The annual ACS Ohio Chapter meeting is always a spring highlight! The 2024 meeting, attended by 91 Fellows and surgical trainees, was held at the Renaissance Downtown on the Maumee River in Toledo.
The meeting started with concurrent ACS Committee on Trauma (COT) and ACS Commission on Cancer (CoC) sessions. An innovative hands-on COT workshop, led by Co-Directors Julia Coleman, MD, MPH, and Richard George, MD, FACS, was held at the Lloyd A. Jacobs Interprofessional Immersive Simulation Center at the University of Toledo. More than 50 medical students, surgical residents, and Fellows attended the cadaver-based didactic course, with four instructors and a 3:1 attendee/cadaver ratio. Four distinct scenarios, each with didactic and hands-on cadaveric dissection, were utilized, including ureteral injury, common bile duct injury, large vessel vascular trauma and hemorrhaging liver injuries. Funding for the workshop was provided by educational grants from industry sponsors.
The CoC session, moderated by Ohio CoC Co-Chairs Michael D. Sarap, MD, FACS, and James Ouellette, DO, FACS, provided cutting-edge presentations by Ohio surgeons on esophageal dysplasia, managing complications of immunotherapy, rectal cancer management, microvascular head and neck reconstruction, HPV-related head and neck cancer, and indications for proton therapy.
The luncheon business meeting included a presentation by Beth W. Carona, CFRE, Director of the ACS Foundation, who clarified details of Chapter Initiative funds. By the conclusion of the meeting, more than $40,000 had been pledged to the Ohio Chapter Fund, including matching funds from a number of Past-Presidents. Subsequently, pledges have risen to more than $52,000.
Friday afternoon sessions included an in-depth presentation on artificial intelligence and its surgical applications, as well as a panel discussion on Physician Wellness highlighted the physician support programs available at a number of Ohio health centers.
Daniel S. Eiferman, MD, FACS, related his personal journey after a surgical complication and emphasized supporting our colleagues with curiosity, validation, and empathy. ACS Director of the Division of Member Services Michael J. Sutherland, MD, MBA, FACS, provided an update on ACS activities, noting that 207 Ohio hospitals participate in ACS Quality Programs, including 102 accredited cancer programs, 24 accredited breast centers, and 54 verified trauma centers.
The annual Ohio Oration was superbly given by Christopher R. McHenry, MD, FACS, detailing the rich history of the Ohio Chapter since its founding in 1956. The Chapter not only has significantly contributed to organized surgery in Ohio, but also to the ACS with five Ohio surgeons becoming ACS President.
Dr. McHenry’s presentation was followed by a rousing session of Surgical Jeopardy, with the winning resident team, representing the University of Toledo, Michael DeVries, MD, and Omar Obaid, MBBS.
Surgical trainees were the focus of the Saturday sessions and enthusiastically supported by the faculty in attendance. Ten abstract research presentations were followed by seven “Quickshot” presentations, followed by six “Spectacular Cases.” A presentation from the Division of Advocacy and Health Policy reviewed advocacy efforts at the state level, highlighting upcoming Ohio bills that would benefit from Chapter attention. The final session featured Toledo surgical resident presentations of recent practice-changing publications.
The annual Ohio ACS chapter meeting was extremely successful, bringing together like-minded supportive surgical faculty and trainees in a convivial setting. The focus on residents and students at the meeting highlighted the current efforts of the Chapter to support and engage all our future surgeons. Plans are already underway for the May 2025 meeting in Columbus, Ohio.
Nancy L. Gantt, MD, FACS
ACS First Vice-President-Elect
