Specialists to provide update on latest advancements in surgical field at UCSD conference

The Department of Surgery at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine will host the 34th San Diego Postgraduate Assembly in Surgery. The event will take place March 17 to 19, 2011 at the Omni San Diego Hotel.

The conference, "Advancements in Surgical Solutions to Common Medical Problems," will provide practicing surgeons with an update on the latest advancements in the field. Sessions of the conference will be devoted to acute-care surgery, trauma and critical care, hernias, obesity, plastic surgery, esophageal surgery, vascular surgery, surgical oncology and inflammatory bowel disease. Debates and lectures will bring together surgeons, surgeons-in-training, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses and other health care professionals.

"A panel of internationally renowned specialists will deliver in-depth analysis of the most advanced clinical approaches, breakthrough surgical devices and cutting-edge research that will advance the field of surgery," said Santiago Horgan, MD, chief of minimally invasive surgery at UCSD Health System and co-director of the assembly.

Among the conference speakers are faculty members of UCSD School of Medicine, including Mark Talamini, MD, professor and chair of surgery at UCSD Health System and one of the leading authorities on robotic-assisted surgery in the United States. Santiago Horgan, MD, a leading bariatric surgeon and pioneer of scarless surgery, will offer talks on esophageal and obesity surgery. Trauma surgeon Raul Coimbra, MD, PhD, professor of surgery and chief of Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care and Burns at UCSD Health System, will address timely topics in acute care surgery and trauma surgical critical care.

Guest speakers include Ronald Maier, MD, vice-chair of surgery and surgeon-in-chief at University of Washington's Harborview Medical Center; John Carethers, MD, chair and professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan and former chief of the UCSD Division of Gastroenterology; and Donald Morton, MD, chief of Melanoma Program and director of Surgical Oncology Fellowship Program at John Wayne Cancer Institute at Saint John' s Health Center.

"At the UCSD School of Medicine, we are ranked among the top 15 research-intensive medical schools in the country," said Talamini, who also serves as the co-director of the assembly. "We are proudly committed to providing innovative education that impacts physician's knowledge while continuing to offer high-quality patient care."