Quick-Round Session Probes 10 Hot Topics in General Surgery

Panelists with diverse clinical backgrounds and expertise will outline newly surfacing areas of interest in general surgery at this afternoon’s session “Ten Hot Topics in General Surgery.”

ACS Past-President E. Christopher Ellison, MD, FACS, and ACS Regent Kenneth W. Sharp, MD, FACS, will co-moderate the session, which takes place from 12:45 to 2:15 pm in Room 303-304 South.

In this speed-round style session, experts will deliver a series of 6-minute presentations on topics featuring innovative, and sometimes polarizing, diagnostic, treatment, and management strategies.

“We will focus on common issues in general surgery with an emphasis on providing actionable and practical information rather than dry recitations of data,” explained Dr. Sharp.

Each presentation will be immediately followed by a 3-minute, spontaneous discussion with the audience, representing a diverse spectrum of thoughts and perspectives, and providing attendees with takeaways for future consideration.

“Surgeons think fast and make decisions quickly,” said Dr. Ellison. “They want to know the keys to success and not the unnecessary facts that sometimes clutter clinical discussions. In an average session, the attendee will take way three to four pearls, whereas in this session, they will leave with up to 10.”

Drs. Ellison and Sharp selected this year’s topics based on an analysis of current research literature, discussions generated in the ACS Communities, presentations featured at scientific conferences, and suggestions offered by attendees at last year’s Hot Topics session.

“We have been very thoughtful about the topics that we included, making sure they are core elements of the practice of general surgery,” explained Dr. Ellison. “These topics include potentially controversial approaches, a new innovation in surgical practice, or an area of practice with increasing numbers of patients.”

This year’s session will cover a wide scope of topics, including a few presentations that focus on prevalent general surgery challenges such as the management of common bile duct stones during laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

“In the past, such cases were treated by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and sphincterotomy,” said Dr. Ellison. “But with advances in technology and skill, we now see laparoscopic common duct exploration being done more commonly with excellent results and shorter hospitalization without the risk of pancreatitis and other ERCP complications.”

Other rapid-fire micropresentations will focus on top-of-mind issues in general surgery.

“The avoidance of antibiotics in the treatment of diverticulitis is potentially a game-changing development,” added Dr. Sharp. “We also will have a presentation that examines the overuse of ultrasound in patients referred for inguinal hernia repair, and a session on the management of breast cancer, which is quickly evolving with strategies to avoid unnecessary axillary surgery.”