Eight Renowned Surgeons Receive Honorary ACS Fellowship

Honorary Fellowship in the ACS was awarded to eight prominent surgeons from around the world at the October 19 Convocation during Clinical Congress 2024 in San Francisco, California.

The granting of Honorary Fellowships is one of the highest honors bestowed during Clinical Congress. Summaries of their careers follow.

Emmanuel Adoyi Ameh, MBBS, FACS, FWACS, FRCSI

Abuja, Nigeria

Dr. Emmanuel Adoyi Ameh is a professor and chief consultant pediatric surgeon in the Department of Surgery at National Hospital in Abuja, Nigeria. A specialist in pediatric surgery and former chief of pediatric surgery at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Nigeria, he also has focused his career on advancing surgical training and practice in sub-Saharan Africa.

Dr. Ameh has served in multiple leadership positions in global surgery, including as a past -chair for the Global Initiative for Children’s Surgery. He also has led the development of surgical textbooks and training resources in pediatric surgery for use in sub-Saharan Africa and helped oversee regional postgraduate surgical education and specialization via the West African College of Surgeons.

Widely sought as an international visiting professor, Dr. Ameh has received numerous travel and guest scholar awards. He is the first Board of Governors member representing the ACS Nigeria Chapter and has played a crucial role in the success and expansion of this chapter.

Professor Yuichiro Doki, MD, PhD

Osaka, Japan

Dr. Yuichiro Doki is a groundbreaking esophageal cancer surgeon from Osaka, Japan. As the current director of Osaka University Hospital, Dr. Doki has helped build a preeminent academic department of gastroenterological surgery that includes 500 surgeons.

In his own practice, Dr. Doki has operated on more than 1,500 patients, pioneered preoperative chemoradiation therapy, perfected an induction chemotherapy regimen that has become standard in Japan for esophageal squamous cell carcinomas, and led many randomized clinical trials on the use of synthetic ghrelin to induce appetite in patients. His 1,237 peer-reviewed articles have been cited more than 31,000 times.

Dr. Doki’s leadership includes membership on the executive board of the Japanese Surgical Society, current presidencies of the Japan Esophageal Society and Japan Society of Clinical Oncology, and seats on several Japanese government councils on cancer patient care, which has extended his influence throughout his entire nation.

Christine Gaarder, MD, PhD, FACS, FEBS EmSurg, FEBS AWR

Oslo, Norway

Dr. Christine Gaarder is a leader in the development of trauma care and trauma systems in Europe and worldwide. She is the chief of the Department of Traumatology and a professor of trauma and simulation at Oslo University Hospital and an attending surgeon in the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery at Oslo University Hospital Ullevål, both in Norway.

Dr. Gaarder has lectured and trained surgeons and teams in more than 20 European countries as well as South Africa, Australia, and the Middle East, including as instructor at the annual War Surgery Courses of the Norwegian Armed Forces and ACS Advanced Trauma Life Support® and Advanced Surgical Skills for Exposure in Trauma courses. She has edited several editions of the International Society of Surgery’s Definitive Surgical Trauma Course.

Dr. Gaarder has held many positions of trust within surgical organizations. She is the current president of the European Society for Trauma and Emergency Surgery, past-president of the International Association for Trauma Surgery and Intensive Care, and a cofounder of the Norwegian Hernia Society.

Andrew Graham Hill, MBChB, MD, EdD, FACS, FISS, FRACS, FRSNZ

Auckland, New Zealand

Dr. Andrew Graham Hill is a renowned colorectal surgeon in New Zealand. He is a professor of surgery, head of South Auckland Clinical Campus, and assistant dean in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland, as well as consultant general and colorectal surgeon to the Counties Manukau District Health Board, all in New Zealand.

Dr. Hill has established an internationally recognized research group in perioperative care and has focused his research on randomized clinical trials addressing fundamental questions in surgical care, particularly metabolic responses to surgery. As a result of his influence, he has been awarded the John Mitchell Crouch Fellowship—the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons’ highest research award.

A past-president of the International Society of Surgery, Dr. Hill also is the President of the Australia and New Zealand Chapter of the ACS and a member of the ACS Board of Governors.

Jamal Hoballah, MD, MBA, FACS

Beirut, Lebanon

Dr. Jamal Hoballah, a vascular surgeon, is the chairperson and professor of surgery at the Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center of the American University of Beirut, in Beirut, Lebanon.

Dr. Hoballah has published 142 peer-reviewed articles and 92 book chapters and edited 16 books on a range of surgical topics. He also developed and administered the ACS Comprehensive General Surgery Review Course in Beirut, later expanding it to Jordan, Greece, and Latin America. Dr. Hoballah has been instrumental in expanding access to the ACS National Surgical Quality Improvement Program across the Middle East.

He is a founder and leader of multiple Middle Eastern surgical associations. He is a past-President of the ACS Lebanon Chapter, past-ACS Governor, and past-Chair of the ACS International Relations Committee. He remains on the Executive Board of the International Relations Committee.

Dr. Hoballah also has received an honorary fellowship of the American Surgical Association and numerous other awards.

Patrick Ronan O’Connell, MB, MD, FRCSI

Dublin, Ireland

Dr. P. Ronan O’Connell is an internationally recognized colorectal surgeon and emeritus professor of surgery at the University College Dublin in Ireland, and a past-president of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

Dr. O’Connell has contributed to many advancements in colorectal surgery, including guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of functional colorectal disease, technology for treatment of colorectal cancer, and centers of excellence for rectal cancer care in Ireland. His publication record, which includes more than 230 peer-reviewed articles and 28 book chapters, has focused on inflammatory bowel disease, pelvic floor physiology, colorectal cancer, and more.

Dr. O’Connell has served on the editorial board of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons and the Annals of Surgery, associate editor and editor of the British Journal of Surgery, associate editor of Diseases of the Colon & Rectum, past-editor-in-chief for the European Surgical Association, and joint editor on several surgical textbooks. His contributions have been recognized by numerous awards, notably the Patey Prize of the Surgical Research Society.

Shailesh Vinayak Shrikhande, MBBS, MS, MD

Mumbai, India

Dr. Shailesh Vinayak Shrikhande is a renowned hepatobiliary surgeon. He is a professor and the head of the Division of Cancer Surgery, chief of the gastrointestinal and hepato-pancreato-biliary service, and deputy director of the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, India.

His clinical practice has included performing more than 1,200 pancreatoduodenectomies. He also has given more than 600 invited lectures, served as a visiting professor to renowned institutions globally, and has repeatedly been listed in Stanford University’s list of the world’s highest contributing researchers. Dr. Shrikhande has been a leader in ensuring access to care for patients, accomplishing this goal in part by teaching surgeons through India and ensuring the creation of housing for impoverished patients at his institution in Mumbai.

He has received three awards from the Governor of Maharashtra, India, as well as numerous other recognitions. He holds honorary fellowships from the American Surgical Association and the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Catherine S. C. Teh, MD, FPCS, FRCSEd

Manila, Philippines

Dr. Catherine Teh is a renowned hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) surgeon from Manila, Philippines. She serves as chief of HPB Surgery at the Makati Medical Centre in Manila and Tarlac Provincial Hospital in Tarlac City; director of the Great Valley Medical Center in Quezon City; and medical director of the Global Cancer Care Institute in Bay, Laguna, all located in the Philippines.

Dr. Teh has led transformative change in HPB surgery and transplantation nationally. She has pioneered the use of laparoscopic liver resection and associated liver partition with portal ligation staged surgery in the Philippines, created and led the Liver Centre of the National Kidney and Transplant Institute and the Centre for Liver Care in the Makati Medical Centre, and increased multidisciplinary care to patients needing hepatobiliary oncologic care and transplant. She also has established a foundation to support indigent HPB surgical patients, created an HPB training program for surgeons in the Asia Pacific region, and worked to reduce liver transplant cost in the Philippines.

Dr. Teh was the first female chair of surgery at her institution and is the first woman from the Philippines to become a Fellow of Royal College of Surgeons (Edinburgh). She has taken special care to mentor and support women in surgery as she breaks new ground herself.

View the full citations and sponsors for the Honorary Fellows, plus the full list of all Fellows inducted during Clinical Congress, in the 2024 Convocation program at facs.org/convocation.