies that specialize in surgery for obesity and metabolic disorders.
Integrated health sessions will take place during the congress, not separately as was done in previous years. Late-night video shows (e.g., complications, unique cases) will be offered for surgeons, which will continue until midnight. Food and drink will also be provided during this special night event. Attendees are offered hands-on training courses before and during the congress.

In all plenary sessions, electronic voting is arranged. Joint sessions with anesthesiologists and endocrinologists will also be offered this year.

Live surgery. For the first time, live surgery will be a part of the IFSO World Congress. Twelve surgeons from all over the world will perform operations in four operating rooms simultaneously at the University Hospital of Hamburg and discuss the surgical steps with the audience live from the floor. The surgeon experts include Luigi Angrisani, Michel Gagner, Karl Miller, Raul Rosenthal, Scott Shikora, and many others.

The live conference will be moderated by a number of world-famous experts, including Kelvin Higa. Live transmission for anesthesiologists will be transferred to the meeting for the anesthesiology and intensive care in morbid obesity.
Live translation into Spanish and Portuguese. The official language of the congress will be English, but in respect to the importance of the societies in Latin-America and the huge number of abstract submissions, we decided to have a Latin-American Course in natural language and to translate all plenary sessions.

Invitation to aspiring surgeons. For the first time in the history of the IFSO World Congress, special offers for aspiring surgeons will be available. The congress organization has invited the Federation Latino Americano de Cirugia (FELAC) organization and the European Obesity Academy (EOA) to Hamburg.
Metabolic surgery. The dramatic rise in the prevalence of obesity and diabetes has become a major global public health issue and demands urgent attention from governments, healthcare systems, and the medical community. The IFSO 2011 World Congress will reflect the importance of metabolic surgery and continuing sessions, starting with the postgraduate course on Wednesday (August 31) until Saturday (September 3).

In addition to behavioral and medical approaches, various types of surgery on the gastrointestinal tract and new endoscopic techniques constitute powerful options to ameliorate diabetes not only in patients with severe obesity, but in patients considered of normal weight. Studies on surgical approaches to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) show that surgery may help in normalizing blood glucose levels, reducing or avoiding the need for medications, and providing a potentially cost-effective approach to treating the disease.

New studies presented at IFSO 2011 will focus on surgical procedures and their roles in alleviating T2DM in the population of patients without obesity. The question of different types of diabetes will also be discussed. The IFSO scientific committee believes that research and findings in this field can be scientific dynamite. An interdisciplinary plenary session with endocrinologists will focus on research into surgery for the resolution of diabetes.

Novel endoscopic devices. Multiple devices and techniques that utilize the GI tract’s putative mechanism for altering energy balance and non-weight-loss effects on glucose tolerance will be explored and demonstrated during the meeting.
Metabolic and bariatric surgery are  rapidly developing fields in modern medicine. IFSO 2011 will serve as a forum for reporting on the present situation of metabolic and bariatric surgery and its future.

For more information on the IFSO 2011 World Congress, please visit www.ifso2011.de.

We hope to see you in Hamburg!

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