Newsletter December 2011
Dear Members and interested Readers of the IATSIC Newsletter
It is a great honor and pleasure to address you as newly elected President in this new issue of the IATSIC Newsletter. With members from 53 countries IATSIC is one of the most prominent and competent professional societies in the world devoted to trauma and surgical critical care. Since the International Surgical Week meeting in Adelaide in 2009, another 51 surgeons have become members of IATSIC, and we see a growing interest and increasing number of applications since this years' meeting in Yokohama. In recent years we have seen a significant increase in membership, which attests to the perfect work on the part of the Executive Board during that time. That means that my predecessor, C. William Schwab, has set a very high standard for me to meet, and I will do everything I can to fulfill the expectations that have been placed in me.
For ISW 2011, the International Association for Trauma Surgery and Intensive Care (IATSIC) put together a scientific program with comprehensive information on the newest developments in its field that comprised three stand-alone IATSIC Main Sessions and seven Joint Sessions with sister societies. There was a lunchtime poster walk on Monday, August 29, and two free paper sessions on Monday, August 29, and Tuesday, August 30. The Prize Session was on Tuesday, August 30, at 10:30, followed at 12:15 by the Donald D. Trunkey Trauma Lecture entitled, "When laparoscopy is perfectly adapted to emergency surgery." On this occasion, C. W. Schwab (USA) introduced Professor Abe Fingerhut as lecturer.
A main agenda of IATSIC is the encouragement of young talent, and this year prizes were again awarded for the best papers and presentations by young scientists.
The IATSIC Poster winner was:
Are there better survival prediction models than the TRISS for Asian blunt trauma victims?
A. Kimura, S. Nakahara, W. Chadbunchachai; National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan, St Marianna University School of Medicine, Kawasaki, Japan and Khon Kaen Regional Hospital, Khon Kaen, Thailand
The following oral presentation was chosen as best IATSIC Free Paper
Blunt Polytrauma model with femur fracture
O. Yoshino, R. Matthys and Z. Balogh; John Hunter Hospital/University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia and AO Development, Davos, Switzerland
The award for the best AAST/IATSIC Paper went to
Dose response relation between injury severity and systemic inflammation in burn patients
K.M. Groeneveld, L Koenderman, G.I.J.M. Beerthuizen, N. K. Nieuwenhuis, L.P.H. Leenen; UMC Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands
The Presidential Address was given by Professor Charles William Schwab on "Altruism: Trauma Surgeons at the Core?" on Tuesday, August 30. On that occasion, the IATSIC Meeting took place all which the new officers were inaugurated and the new councilors elected.
In addition to providing broad-scope coverage of the newest and latest techniques and technologies in all areas of interest to trauma and acute care surgeons and intensivists, the IATSIC annual meeting during the ISW reflected the situation in the world today as it relates to the field. In view of the armed combat going on in many parts of the world, the two main sessions on Tuesday, August 30, focused on battlefield casualties took place: in the morning, "Humanitarian medicine and military deployment" chaired by A. K. Leppäniemi (Finland) and N. M. Rich (USA) and in the afternoon, "Contemporary resuscitation: hemostasis and hemostatics" as related to the battlefield and combat casualties, and chaired by F. Pons (France) and M. W. Bowyer (USA).
With lines of specialty demarcation softening and shifting, the situation of acute care surgery as an emerging discipline received due attention in the main session on Thursday morning, September 1, devoted to "Acute care surgery: what every consultant should know." Interesting presentations covered the global need for the acute care surgeon and training of acute care surgeons in developing countries.
In view of the changing shape of the population pyramid throughout the world, the main session on Thursday afternoon, September 1, on "Surgical emergencies in our 'elders'" looked to the epidemiology of global aging, trauma in the elderly and aging in developing nations.
"All work and no play is not a good prescription" as we know, so the IATSIC banquet premiered a "trauma song competition" featuring multi-nationals surgeon vocalists! Seen here is the winning table under the direction of MARK BOWYER with "LIKE A SURGEON," with singers from Japan, Norway, USA, South Africa and Australia.
 We can look forward to a similarly exciting program for the next congress, ISW2013 in Helsinki and look forward to seeing you there!
IATSIC is aiming at spreading knowledge about trauma and intensive care to colleagues around the globe, whether in developing countries where increasing sub-specialization is threatening the quality of trauma care, or in more resource challenged countries where priorities might be different and enthusiasm for trauma care might be difficult to maintain. In this context Definitive Surgical Trauma Care (DSTC™) courses continue to be one of IATSIC's main educational activities. Throughout the world, these courses are only offered in approved centers that meet the strict IATSIC criteria. In this way, IATSIC can assure that the quality of the courses and the training they offer meet the very highest standards.
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 Selman Uranues, Austria
President IATSIC
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