Something for everyone on
the agenda at the DDF
The AUGIS scientific meeting
was held as part of the
DDF – the Digestive Disorders
Federation
at the ExCel
Centre in London’s Docklands
during a sunny week in June.
Following
a
successful
inaugural DDF in Liverpool
three years ago, the 2015
event proved even better with
the inclusion of several other
societies, a large exhibition and
trade area and multiple talks
across
the
breadth
of
gastrointestinal surgery and
gastroenterology.
Prof Sir Bruce Keogh, Medical
Director of the NHS, opened
the DDF plenary session with a
talk on the future of the Health
Service. He said: “The future of
our
tax-funded
healthcare
system depends on how well
our country's economy does.”
He added that innovation will
be the key to regenerating the
NHS and urged delegates to
embrace new technologies and
implement values driven by
evidence.
The AUGIS plenary session
was followed by the BJS prize
presentations and the return of
Professor
Olivier
Scatton
talking about laparoscopic live
donor liver transplantation.
Professor
Christopher
Christophi
from
Australia
delivered the Hunterian Lecture
on the subject of colorectal liver
metastases.
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One of the real benefits of the
DDF
meeting
was
the
opportunity to bring together
different
specialties
with
differing
techniques
and
approaches
to
shared
problems. Some of the AUGIS
sessions
covered
several
common areas - CBD stones,
Achalasia and GORD among
them,
with lively
debates
exploring the roles of newer
interventions and choice and
sequence of procedures. Dr
John Hunter from Portland,
Oregon, was a returning
favourite and lively speaker.
A joint AUGIS and ACP
session, co-chaired by Mr
David
Monk,
provided
management guidance, tips
and tricks in emergency
surgery for anastomotic leaks
and iatrogenic perforations
and a talk on Booerhaaves
was given by AUGIS Council
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member
Muntzer
Mughal.
A joint session with the BSG
dealt with the management of
GI bleeds. An AUGIS and
ACPGI grand round plenary
session included talks on
laparascopic approaches to
emergency surgery, imaging
and
audit
updates.
Sessions on GI radiology,
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endoscopy, pathology and
neoplasia were all wellattended and HPB case
studies in the Grand Round in
a session chaired by Prof
Rowan Parks proved very
informative.
Obesity
surgery
featured
heavily, with BOMSS and
AUGIS sessions including
grand rounds on how to deal
with common complications of
bariatric procedures, surgery
for metabolic disorders, a
choice of procedures for the
super obese and the politics
and economics of bariatric
surgery.
A session on ‘Severe
obesity from all angles’
was chaired by Mr
Roger
Ackroyd,
president of BOMSS,
and included talks on
the
psychology
of
obesity, the role of the
dietitian and the role of
the gastroenterologist
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text]
Mr Sean Woodcock
concluding the session
with an update on
bariatric surgery in the
UK. Prof Francesco
Rubino spoke on the
‘Expansion of the role of
the bariatric surgeon.
Prof Philip James also
spoke on obesity, saying
that there has been a
“repeated
failure
of
health promotion as a
mainstay of policy with
regard to food and
drink.”
As well as our own
xxx
sessions,
delegates
attended other lectures
to hear about a host of
digestive issues - bowel
screening,
diverticular
diseases,
pouch
surgery, colitis, cirrhosis,
IBD, nutrition and more.
AUGIS Training Day
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text]
This Training Day preceded the
DDF. Each of the five DDF
gastrointestinal associations
(AUGIS, ACPGBI, BSG, BASL,
BAPEN) organised a parallel
series of postgraduate lectures,
with the AUGIS stream focusing
on oesophagogastric cancer.
Mr Underwood opened the day
with a very accessible overview
of the basic science of OG
cancer and a summary of his
own research interests into the
tumour microenvironment, and
the future potential of genetic
analysis to screen patients for
early disease. Dr Choudhury
(consultant radiologist, Leeds)
then presented an overview of
the benefits - and limitations - of
imaging for the diagnosis and
staging of OG cancers. Dr
Rembacken (consultant
endoscopist, Leeds) closed the
session with a talk on the
endoscopic
diagnosis and
treatment
options for
OG cancer,
using images
and videos
highlighting
the difficulty
in diagnosing
early disease
and leaving
many trainees wondering how[Type text]
many lesions they may have
missed! The second session
focused on treatment of OG
cancer, with lectures from Mr Monk
and Dr Bateman (giving a
comprehensive overview of
treatment pathways and adjuvant
therapies, including a concise
summary of the key trials in OG
oncological practice. Mr Kelly and
Mr Parsons gave talks on surgical
technique and decision-making in
oesophageal and gastric surgery.
For the third session, on perioperative management, Mr
Safranek and two of his
anaesthetic colleagues, Dr
Alagasarmy and Dr van Wyk,
detailed their experience with
CPEX testing in the pre-operative
work-op of resection patients, and
Mr Gokhale gave a critical
appraisal of his practice. The day
concluded with a mock-MDT, with
a selection of interesting cases
presented by the AUGISt
committee from their own
hospitals. This was a very popular
session which benefited from the
mix of consultants and trainees
from different specialties. The
trainees presenting the cases and
the expert panel all had their work
cut out fielding the differences of
opinion and lively discussion from
the floor!
Mr Andy Cockbain,
AUGISt