History
In 1996 the Benelux Association of Bariatric Surgeons was founded to unite specialists from the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg with a special interest in the surgical treatment of obesity. Due to the exponentially growing interest in the field of bariatric surgery, a Belgian organisation was founded in oktober 2005 under the name "Section of Obesity Surgery Belgium" or SOSB, and the BABS structure was kept as the liaison with the IFSO. The names of the original founders were J. Closset, A. De Roover, B. De Waele, A. D'Hoore, B. DIllemans, M. Legrand, L. Lemmens, L. Hendrickx, D. Herman, J. Himpens, G. Hubens, M. Miserez, G. Vander Velpen and E. Van Vyve. The first chairman was Piet Pattyn.
Further evolution in the field of bariatric surgery revealed the important role of this type of surgery on the control of metabolic disorders like diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnoea and the name of the society was changed to "Belgian Section of Obesity and Metabolic Surgery" or BeSOMS. Meanwhile, the BeSOMS is a full section of the Belgian Royal Society of Surgery (RBSS) and has organised numerous congresse, symposia, workshops and other scientific meetings in Belgium and abroad.
Upcoming Meetings & News
Vote results ! Our new board members are :
- Isabelle Debergh
- Frederiek Nuytens
- Maxime Mairiaux
- Audrey Hartman
- Alexandre Haumann
- Bengy Pascotto
Congratulations to all and welcome aboard!
Many thanks to our resigned board members: Jean Closset, Philippe Hauters, Jacques Himpens, Pierre Hourlay, Laurent Khonen, Marc-Julien Legrand, Luc Lemmens, Benoît Navez.
Thank you for everything you have done for Besoms over the years!
The BeSOMS Board 2024-2026
- Denis Pitot (President)
- Donald Van Der Franenen (Vice-President)
- Julien Munck (Treasurer)
- Isabelle Debergh
- Justine Desmet
- Kurt Devroe
- Jean Marc Gillardin
- Audrey Hartman
- Alexandre Haumann
- Jean-Philippe Magema
- Maxime Mairiaux
- Frederiek Nuytens
- Matthias Lannoo
- Bengy Pascotto (webmaster)
- Jody Valk
Documents