President’s Message from Jeffrey B. Matthews, M.D.

Jeffrey B. Matthews SSAT President

The first day of spring 2013 left Chicago with 21 degree weather but, fortunately no more snow. With the arrival of spring, the agenda and program are being finalized for the Annual Meeting of the Society, which will be held during Digestive Diseases Week in Orlando, FL from May 17-21. I hope that if you have not already registered, you make your travel and hotel reservations promptly at www.ddw.org. Orlando is easily assessable by non-stop flight from so many airports around the globe. Orlando is, of course, the ultimate family-friendly destination, and there are many offerings in the social program for spouses, partners, and kids. Visit the DDW2013 Visit Orlando website for more information.

Our Program Committee, led by Craig Fischer and Nic Vauthey, reviewed over 445 abstracts submitted for consideration and selected the very best for presentation. On Friday May 17, we will hold our traditional Resident’s Research Conference. On Saturday, we will hold our annual Maintenance of Certification course on the topic of "Evidence Based Treatment of Colorectal Diseases” This course is being planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the ACCME, and AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ with self-assessment will be provided. Collecting these "credits" each year remains vital to our American Board of Surgery Maintenance of Certification requirements.

The opening session of the SSAT annual meeting kicks off at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday May 19. The program features traditional oral and poster sessions and, consistent with recent trends, an increased number of video presentations and joint symposia. New features include a Writer’s Workshop and Reviewer’s Workshop as part of the lunchtime Meet-the-Professors program. In addition to the Presidential Address that I will deliver on May 19th, there are several other special lectures to highlight. On May 19, Dr. James Madara, Executive Director of the American Medical Association will deliver the John L. and Doris Cameron Guest Oration entitled “AMA: Looking to the Future”. On Monday May 20, Dr. O. James Garden will deliver the Frank and Maya Moody State-of-the-Art Lecture entitled “Cholecystectomy- can we do better?” Our Annual Business Meeting in Monday May 20th at 5 pm. This is followed by our Member’s Reception beginning at 7 pm at Cuba Libre Restaurant.

Follow this link to access the Preliminary Program including abstracts. For those of you that use social media, use #SSAT2013 and #DDW13 to find out the latest information during the SSAT meeting and to post your own comments on sessions you are attending. And follow the SSAT at @SSATNews and on Facebook. See you in Orlando!

Previous Messages

• Summer 2012 Message
  
  

• Presidential Address at SSAT 53rd Annual Meeting
  
  
• Mid Winter 2012 Message