Innovation is as important in EGS as it is in elective surgical practice but the focus and scope aren’t on the same scale. The persistent low volume thrust of MIS, virtual wards and wearables, chatbot consultations, biomarkers in pancreatitis, AI to help guide mesenteric ischaemia management and point of care biochemistry are all in the coffee room conversations as we wait for the bleeding, perforation and sepsis to be served up.
Part of the remit of the ASGBI is to highlight and promote areas of innovative practice and the cutting edge research that is going on across the EGS/Trauma community. The EGS meeting in Manchester back in November was our opportunity to explore many of these developing areas and our ASGBI 2025 Edinburgh Congress in May is your next opportunity to read, listen and interact with colleagues to shape the landscape for the next decade and ensure our acute patients get the same level of care as our elective patients. There is so much to do so but this is an exciting area to be involved in so please help us shape the next decade.
Training the next generation in new techniques is clearly fundamental and it was hugely rewarding for the ASGBI faculty to join forces with the RCSEd to deliver our established EGS Laparoscopic Skills Course to the South-East Scotland Deanery ST4-8 Residents at the Edinburgh College Skills Lab. Industry support from J&J Med Tech allowed us to include laparoscopic intracorporeal anastomosis, laparoscopic bile duct exploration and suturing, management of the difficult appendix stump and trans-abdominal pre-peritoneal hernia repair for acute inguinal/femoral hernia.
We are running the course again as a pre-Congress event and you can sign up HERE if you want to fine tune those EGS Lap skills.
