History of ELSA

HISTORY OF ELSA
by Peter MY Goh

The idea of ELSA was born in 1990 at the SAGES meeting in Atlanta Georgia.

SAGES formed an International Relations Committee whose aim was to develop a core of International surgeons who would spawn the idea of endoscopic and laparoscopic surgery worldwide and create societies in their various countries and regions. The Chairman of this committee was Dr. Gerald Marks.

Peter Goh was recruited into this committee and asked to start an Asian Society. There was no Asian society in any country at the time.

1. Goh went back to Singapore and within few months, by June 1990 he started Laparoscopic cholecystectomy at the NUH, Singapore. NUH was not the first however, because Dr. Mohan Chellapa and Dr Yap Lip Kee had already started

the procedure at the Singapore General Hospital. But Peter Goh in NUH developed the technique rapidly and towards the end of 1990 they hold a workshop on this procedure. This was the first laparoscopic surgery workshop in Asia. It was held in the National University Hospital and handful of enthusiastic surgeons came from all over Asia and this core of surgeons decided to start ELSA, the Endoscopic and Laparoscopic Surgeons of Asia. This was to be an Asian society and anyone in Asia could be a member. This was only an idea at the time and had no formal basis.

In December of 1990, the Chinese University of Hong Kong included Laparoscopic cholecystectomy in their yearly endoscopy workshop but Singapore was a few months earlier. I was invited as faculty to that meeting. The meeting was hosted by Dr. Sydney Chung.

In 1991, the constitution of ELSA was written and submitted it to the registrar of Societies in Singapore and ELSA formally started. Peter Goh ask an artist to draw the logo which was done in the style of a Medieval heraldic style. Every symbol and color had meaning and P. Goh chose a Latin motto. In the logo was depicted: a gold endoscope and laparoscope and sheaf of rice denoting Asia. Dr. Sydney Chung from Hong Kong, became the first President of ELSA and as the originator of the Society, Peter Goh voted the Secretary General, a post which he held for two years.

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HISTORICAL FACTS

In 1991 and 1992 several Workshops were held in Singapore and other Asian countries spreading the concept of minimally invasive surgery throughout the continent under the ELSA flag. The type of procedures which could be done grew rapidly. In 1991, in NUH P. Goh started laparoscopic appendicectomy, hernia repair, repair of perforated peptic ulcers and laparoscopic vagotomy. There was a race to do new procedures laparoscopically and it was an exciting time in Asia and worldwide. Subsequently, Seigo Kitano in Japan performed the first laparoscopic total gastrectomy

We then decided that ELSA should organize an Asia-Pacific Congress on alternate years while the other year to hold a Regional Congress. The first Asia-Pacific Meeting was designated to be in Singapore in 1993, as ELSA was founded there.

Endo-laparoscopic surgery got a great boost in December of 1991, when the first endo GIA stapler became available and Peter Burtcher from Autosuture, USA gave to NUH the first 12 pieces in Asia.

In January of 1992, the team in NUH under the leadership of P GO, did the first two laparoscopic colorectal surgeries in Asia. It was first a laparoscopic right hemicolectomy followed by a sigmoid colectomy. Laparoscopic colorectal surgery in Asia was born but the Americans had beat us to it. Perhaps we were the second after the USA.

In February 1992, P.Goh did the first Laparoscopic Billroth II gastrectomy in the world. The anastomosis was totally intrabdominal with no part of the operation done open. This made history and Peter Goh was invited to show a video at the SAGES meeting in Washington DC in April of 1992. The procedure was not in the program but because of it’s importance a special auditorium was set up to shot the video which played to a packed audience of more than 1000 international surgeons. This procedure was revolutionary and the anastomotic techniques developed during this pioneering work is still used today in Bariatric and upper GI surgery to this day.

After this there was a flood of surgeons coming for attachment to NUH from all around the world and the Minimally Invasive Surgical Centre in NUH was established, to cater to all our International students and organized about half a dozen workshops every every year on different techniques. The revenue from these workshops went to fund and support ELSA.

History continues

GREAT DESIGN MATTERS.

In 1993, the first Asia-Pacific Congress was organized at the Shangri La hotel in Singapore. It was a big success with more than 400 attendees from all over Asia. Australia joined ELSA, and we had guest speakers from all over the world. By this time the International Federation of Societies of Endoscopic Surgeons (IFSES) had been formed in a cellar at St. Emillion in Bordeaux, France. The four founding societies were SAGES, EAES, ELSA and JSES. Today the IFSES is organizing the World Congress of Endoscopic Surgery supported by a total of 9 Societies from all over the World.

At the Asia-Pacific Congress in 1993, Dr. Mohan Chellapa was voted the second President of ELSA because he was considered one of the pioneer of laparoscopic surgery in Asia. P.Goh remained the Secretary General for a second two year term and eventually became the third President of ELSA.

The number and the types of surgery proliferated rapidly as did the number of countries joining ELSA. ELSA began to hold joined meetings with other big societies and one of the most memorable of these was the joint EAES-ELSA meeting in Istanbul which bridged the continents.

in 1996, Singapore won the bid to hold the World Congress of Endoscopic Surgery which went to ELSA for the first time. The meeting was held in the Suntec City in Singapore in the year 2000 and more than 3000 participants came. It was a resounding success both scientifically and financially. P. Goh was the congress President. It was also special because it was a millennial year. It was very fortunate to have the strong support of not only from my colleagues at the NUH but all the societies in Asia. The present General Secretary of IFSES, Prof. Davide Lomanto was my fellow at the time and played an important role in the organizing committee of this meeting. Before the World Congress of Endoscopic Surgery, P. Goh and D. Lomanto, in December 1999 performed the first robotic surgery in Asia using a Zeus device, it was a cholecystectomy that was also the 2^nd case worldwide.

From there, ELSA developed at fasted pace, becoming the leading continental society in Asia with more than 2500 members today and 39 Asian Countries represented.

This was not possible without the pioneering role of mindful and visionary surgeons like: M Chellapa, P. Goh, T. Udwadia, Idezuki H, S. Cheung, S Kitano, Michael Li, S Hilvano, Sathien T, Hermansyur K, Barlian S, P. Chowbey and many more in all Asian Countries.

Sincerely

Peter Goh, Singapore

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