ISDE News

On July 6th, 2019, the 11th West China Forum on Minimally Invasive Thoracic Surgery and ISDE China Highlights 2019, held by West China Hospital and Sichuan International Medical Exchange & Promotion Association (SCIMEA), and kindly endorsed by International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus (ISDE), just came to a successful close. Nearly 600 delegates participated in the conference and exchanged insights about cutting-edge issues, as well as hot topics in thoracic surgery, including esophageal diseases.

During the conference, Prof. Ferguson introduced the International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus and reviewed recent developments and highlights of the society. Experts from different medical centers also shared the experience on minimally invasive surgery in esophageal diseases in China and had an in-depth discussion about chemoradiotherapy for esophageal cancer. Additionally, other topics including early oral feeding, influences of BMI and weight loss on prognosis after esophagectomy, inflated mediastinoscopy combined with laparoscopic esophagectomy for cancer also raised continuous discussion among participants.

On the occasion of this conference, the inaugural ceremony of the Specialized Committee for Esophageal Diseases of Sichuan International Medical Exchange & Promotion Association was held. Professor Long-Qi Chen, Director of the Department of Thoracic Surgery, was elected as the first chairman.

The West China Forum on Minimally Invasive Thoracic Surgery has been successfully held 11 times since 2007, pushing innovative achievements in the field of minimally invasive surgery to the whole country, including minimally invasive techniques for the diseases of the esophagus. It has been widely recognized that the forum has become one of the most influential events in the field of thoracic surgery in China.

ISDE Member, Fernando Lisboa MD PhD, welcomed attendees to Natal, Brazil on July 4th for the International Course on Esophageal Diseases. GERD was the central theme of the three-day meeting due in part to a growing elderly population in which gastrointestinal disorders are common. The course was Endorsed by ISDE and featured presentations from national and international faculty including Sudish Murthy, Cleveland Clinic (Ohio – USA); Asti Emanuelle substituting Luigi Bonavina, Milan (Italy); Ari Nasi, USP/SP (Brazil); Fernando Herbella, UNIFESP/SP (Brazil); Mauricio Bravin, Belo Horizonte (Brazil); Stennio Machado, Karla Emerenciano and Flaubert Senna from Natal (Brazil).

From left to right: Dr. Ary Nasi (São Paulo -SP - BR), Dr. Asti Eamanuele (Milan - Italy), Dr. Fernando Lisboa (Course Coordinator- Natal-RN- BR), Dr. Fernando Herbella (São Paulo SP- BR), Mauricio Bravim (Minas Gerais - BR) and Sudish Murty (Cleveland Clinic - Ohio - USA)

By 2050 it is estimated that more than 20% of the US population will be older than 65 years of age, and approximately 20 million individuals will be older than age 85 years. Gastrointestinal disorders are common in the elderly patient, but their manifestations may differ from those of younger patients. The International Course on Esophageal Diseases provided an update on both the diagnosis of various disorders, benign and malignant, that affect the esophagus as well as the various therapeutic modalities for the diversities of afflictions that affect it.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is common and affects up to 40% of US adults at least once a month. A population-based study from Finland revealed that the prevalence of daily GERD symptoms in those aged 65 years and older was 8% in men and 15% in women. The mean time pH <4 was significantly higher (32.5%) as compared with younger patients (12.9%). In addition, more elderly patients (20.8%) had grade III/IV erosive esophagitis, compared with only 3.4% of younger patients. In Brazil the incidence varies from 9 to 19%. Together with the knowledge of a growing elderly population around the world, these statistics provide a sense of the large number of people that may develop and suffer from gastrointestinal disorders.

The International Course on Esophageal Diseases served as an opportunity to educate and host discussions with international and national authorities on several important topics including Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, Diagnostic Methods and Monitoring in this Disease, Treatment of Iatrogenic Conditions of the Esophagus, cancer of the esophagogastric junction and the role of endoscopy as diagnostic, therapeutic and preoperative rehabilitation in esophageal diseases. Also discussed was the ideal team which should consist of a Gastrointestinal surgeon and/or Thoracic surgeon with experience in the field, an endoscopist, a gastroenterologist, radiologist, pneumologist, clinical oncologist and also Fellows and Residents interested in the area.

The International Society for Disease of the Esophagus is pleased to announce the World Congress for Esophageal Diseases will be held annually starting in 2021. This decision comes after many months of analysis and deliberation through which it was determined an annual meeting would be beneficial to society members, stakeholders and the specialty.

The congress destination rotation remains unchanged and will continue to cycle between Asia/Pacific, Europe and the America’s.

The International Society for Disease of the Esophagus (ISDE) is pleased to announce the first Annual World Congress will be held in Brisbane, Australia from September 3-6, 2021.

“In the early years the society (ISDE) held a World Congress every three years, then every two years and now it is becoming an annual event. This important change is a natural evolution and sign of the growing need for education and information on the diseases of the esophagus. We look forward to working with our members, researchers and others in the community on this important topic” said ISDE President, Prateek Sharma.

ISDE Executive Director, Mark Ferguson agreed saying “it has been a long-held dream for ISDE to hold its world congress annually. I am pleased this is coming to fruition in a beautiful city such as Brisbane, Australia and look forward to advancing the development and dissemination of scientific and medical knowledge of the esophagus.

Save the date and join us in Brisbane for the 18th World Congress on Esophageal Diseases.

The International Society for Disease of the Esophagus (ISDE) is pleased to announce the 2022 World Congress for Esophageal Diseases will be held in Tokyo, Japan from September 26-28, 2022.

In order to serve the esophageal community better the ISDE is working closely with the Japan Esophageal Society (JES), who will be hosting their annual meeting just before the ISDE World Congress at the same venue. The programs for both society meetings will be independent and delegates may choose to attend one meeting or both.

ISDE President, Prateek Sharma was quoted as saying “Japan is known for their cutting-edge treatments in the field of endoscopy and surgical procedures. This is a great opportunity for members and attendees from around the world and from Japan to observe, learn and share information on the esophagus.”

ISDE Executive Director, Mark Ferguson commented that “the 2022 Congress in Tokyo, Japan marks the 4th time this meeting has been held in this country and honors a longstanding relationship between ISDE and the Japanese Esophageal Society (JES). We anticipate this meeting will have the highest attendance numbers of any of our congresses to date.”

Save the date and join us in Tokyo for the 19th World Congress on Esophageal Diseases.

This will be the only time the ISDE will hold consecutive congresses in the same region. Future congress destinations will be sourced from the following areas:

• 2023 Europe
• 2024 America’s
• 2025 Asia/Pacific

Listen to ISDE President, Prateek Sharma, discuss the society's latest achievements in the September/October Esophagram.

The Patient from Diagnoses through Post Surgery Recovery

We have found through talking to many patients over the nineteen years from my esophagectomy that knowledge of what lies ahead is very important to the patient and their families.

We believe that patients who have knowledge and acceptance of the esophageal cancer process will produce better outcomes if they are aware of what lies ahead of them.

We believe that a patient will be more prepared for the surgery if he or she knows what will happen when they wake up in recovery.

We believe having a patient who has gone through the surgery at the same hospital can provide guidance and bring the patient to a comfortable level with what lies ahead and this, we believe, will produce a better outcome for that patient.

How do we identify that patient who has the experience and intelligence to be able to convey that information to a newly diagnosed patient? The key element is the ability to convert the question being asked by the newly diagnosed patient into an experience that the patient advocate has experienced.

As an example, when a newly diagnosed patient asks, how will my pain be after the surgery? My response is when I was in the hospital the nurse came in each morning and asked me to rate my pain from 0 – 10. They wanted me to walk a mile each day and do breathing and coughing exercises, so my pain level had to be in the middle to lower half of the scale for me to be able to do all those exercises.

Another question often asked is what will my quality of life be after the surgery? I respond to that question by saying to the patient, that I now play golf 3 times a week, and I can go out for a meal with family and friends. I may not eat all my meal, but that is what they make doggy bags for.

Well the question now is, how do we identify the patient who can come back and walk the journey with that newly diagnosed patient.

My wife, Ginny, and I formed the Esophageal Cancer Education Foundation (ECEF) in part: To walk the journey with patient who have esophageal cancer.

One of the services we provide to patients and their caregivers is a Conference Call Support Group Meeting. Patients from all over the country will call into a given number and access code to join in and participate. We meet once a month on a given evening for about one hour to discuss various issues that the patients are experiencing. With the help of two surgeon’s we have on the call, we will address the issues presented. This meeting gives patients an opportunity to see what other patients are experiencing and we find that it is a good help to all who attend. It gives them the feeling that they are not alone in this post-surgical journey and that they have a place they can go to address what they are experiencing and get good advice. WE need a disclaimer that says in part that all discussions had on the conference call must be cleared with their own surgeons and only act on their Doctors direction.

From these meetings we will be able to select a patient who can be the patient advocate that can talk to patients on a pre-surgery basis.

For more information contact:

Bart Frazzitta
President & Co-Founder
Esophageal Cancer Education Foundation
PO BOX 821
Manalapan NJ 07726
732-385-7461
bart@fightec.org

The International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus is looking for members who are visionary, passionate and committed to step into a more active role as a member of an ISDE Standing Committee.

Join a group of dedicated specialists including physicians, surgeons, basic scientists and other health professionals who are working toward making ISDE the world leader in development and dissemination of information about the esophagus.

ISDE Standing Committees

The following standing committees are accepting members:

• Education Committee
• Guidelines Committee
• Biennial Congress Committee
• Membership Committee
• Research & Development
• Web Committee

The duties of committee members vary by committee. Please review the ISDE Committee Members Expectations & Requirements document for more information.

Task Force and Ad Hoc Committees

The ISDE Board of Directors may strike a task force to address a specific need in future. If you have expertise and interest in participating in a task force, let us know. Please note task forces and ad hoc committees typically have 5 or less members, are active for the period in which work is being done and will be disbanded upon conclusion of the initiative.

Deadline: August 17, 2018

Committee Sign-up Form

The 16th World Congress of the International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus, Vienna, Austria, 16/09/2018-19/09/2018 has been accredited by the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME®) with 16 European CME credits (ECMEC®s). Each medical specialist should claim only those hours of credit that he/she actually spent in the educational activity.

Through an agreement between the Union Européenne des Médecins Spécialistes and the American Medical Association, physicians may convert EACCME® credits to an equivalent number of AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM. Information on the process to convert EACCME® credit to AMA credit can be found at www.ama-assn.org/education/earn-credit-participation-international-activities.

Live educational activities, occurring outside of Canada, recognised by the UEMS-EACCME® for ECMEC®s are deemed to be Accredited Group Learning Activities (Section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

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