Editor-in-Chief of Gray’s Anatomy to deliver keynote address at Limerick surgical conference

ONE of the main educational events in the Irish medical calendar has moved online as University Hospital Limerick hosts the Sylvester O’Halloran Virtual Perioperative Symposium.

Among the keynote speakers later this Saturday will be Professor Susan Standring, Emeritus Professor of Anatomy at Kings College London and Editor-in-Chief of Gray’s Anatomy; and pioneering colorectal cancer surgeon Professor Werner Hohenberger, Emeritus Professor, Chair of Surgery, University of Erlangen-Nuremburg, Germany.

From its beginnings in 1992, the annual Sylvester O’Halloran meeting has developed into one of the most anticipated such events in Ireland and, increasingly, internationally. The symposium has been posted on some of the leading surgical websites around the world, including the American College of Surgeons.

“Gray’s Anatomy is arguably the most famous textbook in medicine,” said Prof J Calvin Coffey, Foundation Chair of Surgery at the Graduate Entry Medical School, University of Limerick (UL) and general and colorectal surgeon, UHL.

“It started in 1858 and remains one of the most important foundation texts for every student of medicine worldwide. So to welcome Prof Susan Standring, its Editor-in Chief is a remarkable honour for the organisers, the Mid-West region and indeed for Ireland,” added Prof Coffey.

Similarly, Prof Werner Hohenberger is a renowned surgeon and educator who has won numerous honours in his native Germany and around the world. His innovations in surgical oncology have been practice-changing for surgeons around the world.  These have been adopted to save lives and improve quality of life for patients.

In a normal year, the symposium can attract over 500 attendees to Limerick.

However, this year’s event, which began yesterday, has been moved to a virtual platform in line with the public health guidelines. 

The virtual platform allows the organisers to overcome geographical limitations and already attendees have registered from Malaysia, Australia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the USA.

 “The pandemic has radically altered how we as surgeons work and how surgical training is carried out.  It has changed each patient’s perioperative journey.  It has also altered how education and research events such as this are organised,” said Prof Coffey.

 “One of the most eagerly anticipated sessions of the symposium will be on Covid-19 and on how we as surgeons have had to adapt to keep patients and colleagues safe. This is the first occasion such a session is being held at the Sylvester O’Halloran Symposium. It is a sign of the times and reflects how rapidly our focus has changed as clinicians,” he added.

It is almost exactly 12 months since UHL and other hospitals around the country began to admit their first Covid-19 patients.

"In fact, last year’s Sylvester O’Halloran symposium had to be abruptly cancelled and the CERC Building evacuated on March 5 as we moved to active management of the crisis and curtailing non-essential activity," recalled Prof Coffey.

“This was in advance of any national lockdown and some felt we had acted precipitously in cancelling the conference but nothing we have learned about Covid-19 over the last 12 months has led us to believe the decision was incorrect. We have all had to adapt and it is heartening that one year on, we can organise such a comprehensive programme and learn from colleagues around the world how we can continue to care for our patients in the Covid-19 environment. It is a tribute to the trainees, nurses, surgeons, doctors, students, management and administration that they have been able to overcome the tremendous challenges presented by the pandemic in organising this symposium,” he added.

The Sylvester O’Halloran Virtual Perioperative Scientific Symposium is now the single largest national perioperative surgical meeting in Ireland and is collaboratively hosted by the Departments of Surgery, Anaesthesia, Nursing, ENT and Orthopaedics, in conjunction with the Perioperative Directorate at UL Hospitals Group and the School of Medicine, University of Limerick. 

The Sylvester O’Halloran Virtual Perioperative Scientific Symposium is supported the UL Hospitals Group Executive Management Team.  It is also supported by industry.

See soh.isrs.ie for more.