Michel Adamina © ECCO

The 12th European Colorectal Congress takes place from Monday, December 3 to Thursday, December 6, 2018 in St. Gallen, Switzerland, and will be preceded by the Colorectal Masterclass on Sunday, December 2. About 1,400 participants from 80 countries are expected to attend the St. Gallen Colorectal Week (www.colorectalsurgery.eu). 

Yves Panis © ECCO

As Chair of the S-ECCO Committee, it is my pleasure to introduce two newly elected members for 2018: Christianne Buskens and Hagit Tulchinsky. Thus, as of today, the members of the S-ECCO Committee are: Antonino Spinelli (Milan, Italy; member until March 2019), Yves Panis (Clichy, France; Chair until February 2020), Michel Adamina (Winterthur, Switzerland; member until February 2020) and Christianne Buskens and Hagit Tulchinsky. Both Christianne and Hagit will stay for 3 years, until February 2021.

Oded Zmora © ECCO

The surgeons’ branch of ECCO, S-ECCO, has celebrated its seventh year. The most significant S-ECCO annual event is the S-ECCO IBD Masterclass, which is held in collaboration with the European Society of Coloproctology at the time of the ECCO Congress and this year attracted more than 169 surgeons, gastroenterologists and other professionals. In addition, S-ECCO is involved in numerous activities, including S-ECCO International IBD Workshops around the globe, active participation in practice guidelines for the treatment of IBD and research projects. These activities have already made S-ECCO one of the most significant surgical committees in Europe.

Oded Zmora © ECCO

The 7^th S-ECCO IBD Masterclass, the meeting of the surgeons’ branch of ECCO, was held this year on February 15, 2018 in Vienna, within the framework of the 13^th Congress of ECCO. The S-ECCO IBD Masterclass is the annual scientific forum for professional discussions on surgical aspects of the treatment of patients with IBD, emphasising the multidisciplinary approach in these patients. Each year, this unique meeting devoted to IBD surgery is attracting an increasing number of surgeons from around the globe owing to the high-quality scientific content and the opportunity for interchange of knowledge and ideas between surgeons and other professionals responsible for the care of IBD patients. 180 surgeons, gastroenterologists and other professionals from 40 countries registered for the Masterclass this year, which focused on cutting-edge IBD surgery.

Paulo Kotze  ©  ECCO

Florianópolis, Brazil, October 2017

The 4th S-ECCO International IBD Workshop was held in Florianópolis, south of Brazil, on October 5–7, 2017. The meeting is already a tradition in the local IBD community, as this was the third local edition, organised by the Brazilian IBD Study Group (GEDIIB). Approximately 200 gastroenterologists and surgeons from Latin America attended the Workshop. 

Paulo Kotze  ©  ECCO

Cancun, Mexico, August 2017

This S-ECCO session took place in the beautiful city of Cancun, on August 14, 2017, during the Mexican Congress of Colorectal Surgery. A significant part of the first day of the congress, within the main hall, was devoted to interesting medical and surgical IBD topics as part of the main core programme.