Approximately 170 delegates attended the recent annual Czech Coloproctological Section Conference, organised by the Division of Coloproctology at Czech Society of Surgery (Czech Society of Coloproctology).
The meeting, held 21-22 February at the Erbia Congress Centre in Prague, saw delegates attend from Czech Republic, Slovakia, and the UK.
Richard Brady, Deputy Chair of the Communications Committee for the European Society of Coloproctology (ESCP) and consultant colorectal surgeon at Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospital in the UK, addressed attendees on a range of topics at the event, including the role of social media in colorectal surgery, new surgical approaches such as robotic surgery, colorectal cancer, rectal prolapse and haemorrhoids. Respected surgeon Professor Amjad Parvaiz also addressed the event, focusing on robotic surgery.
The event was organised by Dr Julius Orhalmi from the Charles University Hospital in Hradec Kralove, who said:
“We were delighted to welcome so many delegates to our annual conference from Slovakia, the Czech Republic and the UK.
“Having Richard attend from the UK to discuss some key surgical issues, as well as inform us about the benefits to ESCP membership was a great addition to the event and one that we know our delegates enjoyed very much.”
Richard himself said:
“It is always great to get the chance to liaise with surgeons in different countries and this conference was a great example of that. The world is getting smaller and communication, collaboration and the translation of ideas is becoming more rapid. Indeed, the rate of innovation in our specialty is breath-taking. Technological developments are set to become not only the biggest issues in surgery but will also fundamentally reshape our future society. There is a huge amount of work that is going on globally to revolutionise surgery using the very best that technology can offer.
In terms of how technological advances will benefit patients, Mr Brady added:
“As we have access to secure, quicker, and more mobile technology, the traditional access points to health and storage of data become blurred. Teleconferencing, mobile apps for information and health monitoring, AI to personalise treatment pathways, automated decision making pathways, better and more autonomous robots taking over traditional surgery, VR to train and plan in surgery, and fully accessible electronic medical records are just a few areas were work is already underway and set to expand into normal practice in the future.”
Richard also provided delegates with information about ESCP membership and its Fellowships, and what the Society has in store for 2019.
Richard played a major role in one of the most popular keynotes at the last ESCP Scientific Conference in Nice in September 2018 – covering some of the issues that he again shared in the Czech Republic last month. Read more about his presentation here.
