For the first time in Portugal, the ninth ESCP Masterclass took place in the city of Oeiras on the 1st of July 2021, at TagusPark Congress Center, on the topic "Complex Decisions in Coloproctology".
Willem Bemelman, Past President of ESCP, with Nuno Rama (left) and João Pimentel (right) at the 10th ESCP Masterclass (Portugal)
In conjunction with the Portuguese Society of Coloproctology's National Congress
Sponsored by Medtronic
Held in the 30th Portuguese Congress of Coloproctology, under the coordination of Nuno Rama, former Portuguese ESCP Representative, and Irene Martins, President of the Congress, this event had a wide participation, in a hybrid model, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Covering a wide range of aspects, we attended four exciting sessions on AIN and anal malignancy, “Watch-and-Wait” (W&W) policy in rectal cancer, diverticular disease, and stomas, besides two magnificent lectures.
The morning started with the session on anal cancer, discussing screening, high-resolution anoscopy in the diagnosis and management, and the position of salvage surgery, with the participation of renowned experts, such as Andreia Albuquerque, Mayura Nathan and GA Binda. We also had the support of Dieter Hahnloser, Chair of ESCP's Education Committee.
In the next part, chaired by GA Binda and Manuel Limbert, Geerard Beets presented the ideal candidates for W&W, Inês Santiago showed us how to identify a complete clinical response, and Nuno Figueiredo focussed on salvage surgery for local regrowths. We all closed the morning with an outstanding keynote lecture, by Aneel Bhangu, about balancing research and clinical practice, in surgery.
The afternoon proceeded updating some topics in diverticular disease, such as non-resective management, indications for surgery and reoperative challenges, with the contribution of European leading experts.
The last session, chaired by Nuno Figueiredo and João Pimentel, addressed some tips and tricks for difficult stomas, by Paolo Delrio, and who benefits from a covering ileostomy, by Willem Bemelman. Nuno Rama shared some insights on how we can live with an ostomy. Finally, attendees enjoyed José Fragata, from Lisbon, that took to the stage to talk about the dealing with failures.
This Masterclass was an exciting and intensive one-day course intended to provide in-depth and interactive coverage of selected paramount topics, sticking points that we face in the daily practice, as complex decisions in contemporary colorectal surgery. All the success came from the involvement and competence of B-SPIRT, the local team, the ESCP team and the remarkable collaboration of the sponsors. On behalf of the Organizing Committee, I would like to thank all speakers and participants for another successful edition of ESCP Masterclass.
Nuno Rama, MD,PhDst, FEBS (Coloprocto), MBA (GES)
Consultant Surgeon, Head of Department of Colorectal Surgery (CH of Leiria);
Assistant Professor - Health Sciences School (Leiria).
