First Announcement

International College of Surgeons-United States Section 84th Annual Surgical Update    May 4-6, 2023 Hilton Palacio del Rio San Antonio, Texas

Dear Colleagues,

I am extremely delighted to announce that the 84th Annual Surgical Update of the International College of Surgeons-United States Section (ICS-US) will be held from May 4-6, 2023 at the Hilton Palacio del Rio in San Antonio, Texas. I invite you to mark your calendars today and plan to join us for our 2023 US Section annual meeting next year.

I also extend a cordial invitation to the members of the American Academy of Neurological and Orthopaedic Surgeons who as our educational partner for more than 15 years, will be joining us for their 46th Annual Scientific Meeting. Having witnessed portions of the Academy's sessions over the years, I can confirm the important contributions this group has made to the overall success of our joint meetings. The collaboration between our groups has been vital to the success of both organizations.

The preliminary schedule is now available below. We will begin our program on Thursday afternoon, May 4th, with a session on Global Surgery that will feature several special presentations by ICS Fellows from around the world as well as invited special guests.  Additional special lectures as well as specialty sessions will be included during the remaining two days of educational programming to provide ample AMA Category 1 CME credit.

San Antonio is an historic city that will provide a wealth of social opportunities to all who attend our conference. No activities are planned for Friday evening, May 5th or Cinco de Mayo, so you will be able to go out, explore and have some fun.

San Antonio is the home of the University of Texas - Long School of Medicine and a number of faculty members are scheduled to join us as invited speakers during our scientific sessions. The development of the scientific program is coming along nicely and will be finalized very soon. Scroll down to review the information currently available.

For this year’s meeting we are once again limiting the amount of printed materials being produced and instead will distribute most of our meeting information digitally. The content on this page represents our official "First Announcement" for the annual meeting. We will also send e-mail messages with meeting related links included as new information becomes available. Be sure to watch your e-mail for updates about meeting registration, hotel reservations and the scientific program.

Our meeting venue is conveniently located directly on the San Antonio River Walk with many restaurants and attractions only a short walk away. This includes the historic Alamo which is less than half a mile away. More information will be posted on FICS Online as we approach the meeting date, but if you don’t want to wait, visit the San Antonio Visitors website at https://www.visitsanantonio.com/.

Please watch your mail and email for updates. You should also visit our website regularly as this will be your primary source of information related to our conference. Whether you know about San Antonio and have visited before (perhaps in 1990 for the 52nd ICSUS Annual Meeting) or if you have never had a chance to visit, this is a perfect opportunity to discover everything there is to do in this beautiful part of Texas. An abundance of activities, fine dining, entertainment as well as top notch education will all be part of the ICSUS 84th Annual Surgical Update in San Antonio this coming May.

I hope to see you there!

Dixon Santana, MD
2023 President, United States Section
International College of Surgeons

Preliminary CME Program

The following sessions are being planned for the 84th Annual Surgical Update in San Antonio this coming May.
Sessions, topics, presentations included are tentative and subject to change. 
Specific dates and times for each session will be provided in early 2023 once finalized.

Course Sponsor

International College of Surgeons - United States Section
An ACCME Accredited Provider

Educational Programming

The following sessions are planned as of December 2, 2022 and subject to change. 

Global Surgery and Special Lectures

• Aging population in the World and Singapore  - New Direction in Surgery?
• Blunt Chest Trauma: Past and Present
• Cardiac Care in Belize: Building a Local, Sustainable Cardiac Surgery Program from Square One
• Giving Back: How to Get Involved in Global Surgery As a Surgical Trainee
• The Ethical Concern between Surgeon burnout and Patient safety.
• The Importance of Nutrition in Patients Undergoing Surgery for GIT Tumor
• The Value of Surgical Missions in Low and Middle Income Countries to a Surgical Training Program
• How Good Physicians Find Themselves in Bad Situations

Neurological and Orthopaedic Surgery (AANOS Annual Meeting)

• Basilar Vertebral Nerve Ablation
• Long-term Outcomes of Percutaneous Approaches in Trigeminal Neuralgia Management
• Role of Tranexamic Acid in the Management of Chronic Subdural Hematoma
• Surgical Mission trip to Honduras-Hand Surgery Cases
• Creating ancillary income in a Private Surgical Practice - OrthoSculpt
• Anterior Lumbar Spine Exposures

Colorectal Surgery 

• Obstructed Colorectal Cancer Nightmares from the ER
• Proctectomy with Partial Vaginectomy for Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer: A Case Series
• Excision of rectal carcinoids with Robotics: A Case Series

Transplantation Surgery

• A single site, retrospective chart review of renal transplant graft failure and mortality rates pre and post COVID-19 pandemic
• Pediatric En Bloc Kidney Transplantation:  Opportunities to Grow the Deceased Donor Pool
• Ensuring the Future of Diabetic Care in the US Features Solid Organ Pancreas Transplantation
• Robotics in transplant fellowship training: see one, do one, teach one?
• Localizing HCC: A multi-faceted approach to HCC in South Texas
• Normothermic Regional Perfusion for DCD Organ Recovery
• Robotic Surgery In Transplantation: A Technology Finding an Indication?

Women in Surgery Panel Discussion

• Work-life balance
• Intrinsic biases between colleagues / patients 
• Inequality
• Pay differentials and career opportunities

Rural Surgery 

• Update on GERD ACG Guidelines- Medical and Surgical Treatment
• Effects of insurance type and distance from the cancer center on outcomes after robotic-assisted pulmonary lobectomy
• Harness Hang Syndrome: Death on a Rope and Rescue Death

General Plenary Session

• Hybrid surgical approach to Atrial Fibrillation
• A Novel Technique for Wound Closure using Spanning Sutures to Decrease Graft Size
• Preparing for Competency Based Education: Launch of Entrustable Professional Activities
• Pulmonary Infarction after Dialysis Catheter Exchange
• A single site, retrospective chart review of renal transplant graft failure and mortality rates pre and post COVID-19 pandemic

Trauma and Critical Care Surgery

• Cross-training and supervised deployment of surgeons into critical care during the COVID19 health crisis
• Evolving Coagulopathy in Trauma: What We Have Learned from Trauma and Adopted to Transplant and Translated Back to Trauma.
• Intercostal nerve cryo ablation provides effective analgesia when used as an adjunct in rib fracture stabilization.

Annual Research Scholarship Competition

• Popliteal Artery Aneurysm Repair: A Single Center Experience
• Cost Comparison of Endovascular versus Open Surgical Revascularization in Popliteal Artery Occlusive Disease
• Evaluation of Post-Operative Urinary Retention in Trans-abdominal Pre-peritoneal Inguinal Hernia Repair: Challenges in Chart Review
• Cannulation Strategies for OxyRVAD VV ECMO in End Stage Lung Disease
• Whole Blood Resuscitation Following Liver Transplantation: Is it Time for Implementation?

Updates in Surgical Oncology 

Planned Events and Activities

Thursday, May 4th

• ICS-US Section Business Meetings (starting at 8am)
• Opening Session (planned start time is 3pm)
• Welcome Reception (approximately 6:30pm)

Friday, May 5th

• Honors Luncheon (Noon)
• AANOS Business Meeting (Time TBD)

Saturday, May 6th

• Closing Dinner (7pm)

For general information about the Hilton Palacio Del Rio or to reserve a room click HERE

Rooms start at $229. 

HOTEL RESERVATION DEADLINE IS  April 1, 2023. After this date rates & availability can no longer be guaranteed. Make your arrangements as soon as possible to guarantee your accommodations. To ensure you receive our special room rate, please identify yourself as an attendee of the International College of Surgeons – 2023 Annual Surgical Update, when making your reservations by phone.

Please note, the Hilton has informed us that due to the Cinco de Mayo holiday our reduced rate will NOT be extended after the cut-off date and guests can expect daily rates starting at $300 or more. Do NOT wait to book your room. It is easier to cancel a room you don’t need than to get one at the last minute that isn’t available.

COVID-19

The College is very much aware that COVID-19 and its variants are still impacting our lives. We are taking the approach of cautious monitoring. Our specific policies & requirements will be updated on our website & through meeting communications as we approach the actual meeting dates.