This week we speak to Carlo Ratto about his upcoming educational workshop 'AIN and HRA for Colorectal Surgeons' at ESCP's 2018 conference in Nice.
Carlo Ratto is Associate Professor in General Surgery at the Catholic University of Rome and Chief of the Proctology Unit at the Foundation University Hospital 'A. Gemelli' in Rome, Italy. He is also director of several workshops on various topics (endoanal and endorectal ultrasonography, faecal incontinence, anal fistula, haemorrhoidal disease, constipation and ODS).
At ESCP 2018, Professor Ratto will lead an educational course titled 'AIN and HRA for Colorectal Surgeons' on Tuesday 25th September
Although HPV-related anal diseases (condyloma, anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN) - dysplasia, anal carcinoma) are very frequently observed by coloproctologists, Ratto believes a lack of experience and confidence around these particular clinical conditions is still fairly widespread.
Ratto explains why an educational focus on this topic is so beneficial:
"Colorectal surgeons often treat such instances not following specific guidelines, and, frequently, they may worry about the real effectiveness of their therapeutic strategy."
To help colleagues improve their knowledge and therefore confidence around this challenge, Ratto devised and held a workshop titled: 'High Resolution Anoscopy, AIN and Anal Cancer' at the 7th Congress of the Italian Society of Colorectal Surgeons in September 2017. This topic and format proved extremely popular and led to his developing a hands-on session using high-resolution anoscopy (HRA), which is considered to be the gold-standard in diagnosis today of HPV-related diseases. It also simultaneously acts as an effective in-office tool to treat the early stages of anal dysplasia.
Ratto said:
“Given the necessity to improve knowledge around this topic and the interest demonstrated by colorectal surgeons, it made sense to continue these workshop sessions. I proposed the “AIN and HRA for Colorectal Surgeons” course at ESCP Nice 2018, using the same model already experimented, and proven a useful format, in Italy.
“Attendees will learn about the occurrence of benign, pre-malignant and malignant anal lesions and the required diffuse practice in diagnosis and treatment of these conditions. The course will also look at the epidemiology and pathology of HPV infection and the principles of anal cancer screening to understand the diagnostic value of anal cytology, histology and HRA. This will help delegates to better understand the appropriate treatment and management options for AIN and anal cancer in order to evaluate the prevention options for HPV-related diseases.”
The course is an introduction to High Resolution Anoscopy and anal neoplasia specifically geared towards surgeons. Although it is not a certification course, it will offer useful professional development and new insights to those who are interested in this topic. In the meantime, you can connect with Professor Ratto on Twitter @IntColoproct.
AIN and HRA for Colorectal Surgeons will run from 8.30am to 16:30pm on Tuesday 25 September at ESCP Nice 2018. Members are advised to book their place ASAP, as spaces are limited.
