Report: Global (ES)GURS-ESAU24 meeting draws large audience
Organisers and participants were well served by the three days of live surgical demonstrations on show at the Global (ES)GURS-ESAU24 meeting in Antwerp. The surgery-focused meeting nevertheless also had a “holistic touch” said co-organiser Prof. Gunter De Win (Antwerp, BE), thanks to the participation of speakers with a wide range of professional and academic backgrounds. Over three days, nearly 500 participants joined the Global (ES)GURS-ESAU24 meeting, representing every inhabited continent.
Successful collaboration of EAU Sections, GURS and ISORU hosted in Antwerp
“Several of the sessions offered delegates perspectives from other disciplines,” said Prof. De Win. “Aside from reconstructive and andrological urologists, we featured patients, psychologists, sexologist, but also plastic surgeons and radiologists.”
The meeting took place from 9-11 October and was a collaboration of the EAU’s sections of Reconstruction and Andrology, as well as the North American Society of Genitourinary Reconstructive Surgeons (GURS) and the International Society of Reconstructive Urology (ISORU). The truly global perspective meant that participants could count on insights and lessons from every corner of the world.
“The Darwin Room, where most of the plenary sessions were held, offered detailed talks on various kinds of urethral surgery, new developments to improve outcomes, fertility surgery, the female urethra, bladder reconstruction techniques and very complex andrological and penile surgery,” said Prof. De Win.
“The focus very much lay on the global aspect of reconstructive surgery: what may be a rare pathology in our part of the world may be daily practice for colleagues elsewhere, and vice-versa. For instance Dr. Evelyn Moshokoa from South Africa illustrated this by comparing the latest 100 cases of urethral reconstruction from Pretoria, Antwerp, Washington DC and Malang in Indonesia. Rather than showcasing how well we were all doing, it was more a case of teaching each other, and that was appreciated by all.”
Live Surgery
Largely parallel to the expert lectures and discussions in the Darwin Room, the similarly natural history-themed Okapi room housed a three-screen set-up for live and pre-recorded surgical demonstrations.
Every day, three sessions were offered, each featuring three moderated procedures. On the first day the programme covered the female urethra, ureter and bladder neck reconstruction, and fertility and straddle surgery. On the second day, the surgical sessions addressed Peyronie’s, the use of (novel) penile implants and complex reconstructive cases. On the final day, the programme featured (live) surgical demonstrations of urethral reconstruction, adult hypospadias and the management of complications following prior surgery.
“The Antwerp University Hospital team had collected a diverse array of interesting reconstructive cases,” said Prof. De Win. “Prof. Koen Van Renterghem also provided some very interesting implant cases.”
Organisers of the meeting took the opportunity to survey participants on the educational value of live surgery. Prof. De Win: “We recruited local students to poll participants’ opinions on the advantages of truly live surgical demonstrations versus pre-recorded ‘semi-live’ cases, as both were offered in Antwerp. These interviews, of which we now have more than 100, are currently being analysed and will help us evaluate for future meetings.”
A particularly notable session at the meeting was the closing session about reconstructive urology in times of war.
De Win: “First came an extremely impressive talk by Ukrainian urologist Dr. Bondarchuk, which showed how their operating theatre had to make the switch to managing urogenital trauma due to war injuries. It was followed by Prof. Igor Vaz who described his experiences on the subject in Africa, and Mr. Paul Anderson who treated soldiers who fought in Afghanistan. Together, the session became a lively discussion on how we as reconstructive surgeons can prepare and help our international colleagues in times of conflict.”
Belgian pride
The meeting was also a question of national pride for the Belgian organisers. “While we certainly attracted the international talents of surgeons like Sanjay Kulkarni, David Ralph, Lee Zhao, Jeremy Ockrim, Tamsin Greenwell, Bernard Peyronnet, Pankaj Joshi, and many, many more, our country’s reconstructive urologists also put their best foot forward for the event,” said Prof. De Win.
Prof. Karel Decaestecker had a European debut by live streaming a retroperitoneal, robotic-assisted ureter reimplantation using the single-port Da Vinci SP system as part of the live surgical sessions. Dr. Marjan Waterloos and Prof. Nicolaas Lumen gave a demonstration of how a non-transecting anastomotic bulbar urethroplasty should be performed.
Prof. De Win himself demonstrated his glans-preserving technique for distal penile strictures and his co-organiser Prof. Koen Van Renterghem shared a clear and quick technique for placing a bulbar artificial sphincter and a penile prothesis at the same time.
Prof. De Win: “I think this shows that Belgium is punching above its weight in reconstructive surgery and can enjoy a great reputation. Several of my colleagues told me that they felt themselves to be proud Belgians, and I’m happy that our small country pulled off such a great international event.”
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ESGURS-ESAU25 will be held in Turin, Italy on 2-3 October 2025. More information will be announced on www.esgurs-esau25.org