The Minimally Invasive Surgery Association (MISA) has held their first ever Congress in general surgery during the past weekend, at the Hilton Mauritius Resort & Spa, Flic en Flac.
The event was a two-day seminar, involving the 12 founding members of MISA, around 70 specialists, 60 General Practitioners and renowned international speakers. Sponsored by Falcon Healthcare Group, C-Care and big car companies such as Porsche, Skoda and Nissan, MISA was successful in holding a very unique and interactive event for general surgeons, other surgical subspecialists, general practitioners and operation theatre nurses.
On Day 1, the seminar was animated with topics such as “MIS and Groin Hernia”, “The Acute Abdomen”, “Obesity and Surgery”, “Laporoscopic Surgery”, “Robotic Surgery”, “Contraindictions in Laporoscopy” and “Role of Laporoscopy in Abdominal Trauma”. Despite the high level of engagement following talks about these topics, the stand-out moment of the seminar on Day 1 was the Live Surgery Telecast of Dr. Palanivelu and his surgical team from Gem Hospital based in Coimbatore, India. This unique experience led to lengthy interactions between the speakers and the audience.
On Day 2, even though there were no live surgery telecasts from India, the interaction between the speakers and the audience was higher than on Day 1. The topics of “Laporoscopic Surgery for Colorectal Cancer”, “Surgical Society”, “Management of Appendicitis”, “Laporoscopy in Management of Non-Palpable Undescended Tests”, “Anaesthesia for Laporoscopic Surgery”, “Medicolegal Issues in Laporoscopic Surgery” and “Ventral Hernia” were all well presented with informative slides, pictures and footages of surgeries.
The videos and pictures used in the slides on Day 2 were real footages from previous surgeries held by the speakers. These really enhanced the understanding and learning experience of the audience and since it was not a live telecast, the interaction between the speaker and the audience was a lot livelier.
The ceremony ended with a closing speech by the President, Dr. Faizal Abbasakoor in which he expressed his delight with the success of the congress and expressed about his high hopes that this success will keep on improving. The Vice-President of MISA, Dr. Damodaran Veerasamy, has expressed his satisfaction with the way the event turned out to be despite all the hurdles that MISA had to face before. As per Dr. Damodaran Veerasamy, Dr. Teerovengadum and Professor Arulampalam, the event was a real success.
At the end of the Congress, we have had the opportunity to get some of the reactions of the MISA members, international and local speakers and one member of the audience.
REACTIONS
Dr. Abbasakoor F. (President of MISA) about the importance of the Congress
The importance of this Congress is really, first, to establish the first association of general surgeons in Mauritius, with an interest in minimal invasive surgery. But it also sets the tone, as far as I am concerned, to develop an atmosphere of academia, to think about publications in a journal and to extend this idea across all this advancing through the creation of a national academy.
Dr. Damodaran Veerasamy (Vice President of MMIS and the Senior Consultant in Wellkin Hospital) about the hurdles faced before finally conducting the Congress in Mauritius and the success of the Congress.
We have started our association last May. There have been no surgical societies in the past since the independence. The first difficulty faced was to unite a group of doctors having the same vision. But only a few of the surgeons, who were interested in laparoscopic surgery, agreed to get on board with the idea of creating the association. Every month, we had meetings at our own expenses. After uniting a team of surgeons, we decided to organise the first ever MISA Congress back on June 22. Despite the high cost of expenses to organise the event, we were very determined. Then, all the founding members contributed and erased the issue of expenses.
The next hurdle was to get sponsorships from various pharmaceutical companies. Initially, they were not keen about sponsoring the event. After multiple requests and negotiations, they finally agreed to get on board with the project. Then, another hurdle to our project was to get permission from the Medical Council and registration from the Health Minister. Every member has worked very hard and finally, we made it. Around 70 specialists and 60 General Practitioners have registered for the event. Hospitals, with FALCON Foundation as the primary sponsor, followed by C-Care hospital.
On the D-day, the main worry was about the telecast (for the live surgery). Everything went exactly as planned and we made it possible after a long struggle.
Thoughts of Prof. Arulampalam T. (Surgeon/Doctorpreneur/Analyst/Humanitarian/Educator) about the experience
This Congress was the culmination of such hard works from many people as led by Dr. Abbasakoor, Dr. Rai and Mr. Gungabeessoon. The vision to create a society for surgeons and nurses in Mauritius will only lead to improved health outcomes for the local population. The meeting was scientifically stimulating and supported incredibly well by the surgical community and sponsors. This is an exciting development and one to be immensely proud of. I have been so lucky to be here, to have been part of it and the hospitality has been second to none.
Thoughts of Dr. Teerovengadum K (Paediatric Surgeon) about the experience
As a paediatric surgeon and one of the 12 founding members of MISA, I feel the Association, the first of its kind in Mauritius, will help in maintaining better communication and teamwork among surgeons, whether they work in public hospitals or private clinics.
The Association also aims to promote the highest standards of care in surgery by promoting continuous professional development and encouraging surgeons to follow updated international guidelines.
The first international Congress, organised by MISA on the 15-16 Oct 2022, has been a success with general surgeons, other surgical subspecialists, general practitioners, and operation theatre nurses attending talks given both by local and renowned international speakers.
Dr. Siddharth Bhowon (General Practitioner at Wellkin) about the whole experience
The whole conference was very enriching. The live surgery was well and truly a unique experience. Besides, I also loved the sessions about robotic surgery. The whole experience was very enriching, informative and very engaging as well. The live discussion between the speakers and the audience was also very exciting as I got to the opportunity to listen about the different opinions, questions and experiences of several surgeons.
