Unlike other countries we were lucky to have the opportunity to brace before things got out of hand.
We still don’t know how hard the virus is going to hit us but at least most of our hospitals did their best to be prepared for the attack..
We are all set. Or not. Only time will tell.
With this post, we want to reach out to you and offer you some background information as well as practical tips from within the surgical community. Check this page regularly as it will be updated along with expanding global knowledge and experiences.
Following the success and the scope of the activities set up by the RBSS since 2018, the board decided to erect the Educational Committee.
Since 2018 and continued through 2019, RBSS organised the VATS tour, the Colorectal tour, two RBSS-meets-BAST-sessions. Moreover, as our society was asked to patronise the initiation and organisation of the Belgian 'edition' of the ATLS as the national surgical scientific organisation, it was decided to entrust these activities to an educational commitee created within the RBSS.
It is a real honour to become RBSS president. Thank you for having chosen me.
I am very excited to be part of a great team.
dr. Charles de Gheldere
The board of our society is a microcosmos where old and new, North, South and Center, academic and non-academic work together to serve our surgical community. In order to achieve something, all of us need to do her/his share of work. The president is merely one piece of a puzzle, whose task is mainly to organise the next BSW.
Speaking of which : I loved the 20th BSW; a relevant congress theme, a growing attendance with a record number of youngsters, inspiring keynote speakers, well-organised sessions, a warm atmosphere, a jolly surgical night, the quiz, a perfect hands-on workshop,…….. all courtesy of many who benevolently put time and energy in this project and in particular of Jean Lemaitre, our past president. Jean injected a lot of good vibes not only in the last BSW, but in all the new projects he launched, on top of that with his humility-trademark. I am truly convinced that the merry atmosphere he created made all of us work more efficiently.
The board will try to keep the recently started projects alive: the colorectal tour, the VATS tour, the “BAST meets RBSS” sessions, the robotic group and the involvement of young surgeons in the society. Very probably, new initiatives will see the light of day soon.
My main task will be to organize the 21st BSW. As some of you already know it will take place in Antwerp on 7-9/5/2020 in the Elisabeth center (www.fmcca.com), a beautiful historical location at walking distance of the Central station.
Our first weekend of meeting between RBSS and BAST took place the weekend of October 20-21 2018. We had two very fruitful mornings with the trainees who could use several simulators. On Saturday afternoon, we had several team building activities on the race circuit of Francorchamps: pit stop and circuit tour aboard of a Renault Megane RS.
Just before the RBSS-BAST weekend, the first stage of the 'VATS tour-de-Belgique' took place in Erasme hospital. The VATS tour is supported by RBSS and wants to bring young promissing trainees together with renowned surgeons players in their domain of surgery - starting with thoracic surgery as a first discipline. Our two trainees (Dr Arendt and Dr Goeteyn) were able to attend a VATS lobectomy, Lung Volume Reduction Surgery, broncho-navigation and MOC. We had also a pleasant dinner on Thursday evening.
Impressions of the first RBSS-BAST Weekend
Drs. Arendt en Goeteyn with dr. Sokolow during the first VATS tour at Erasme.
First of all I would like to thank you for the confidence and trust you have placed in me since 3 years to fulfil in 2019 the position of President of the Royal Belgian Society of Surgery.
I think that the society in collaboration with the universities must play a role in education of the trainees - that is why we have organized last year the VATS Belgian tour to visit some of the best places in Belgium to learn thorascopy. I hope that it will give ideas to sections and affiliated societies to develop their own 'Belgian tour', like it could be for obesity surgery, robotic surgery, rectal surgery and TME, …
