The role of the Mediterranean Society of Coloproctology over the last 20 years of its existence has been to create a network of specialists across the Mediterranean basin in order to share knowledge and promote excellence in all aspects of lower gastrointestinal surgery. The society has been growing with steady rhythm and has managed to attract more and more countries into its ever growing surgical “family”.
The society’s 11th biennial meeting found place in Thessaloniki, Greece and was hosted by the Interbalkan Medical Centre, a state-of-the-art hospital covering all aspects of elective and emergency medicine across Northern Greece and the Balkans.
All members of the society came together once again and we managed to attract new members from countries of the Mediterranean basin that are newcomers to the society. We are coming closer to fulfilling our vision of bringing together all countries of the 3 continents surrounding the Mediterranean.
The aim of the society is to exchange views, share knowledge and educate younger doctors with an interest in colorectal disease. Even though current geopolitical and financial circumstances work against travelling, we exchange electronic knowledge and information on a daily basis, keeping an active network which is crossing borders.
The MSCP has recently launched a new website, and I will urge you to surf through its content. We will constantly update it with videos, presentations and interesting cases from members across our society. We are looking forward to receiving comments and discussion subjects from visitors, and we are planning on setting up discussion forums online very soon. From next year onwards, we have also agreed to organize masterclasses on specific colorectal subjects of interest. Our next one will be finding place in the Albanian capital of Tirana, in May 2019.
My election as president of the society this year is a personal honor but also a challenge… a challenge to try and keep the level of the society at its highest, keeping in line with the expertise of its members. Our next meeting, in 2020, will take us back to Italy, to the founding roots of the MSCP. I hope that we will be able to meet all of you there.
M. Pramateftakis MD PhD FICS
Assist. Prof. of Surgery,
Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki, Greece
Colorectal & Laparoscopic Surgeon
