Dear Members,
Dear Colleagues,
Dear Friends,
The Belgian Surgical Week is since almost two decades the main scientific event bringing together surgeons belonging to all different surgical specialities within our country. The BSW 2016 will take place at the Brussels Square Congress Centre from 19th to 21st May.
Building on the success of the previous BSWs, the Royal Belgian Society of Surgery’s Council has decided to further boost its development.
In order to do so, the BSW has been relocated for the next 3 years in Brussels. The Square Congress Centre, situated at about 200 m from Brussels Central Station, is very well equipped and offers meeting and exhibition rooms sized for national and international scientific events.
The attendance at the meeting will be raised due to a closer collaboration between the Belgian Association of Surgical Trainees and the Royal Belgian Society of Surgery as well as making an official partnership with the health care professionals belonging to the VVOV and AFISO (operating room nurses’ associations). Spreading the BSW over three days (from Thursday morning till Saturday noon) will allow all surgical residents to have more slots for oral presentations.
The arching theme of the congress is
“Cross-fertilization between surgery and transplant surgery”.
Indeed, during the last decades, many ‘classical’ surgical techniques that disappeared from our armamentarium have been and are replaced by techniques deriving from progress made in both fields of organ transplantation and procurement. The chosen theme also explains the involvement of the Belgian Transplantation Society (BTS).
Many internationally well-known speakers will raise the interest and the content of the meeting.
The ‘differed surgery’ sessions during the Ghent Belgian Surgical Week were undoubtedly very successful. This formula will therefore be continued in three parallel ‘general/visceral’ and three ‘cardio/vascular/thoracic’ sessions with live comments given by the experts in the respective surgical fields.
The important matter of training in surgery will be highlighted during the ‘Presidential session’. Last but not least, honorary RBSS memberships will be awarded for the very first time to two distinguished surgeons having contributed to the development of surgery.
The RBSS Council hopes to welcome you at the BSW 2016. Please mark your calendar already now! Also kindly stimulate other surgical residents/colleagues not only to attend, but also to actively participate in the BSW.
Very sincerely yours,
Prof Jan LERUT – RBSS President.