The “Cutting Edge” in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Dilemmas and Debates - S-ECCO Session at the MAYO Clinic
Antonino Spinelli, S-ECCO Member; Paulo Kotze, EduCom Member
 Antonino Spinelli© ECCO |
 Paulo Kotze© ECCO |
Rochester, USA, September 18, 2018
On September 18, 2018, a very interesting multidisciplinary IBD meeting was held at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota, USA, with ECCO endorsement and involvement of several ECCO and S-ECCO Members. The meeting was organised by Amy Lightner and John Pemberton, and the focus was on the interaction between medical, endoscopic and surgical therapy of IBD. ECCO EduCom was represented by Peter Irving (UK) and Paulo Kotze (BRA), while several S-ECCO representatives also made significant contributions to the scientific programme, including Antonino Spinelli (ITA), Willem Bemelman (HOL), Andre D’Hoore (BEL) and Janindra Warusavitarne (UK). In addition, a number of experienced North American gastroenterologists and surgeons, such as Remo Panaccione (CAN), Sunanda Kane (USA), Miguel Regueiro (USA), Bo Shen (USA) and Phil Fleshner (USA), were involved in the programme.
The essence of the meeting was lively discussion around debates and dilemmas in IBD management. This gave the chairs and moderators a lot of work due to the controversial nature of the topics covered. A brilliant overview of minimally invasive procedures in IBD was delivered by Antonino Spinelli. Bo Shen presented several indications for endoscopic therapy in IBD, and Amy Lightner demonstrated the latest research in stem cell therapy for perianal fistulas in Crohn’s Disease from the Mayo Clinic. The interactive clinical cases session, led by Phil Fleshner, with participation of radiologists, gastroenterologists and surgeons, exemplified the spirit of the meeting, the presentation of controversial cases leading to hot discussion between the panel and the audience.
The partnership between S-ECCO and the Mayo Clinic is historical, with joint research having been published and several ongoing projects. The interaction between the European and the American faculties, with participation of other international guests from Latin America and Canada, demonstrates the global recognition of S-ECCO as an active surgical IBD group. After the meeting a dinner was held for the faculty and collaboration on future networking and research projects was discussed. S-ECCO is grateful to all Mayo Clinic Colorectal Surgery and Gastroenterology division members for their kind support in making this important meeting possible.
 S-ECCO Session at Mayo Clinic© Paulo Kotze |