August Leading Colorectal Surgeon to Deliver Sir Peter Freyer Memorial Lecture at NUI Galway

NUI Galway will host the 43rd Sir Peter Freyer Memorial Lecture and Surgical Symposium, the largest Surgical Conference in Ireland, from 7-8 September. The Symposium, named in memory of the Galway-born surgeon, Sir Peter Freyer, who performed the first successful surgical operation to remove an enlarged prostate in 1900, comprises of multiple research and education sessions across the various surgical subspecialties, two keynote addresses and a discussion forum around the future of Surgical Care in Ireland. 

This year the keynote addresses will be delivered by Professor Conor Delaney, Chairman of the Digestive Disease and Surgery Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, and Kenneth Mealy, President of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

Professor Delaney will deliver the Memorial Lecture entitled ‘Approaching Industrial Standards for Rectal Cancer Surgery’ on Friday, 7 September. Professor Delaney holds the Victor W. Fazio MD Endowed Chair in Colorectal Surgery. He is a member and serves on administrative committees of many national and international professional societies; serves on the editorial board of eight national and international journals; is the past-president of the International Society for Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery, and the Midwest Surgical Association; and is the Treasurer of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons. His clinical interests include laparoscopic colorectal surgery, carcinoma of the colon, Crohn’s Disease and ulcerative colitis, sphincter-saving surgery, re-operative abdominal surgery and colonoscopy. His research interests include various aspects of colorectal surgery, cost-efficiency in surgery, and surgical education. 

Kenneth Mealy will deliver the State of the Art Lecture entitled ‘Sustainable High Quality Surgical Care: A Utopian Dream’ on Saturday, 8 September.  He is a Consultant General Surgeon with a special interest in gastrointestinal (GI) surgery, based at Wexford General Hospital. He completed his clinical and academic training in Ireland, the UK, Harvard Medical School, Boston and the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.  Since his election to the Council of RCSI in 2008, he has chaired the Committee for Surgical Affairs, the Irish Surgical Postgraduate Training Committee and the Finance Committee. He has a long interest in surgical training and held the post of Chair of the Dublin Region Basic Surgical Training Committee and Chair of the National Basic Surgical Training Programme. He also held the position of President of the Surgical Section of The Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland. He was appointed Joint Lead for the National Clinical Programme in Surgery in 2010 and Medical Director of the National Office of Clinical Audit in 2012.

Professor of Surgery at NUI Galway, Michael Kerin, who is hosting the event along with his colleague Professor Oliver McAnena, said: “We are delighted to welcome Professor Delaney and Kenneth Mealy to our University. Their work focuses on delivering high quality surgical care and achieving best outcomes for patients. Both lectures are the centre-points of a large programme containing some of the best surgical research from this country. This Conference signals the start of the academic year and has been a mainstay of the National Academic Surgical Platform with input from a diverse group of Consultants and Trainees across all specialties in Irish Surgery.”

For further information on the event please contact 091 544203 or visit www.freyer.ie

-Ends-