Madurai: Indian Association of Surgical Oncology (IASO), together with the Department of Surgical Oncology- Madurai Medical College, Tamil Nadu Association of Surgical Oncologists (TASO) and Intuitive India conducted a national conference on surgical oncology in Madurai. IASO NATCON 2022, the 35th annual conference of the Indian Association of Surgical Oncology, was inaugurated by Dr Ashok Mehta, Founder Secretary & Former President- IASO, in the presence of Guest of Honour, Dr Anil D’cruz, President, Union for International Cancer Control. Other dignitaries including Dr M Ramesh – Organising Secretary, NATCON 2022, Dr T Subramnyesh Rao-Director, Indo-American Cancer Centre, Dr SP Somasekhar, Senior RAS surgeon, Aster Hospitals, Dr Prashanth Penumadu, JIPMER, Dr Saravana Raja Manickam, Thangam Cancer Centre, were also present at the inaugural ceremony.
The three-day conference aimed to familiarise surgeons with the clinical application of the latest techniques in treating cancer. The conference provided a unique opportunity for oncology surgeons and residents to interact with eminent international and Indian faculty to get insights into making the new technologies clinically relevant to their practice. During the sessions, the experts discussed and showcased the importance of cutting-edge technology in surgery, focusing on areas like head & neck oncology, breast oncology, thoracic oncology, musculoskeletal oncology, gastrointestinal oncology and gyanec oncology, HPB and uro oncology etc.
Commenting on this initiative, Dr Ramesh said, “This is our humble effort to disseminate knowledge, share views and novel ideas, network, and collaborate for the common objective to advance oncology surgery. We hope to familiarise our surgeons with the most recent medical advancements such as robotic-assisted surgery through this special platform and enable them to provide cancer patients with better clinical outcomes. Robotic-assisted systems like da Vinci allow the surgeon to take a minimal access approach to disorders requiring surgery, with a much lesser learning curve. This will not only help cancer patients but also people who have benign conditions.”
To ensure an extensive knowledge-sharing experience for the attendees, live operative workshops, case-based discussions, panel discussions, and presentations covering many aspects of malignancies were arranged during the conference.
Commenting on this joint initiative, Dr SP Somashekar, a leading RAS surgeon said, “In India, surgical oncology has become a significant surgical subspecialty, and the use of RAS in this field has a number of well-known benefits. One of the most important benefits of the latest RAS systems like da Vinci Xi is that our surgeons will be able to perform complex surgeries using computer-guided, magnified, 3-D visualisation, which results in better patient outcomes. Additionally, the system improves our dexterity and ensures we gain better access to difficult parts in the body.”