Showcasing Surgery

News Release: Monday September 5, 2005

Showcasing Surgery

Over 150 of New Zealand’s leading health researchers and specialist surgeons will gather in Hamilton next week for the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Annual Scientific Meeting.

The meeting will host a range of presitigous international surgeons including: Professor David Watson, Head of Flinders University Department of Surgery; Dr James Church, a Colorectal Surgeon from the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland Ohio; Mr Andrew D. Baildam - Surgical Oncologist from the University Hospital of South Manchester and Professor Hock L. Tan the Inaugural Professor of Paediatric Surgery at the University of Adelaide.

Scientific Co-coordinator for the meeting Mr Chris McEwan says the focus of this year’s meeting is on “building bridges”. The Conference will offer a number of papers on multi-disciplinary surgery. A major feature will be a presentation on the separation of the conjoined twins at Waikato Hospital in October last year.

This 22-hour operation lead by paediatric surgeon Mr Askar Kukkady and a team of seven surgeons from Waikato and Auckland, included paediatric, plastics, orthopaedic and neurosurgical specialists.

As well as offering a range of excellent overseas speakers the conference will also feature papers from talented New Zealand surgeons with a key focus on breast surgery, paediatrics and urology.

The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons is an internationally recognized organization representing more than 6,300 members, including 1,700 trainees in nine different specialties in New Zealand and Australia – 90 per cent of surgeons in both countries have been trained and examined by the College. Seven hundred New Zealand surgeons are members of RACS.

The key roles of the college are in advocacy, education, professional development and membership support. The nine specialist areas represented by RACS are: general surgery, neurology, urology, otolaryngology, paediatrics, plastic and reconstructive surgery, vascular surgery and, cardio-thoracic surgery.

The conference – to be held at the Novatel Tainui will run from Tuesday September 13 to Friday September 16. Media are welcome to attend.

ENDS

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