We wish to thank all of our WeBSurg members who voted and actively took part in the ranking of the 30 videos pre-selected for the WeBSurg Award competition.

The grand finals are approaching! The members of the jury will now cast their votes and the final ranking along with the names of the 3 award-winning members will be announced at a later date.

The association of endometriosis and hepatic tumor (Focal Nodular Hyperplasia) is a very rare occurrence. The surgeon's decision on whether or not to operate is debatable. Questions about the therapeutic management will be raised during a review of the current literature on the topic.

We have created a short quiz on this theme. Have a go at these questions! Your answers will be instantly compared and we will show you the opinions of other WeBSurg members online as you are filling out the quiz.

Do not miss out the next issue of the WeBSurg Newsletter in which you will find out the answers to this topic. Watch this space! 

General and digestive surgery:

• "Upside down" stomach: laparoscopic repair
• Laparoscopic cholecystectomy: a gold standard case for the dissection of Calot's triangle
• Laparoscopic ileocecal resection for mucinous cystadenoma of the appendix

Gynecologic surgery:

• Nodule excision, mucosal skinning and ureterolysis for deep pelvic endometriosis

Pediatric surgery:

• Thoracoscopic right lower lobe resection

This is the very first intensive course in Laparoscopic General Surgery that will be held in Taiwan, at the heart of Asia, on May 27-30, 2008. On this occasion, all of the IRCAD Faculty and Scientific Committee will be present at ASIA IRCAD - Taiwan, the brand-new training centre in minimal access surgery that will be freshly inaugurated on May 26, 2008. 

Make sure you do not miss out on this unique opportunity and register now for one of the few remaining places!

Please click here to find out more about the course program and registration fees.

Download course program here

Click here to access the 2008 calendar of courses.

Please note that CME accreditation will be provided for all programs to be held at ASIA IRCAD - Taiwan: AMA Category 1 credits™ and MAINCERT credits will be delivered.

Apply now for one of the following 2008 laparoscopic courses:

Digestive Surgery:

Intensive course in Laparoscopic General Surgery
May 19-23, 2008 FULL
September 22-26, 2008 FULL
December 8-12, 2008 FULL

Advanced Course in Laparoscopic Digestive Surgery
April 3-5, 2008 Only option A is available
November 27-29, 2008

Advanced Course in Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery
June 27-28, 2008: Only option A is available
November 7-8, 2008: Only option A is available

Advanced Course on NOTES (Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery)
June 6-7, 2008 Only option A is available
October 3-4, 2008 Only option A is available

Advanced Course in Interventional GI Endoscopy Techniques
July 3-5, 2008 Only option A is available

Advanced Course in Laparoscopic Aortoiliac Surgery
November 13-15, 2008

Pediatric Surgery:

Advanced Course in Pediatric Urology
October 16-18, 2008

Urological Surgery:

Intensive Course in Laparoscopic Urological Surgery
June 9-13, 2008 FULL
December 1-5, 2008 FULL

Cours intensifs en Chirurgie Laparoscopique Urologique
October 6-10, 2008

Advanced Course in Laparoscopic Urological Surgery: Laparoscopic Treatment of Kidney Tumors
April 24-26, 2008: The best way to cover all the procedures in radical and partial nephrectomy! FULL

International Advanced Symposium: Laparoscopic Treatment of Urological Pelvic Cancers: Prostate and Bladder
September 18-20, 2008

Gynecologic Surgery:

Advanced Techniques in Operative Gynecological Endoscopy
May 5-7, 2008 FULL
December 15-17, 2008

Gynecological Cancer and Laparoscopic Approach: State of the Art
June 23-25, 2008 FULL

Current Techniques in the Treatment of Severe Endometriosis
September 8-10, 2008 FULL

Next May 26^th, IRCAD (The Research Institute against Cancer of the Digestive Tract) will inaugurate the ASIA IRCAD – Taiwan, a Taiwan-based freshly built training center for continuing medical education in minimally invasive surgery, thanks to a fruitful partnership with Show Chwan Memorial Hospital in Taiwan. This center will benefit of the same rigorous scientific and technical qualities that have made the IRCAD-EITS in Strasbourg so popular, with the added bonus of an exquisite and accessible setting at the heart of Asia.

Equipped with the latest technical teaching technologies, the facility of approximately 7,300 square meters stands out as the largest training center for minimal access surgery in Asia.

The objective of ASIA IRCAD - Taiwan is twofold. It is geared up:
- to provide top quality training in minimally invasive surgery, and even non-invasive;
- to promote research and development in the field of new surgical computer-guided and robotic assisted technologies.

The very first course, an intensive course in laparoscopic general surgery, will be held from the 27th to the 30th of May, 2008. It will be organized by the IRCAD Faculty and International Scientific Committee. Six more courses will be held during the year 2008 at the ASIA IRCAD - Taiwan, including colorectal surgery, urological surgery, gynaecological surgery, and Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES).

To find out more on these training courses and book your place now, please visit: http://www.eits.fr/asia_ircad_taiwan/.

IRCAD-EITS involvement in 2008 meetings:

IRCAD-EITS-WeBSurg will be present as an exhibitor hosted by Karl Storz and will be happy to welcome you at the forthcoming events:

• SAGES 2008 Annual Scientific Meeting, Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA (April 9-12, 2008)
• 16^th International Congress of the European Association for Endoscopic Surgery (EAES), Stockholm, Sweden (June 11-14, 2008)
• 11^th World Congress of Endoscopic Surgery, Yokohama, Japan (September 2-5, 2008)
• 2008 Annual Clinical Congress of the ACS, San Francisco, California, USA (October 12-16, 2008)

The 30^th International Congress of the European Hernia Society will be taking place in Sevilla, Spain, from the 7^th to the 10^th of May 2008.
For further details, click here.

WeBSurg will also be present on May 2nd, 2008 during the Belgian Surgical Week to be held in Ostend, Belgium.

We are happy to share with more than 1600 members the newest developments in Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery. Following our third and fourth NOTES Advanced Courses that took place last January 18-19 and last March 28-29, 2008 respectively, we have made available a new video and a new lecture! So make sure you check our EATS website and fully enjoy our updated NOTES material!

Dear members,

Please note that if you need an EATS association membership certificate, it can be delivered directly via the www.eats.fr website. Make sure you are logged on and go to your details section where you will find your membership certificate.

New video:

•   NOTES left nephrectomy: retroperitoneal transvaginal approach

New lecture:

• Access to peritoneal cavity via gastrotomy -  B Dallemagne (FR)

New reading suggestions: please check our update!

By becoming an EATS member, you will take full advantage of our exclusive NOTES content on www.eats.fr, as well as other membership rights.

Calendar for 2008 NOTES courses at IRCAD-EITS:

• June 6-7, 2008 Only option A is available
• October 3-4, 2008 Only option A is available

Option A limited to 50 participants
Option B limited to 34 participants

NOTES course at IRCAD TAIWAN Training Center:
September 10-12, 2008
For further details, click here

Due to the enormous success of the first, second, and third NOTES Hands-on courses, priority will be given to people that are on the waiting list and to EATS members. This will operate on a first come, first served basis.

Please click here to download registration form.

MAINCERT and AMA Category 1 CME credits™ available for the 2008 NOTES courses:
8.75 credits (option A)
25.25 credits (option B)

12 European CME credits (ECMEC) are also available. These credits have been provided by the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME), institution of the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS).

The IRCAD-EITS International NOTES Hands-on courses in 2008 have been endorsed by the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE).

We would be glad to receive any suggestions and comments! To contact us, please email to info@eats.fr for the EATS or webmaster@websurg.com for WeBSurg.

Yours faithfully,

Prof. Jacques MARESCAUX, MD, FRCS, FACS
President of IRCAD/EITS
President of EATS
WeBSurg Editor-in-Chief