WEDNESDAY, 4/3/2019. DAY 4 OF SGS.

Sadly, the annual Society of Gynecologic Surgeons meeting is wrapping up, and we will soon be leaving sunny Tucson! The last morning of conference proceedings was jam-packed with more outstanding oral and video presentations. We heard about topics such as the burden of postoperative catheterization, dietary patterns associated with postoperative defecatory symptoms, and more surgical tips and tricks to take back to our own institutions. At the end of the morning, the Distinguished Surgeon award was presented to the talented and deserving J. Marion Sims Endowed Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UAB Medicine in Birmingham Dr. Holly E. Richter. The SGS Presidential Gavel was then passed from current SGS President Dr. Rajiv Gala to the incoming 46th President Dr. Peter Rosenblatt, Director of the Urogynecology and Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery Division at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

#SGS2019 was an amazingly successful conference! Beautiful surroundings, emerging science and education, and respectful inquiry was plentiful. I enjoyed all of the networking, reconnecting, and relaxing, and could not ask for a better community of GYN surgeons to have shared this with. I can’t wait to return to Pittsburgh to implement all the new things that I have learned. Thanks to the Society of Gynecologic Surgeons, OBG MANAGEMENT, and all the sponsors of the Fellows Scholar Program for supporting each of the scholars and this blog!

If you were at all intrigued by the happenings reported here, please consider attending the SGS meeting in 2020! The conference will be located in Jacksonville, Florida! See you there!

Thanks for following along! #SGS2019 out.

Continue to: TUESDAY, 4/2/19. DAY 3...

TUESDAY, 4/2/19. DAY 3.

The third day of the annual meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Surgeons started off with several academic roundtables hosted by experts in the field. The general session got underway with more fantastic oral and video presentations and, as usual, plenty of lively discussion and education ensued! The 45th SGS President Dr. Rajiv Gala (@rgala_nola) gave his presidential address, where he spoke so genuinely about how SGS is looking forward in our field. After all, the best way to predict your future is to create it! Be on the lookout on Twitter for Dr. Gala’s selfie with his “SGS Family” that he took during his address!

This year’s Telinde Lecture was given by Dr. Marcela G. del Carmen, titled “Health Care Disparities in Gynecologic Oncology Surgery.” She gave an informative and eye-opening lecture on the disparities that still exist in our field, specifically in patients with cancer. The morning session was rounded out with a mentoring panel, featuring Drs. B. Star Hampton, Bobby Shull, Peggy Norton, Tom Nolan, and Deborah Myers. Plenty of sage advice was offered. Thanks to Dr. Shull for reminding us to “be gracious; kindness never goes out of style,” and to be “a citizen of the world.”

Conference goers took the afternoon to enjoy leisure activities in the beautiful Arizona surroundings, including mountain biking, yoga, golf, and poolside lounging. The evening was filled with the excitement of the annual “SGS Got Talent” show! Fabulous performances and delicious food and drinks were just half of the fun, though. The life-size play on hungry, hungry hippos—“Hungry, Hungry Surgeons”—competition was the hit of the night!

Tomorrow is the last day of #SGS2019. Be sure to follow along for the final day of coverage!

Continue to: MONDAY, 4/1/19. DAY 2...

MONDAY, 4/1/19. DAY 2.

The first day of the general sessions started off with a cleverly titled breakfast symposium, “Postmenopausal sexuality: A bit dry but a must-have conversation,” by the brilliant and entertaining duo of Cheryl Iglesia (@cheryliglesia) and Sheryl Kingsberg (@SherylKingsburg) #CherylandSheryl.

Cheryl Iglesia, MD

The new members of the Society of Gynecologic Surgeons were recognized, and there were several outstanding oral and video presentations throughout the morning. A range of topics were discussed, including vaginal surgery education, patient perspectives on adverse events, and postoperative pain management. In addition, Dr. Gary Dunnington (@GLDunnington), Chair of Surgery at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, gave the keynote lecture on “Measuring and improving performance in surgical training,” reminding us to continually strive for change.

After a brief lunch and stroll around the exhibit hall, the afternoon session kicked off with a special guest lecture on vaginal rejuvenation and energy-based therapies for female genital cosmetic surgery by Cheryl Iglesia (@cheryliglesia). Next, a distinguished panel of experts from all gynecologic subspecialties gave their opinions on “Working together to shape the future of gynecologic surgery.” What a treat to see such important topics discussed by all the giants of our field sitting in one room: Society of Gynecologic Surgeons President Rajiv Gala, MD; ACOG President Elect Ted Anderson, MD; American Urogynecologic Society President Geoffrey W. Cundiff, MD; Society of Gynecologic Oncology President Elect Warner Huh, MD; Society of Reproductive Surgeons Immediate Past President Samantha Pfeifer, MD; and AAGL President Marie Fidela R. Paraiso, MD.

Supplemented by popcorn, the Videofest featured a series of informative and impressive videos—from management of removal of the Essure hysteroscopic contraceptive device to tips and tricks to navigate a pelvic kidney. The Fellows’ Pelvic Research Network (FPRN), a network of fellows from both minimally invasive gynecologic surgery and urogynecology programs that facilitates multicenter research, met and discussed ongoing and upcoming studies. Exciting work is coming your way thanks to the collaboration of the FPRN!

We concluded an excellent first day of general sessions with an awards ceremony and President’s reception. It was an evening filled with networking, catching up with old colleagues, and meeting new friends. I look forward to another day of scholarship and education tomorrow! Follow @lauraknewcomb, @GynSurgery, and @MDedgeObGyn on Twitter for updates.

Continue to: SUNDAY, 3/31/19. DAY 1 AT SGS...

SUNDAY, 3/31/19. DAY 1 AT SGS.

Hello from Tucson! I woke up to a beautiful Arizona sunrise, with cacti as far as the eye can see; a great start to what is surely going to be an educational scientific conference of the Society of Gynecologic Surgeons! Be sure to follow me on Twitter to stay in the loop real-time: @lauraknewcomb. And don’t forget to check out our conference hashtag #SGS2019.

Postgrad courses kick off

Quality improvement bootcamp

Dr. Bob Flora (@RFFlora) gave a great “Teach the Teacher” session, reviewing different methods for performing quality improvement projects in your own workspace, including the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Model for Improvement (www.IHI.org). We also had the opportunity to learn and play with QI Macros (KnowWare International Inc) and Lucid Chart (Lucid Software Inc) programs—which are excellent tools to assist in quality improvement data analysis and presentation. Try them out if you have never used them before!

Sex and surgery

The sex and surgery postgraduate course was a lively discussion centering on:

the links between gynecologic surgery and sexual function
how to measure sexual function and incorporate discussion into our pre- and post-operative counseling
how to approach the patient with postoperative sexual concerns.

As surgeons, we admitted that an anatomic approach with surgery will not always be successful in treating sexual complaints, as sexuality encompasses psychological, social/cultural, interpersonal, and biological aspects. We agreed that further studies are needed to examine the issue, using sexual function as a primary endpoint, because the concern is of critical importance to our patients.

Social media workshop

The talented SGS Social Media Committee, including influencers Dr. Mireille Truong (@MIS_MDT) and Dr. Elisa Jorgensen (@ejiorgensenmd) gave us the run-down on how to host a successful Twitter journal club and how to be a responsible and influential influencer on various social media avenues. They encouraged us to take advantage of the virtual space that connects so many more people than we could interact with without it!

Hands-on laparoscopic suturing simulation

This course was an excellent comprehensive laparoscopic suturing course. It began with a detailed outline of basic principles and slowly built on these concepts until we were performing laparoscopic myomectomies on a high-fidelity model. We can’t wait to implement these principles in the operating room next week! Thanks to the talented faculty who taught all the tips and tricks of the experts!

Conservative and definitive surgical strategies for fibroid management

Drs. Megan Wasson (@WassonMegan), Arnold Advincula (@arnieadvincula), and others taught all the nuances of managing fibroids and difficult surgical cases. Participants learned several tips, tricks, and techniques to use to manage fibroids—for example the “bow and arrow” and “push and tuck” techniques when performing a hysteroscopic myomectomy with a resectoscope.

Women’s leadership forum

During the evening women’s leadership forum, Drs. Catherine Matthews and Kimberly Kenton (@KimKenton1‏) highlighted the differences between mentorship and sponsorship. While most female physicians identify meaningful mentorship relationships, women lack sponsorship to advance their careers. Furthermore, more women-to-women sponsorship relationships are needed to improve and achieve gender equality.

Lastly, we all enjoyed the Arizona sunset with a welcome reception on the lawn. It was a great first day and we are all looking forward to an exciting general session on Monday! Stay tuned for more!

#SGS2019 attendees enjoying the welcome reception

Society of Gynecologic Surgeons 2019 meeting: Daily reporting from Fellow Scholar