Summer in Verona – ISSA’s Second Intensive Master Course in Surgical Anatomy

Due to the worldwide success of the first International School of Surgical Anatomy (ISSA) Hands-on Intensive Master in Basic and Advanced Laparoscopic Surgical Anatomy of the Female Pelvis and Techniques,” in collaboration with AAGL, where 110 physicians representing 25 countries and 5 continents (with a large participation of Indian friends) attended, the stage is set again for a tasty menu for a surgical anatomy banquet to take place July 7-10, 2020. 

Last year, it was our pleasure to not only teach but to also learn from the diverse and experienced attendees.  I am pleased to inform you that my Co-Chair last year, Dr. Shailesh Puntambekar, and I are repeating this course that will include a four-day intensive live-surgery, cadaver lab and suturing master course.  The sequel, entitled “2nd ISSA, Hands-on Intensive Master in Basic and Advanced Laparoscopic Surgical Anatomy of the Female Pelvis and Techniques” will be, the third European AAGL-endorsed course, within a 2-year period. 

The first AAGL sponsored meeting, the 15^th AAGL International Meeting on Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery (MIGS), “Surgical Renaissance Worldwide”, held in Florence from May 8 to May 11, 2019 provided a pivotal moment in Italian Surgical Anatomy History, because for the first time, a live cadaveric dissection was performed from “Santa Maria Nuova Hospital” (the oldest, and still active hospital, in the world, built in 1288) by Ceccaroni in the same exact anatomical theatre where Leonardo Da Vinci dissected human bodies in the 15th Century. The challenge to use a surgical theatre whose doors have not been opened since Leonardo DaVinci closed them was welcomed by the International School of Surgical Anatomy (ISSA), which just celebrated its 10^th anniversary on February 24, 2020.  ISSA(1) has dedicated much of its non-profit income to support the Santa Maria Nuova Foundation in its goal to renovate the Leonardo DaVinci Anatomy Theatre.  ISSA also intends to run Surgical Anatomy Courses in the Santa Maria Nuova Hospital over the next few years to bring attention to Leonardo’s knowledge and teachings and to the renovation of his anatomical theatre. 

The 2^nd ISSA Intensive Course will follow last year’s path with the dream team of international faculty arranged by me and the International Honorary President, Dr. Puntambekar. We will share our passion for surgical anatomy and will pass on our knowledge gained through scientific projects on nerve-sparing radical surgery, parametrial vascular dissection and uterine transplants. 

Every morning a parallel live-surgery will be broadcast from two operating rooms in the IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital in Negrar di Valpolicella (Verona), with a dense schedule of nerve-sparing approaches for deep infiltrating endometriosis eradication with segmental bowel resection, bladder and ureteral surgery (2,3), gynecologic oncology procedures for cervical, ovarian, and endometrial cancer, and various benign surgical pelvic procedures.  The surgeries will be performed by me, Dr. Puntambekar and our skilled surgical faculty, performing in a real time Olympic Surgical Show including a live broadcast from Dr. Mario Malzoni in Avellino. All surgeries will be performed with an emphasis on “anatomical surgery.”

Attendees will have a full surgical experience on cadaveric specimens at the “ICLO Teaching and Research Center” in Verona. Every tower will be arranged as a real operating field and equipped with full HD and 3D scopes. Each station provides expert tutors guiding the participants’ gestures from outside, starting from the basics of pelvic anatomy to reproduce the procedures seen live in the morning.  A permanent video session, staffed by faculty illustrating the procedures, and answering questions will be offered in a dedicated concurrent session.

A full day will then be dedicated to an intensive laparoscopic suturing master session, both on cadaver and on pelvic trainers with wide audio-visual support of movies and theoretical lessons.

So, if you want to spend a lovely week in the one they call “The City of Love” and have a full immersion in the sea of laparoscopic surgical anatomy, Marcello and Shailesh can be your chaperones and wait for you, July 7-10, 2020 in Verona!  More information: https://issaschool.com/en/

REFERENCES

1 www.issaschool.com

2 Ceccaroni M, Pontrelli G, Scioscia M, Ruffo G, Bruni F, Minelli L. Nerve-sparing laparoscopic radical excision of deep endometriosis with rectal and parametrial resection. J Minim Invasive Gynecol. 2010 Jan-Feb;17(1):14-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jmig.2009.03.018.

3 Ceccaroni M, Ceccarello M, Caleffi G, Clarizia R, Scarperi S, Pastorello M, Molinari A, Ruffo G, Cavalleri S. Total Laparoscopic Ureteroneocystostomy for Ureteral Endometriosis: A Single-Center Experience of 160 Consecutive Patients. J Minim Invasive Gynecol. 2019 Jan;26(1):78-86. doi: 10.1016/j.jmig.2018.03.031.