Dr Emile Coetzee SASES President, reports on 'Day-to-Day Practice in Colorectal Surgery', ESCP's second Beyond Europe Masterclass.
It is with great pride and pleasure that I have the privilege to report back on the recent ESCP Beyond Europe Masterclass. The Masterclass coincided with the biannual South African Society of Endoscopic Surgeon’s (SASES) academic meeting and was held at the picturesque Vineyard Hotel at the foot of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa.
It was a pleasure to host or friends from the ESCP. Dieter Hahnloser, Klaus Matzel, Charles Sabbagh, Antonino Spinelli, Marcos Gomez, Roel Hompes, Carolynn Vaizey and Janindra Warusvitarne joined us and delivered world-class presentations with current and relevant information. On 30 August, we hosted a Robotic Colorectal Surgery Masterclass with Marcos Gomez and Dieter Hahnloser, where a live surgery workshop provided the South African colorectal surgeons to experience a true masterclass on robotic operative technique.
The academic programme included topics on a variety of relevant topics, including colorectal cancer, operative and anastomotic techniques, watch and wait strategies, functional disorders and rectal prolapse. The video sessions on “How I do it” and “How to get out of trouble” were the most popular. All talks and presentations drew robust and, sometimes entertaining, debate.
Weather in Cape Town is unpredictable this time of year, and despite some rain and windy weather, the ESCP delegates managed to experience some of the beauties of our City and Table Mountain. Friendships were made and collaborations for research established. SASES members were keen to join the ESCP and have access to the invaluable educational content that the ESCP offers.
The ESCP/SASES Beyond Europe Masterclass in 2023 was indeed a great success and the South African surgeons are forever grateful for the initiative and efforts by the members of the ESCP for this wonderful opportunity.
