Enthusiastic South Texas Chapter Meeting Draws Crowds

President Beth H. Sutton, MD, FACS, represented the ACS during a meeting last month of the South Texas Chapter of the ACS. Dr. Sutton submitted the following report on her experience.

I was privileged to visit the South Texas Chapter, which met February 20–22 in Houston, Texas. The location was excellent, being immediately across the street from the Texas Medical Center. The meeting was very well-attended, with 198 members and residents joining the event.

The meeting began with a welcome reception on Thursday, which allowed for networking and fellowship among the attendees. This was followed by the initial rounds of Resident Jeopardy. Eight residencies from the South Texas Chapter area sent teams, and the participation was very enthusiastic. There was also a surgical skills competition for residents.

On Friday, the meeting was opened by Lillian Kao, MD, FACS, President of the South Texas Chapter, with an introduction of chapter officers and leaders. The high point of Friday morning was the President’s Abstract session featuring 10 abstracts selected from those submitted to the meeting. These abstracts were chosen for their excellent design and clinical relevance. I then gave the ACS update presentation, which was followed by an update about the ACS Foundation from Randy Bailey, MD, FACS, Chair of the Foundation Board. Beth Carona, CFRE, Foundation Director, also attended and provided helpful information to attendees. 

The meeting continued during Friday and Saturday with abstract sessions dealing with surgical oncology, patient education, pediatric surgery, healthcare disparities, trauma and burns, quality improvement initiatives, and other topics. Some of these were scheduled as concurrent sessions to allow attendees to select their primary areas of interest. There was an excellent ethics presentation by Ana Leech, MD, titled “Palliative Medicine for Busy Surgeons.” Julie Holihan, MD, FACS, spoke on “Optimizing Preoperative Weight through Anti-Obesity Medications.” The last event was the finals of the Jeopardy competition, which was won by Houston Methodist.

Beth H. Sutton, MD, FACS
ACS President