Q&A: ASGE president highlights live endoscopy sessions at DDW 2022
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
In a Healio interview, Douglas K. Rex, MD, president of ASGE and distinguished professor emeritus of medicine at Indiana University, details upcoming ASGE sessions that attendees should include on their agendas at Digestive Disease Week.
Healio: After 2 years of virtual meetings, how does it feel to attend a live conference?
![“I think the introduction of live endoscopy [at DDW 2022] by ASGE in both the postgraduate course and full session is groundbreaking. It is a new direction that is going to be of tremendous interest to the attendees.” Douglas K. Rex, MD](/~/media/slack-news/gastroenterology/misc/infographics/2022/0522/hgi0522rex_ddw_graphic_01.jpg?w=800)
Rex: I am really looking forward to seeing all my friends and colleagues in person and listening to presentations. It's been too long since we last met together.
Healio: What are the benefits of in-person meetings are over the virtual experience?
Rex: I think they both have advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of in-person are the opportunities to meet with small groups, as well as individual people, to discuss opportunities for research, collaboration and activities with societies. When you spend a lot of time in that setting, you think more about what you want to do — you often make some of the best plans for the future.
Aside from the unique opportunities, the atmosphere is a lot of fun. For ASGE, we have the Crystal Awards, which is our big gala at the end of the year. This is our first Crystal Awards in person in 3 years.
Healio: Has the ability to connect virtually broadened the connections that can be made globally?
Rex: There have been some definite advantages regarding international meetings. When you travel internationally, it is a lot more time-consuming. You often lose a day from work and that creates some resistance compared with traveling domestically.
During the pandemic, I have taken opportunities to speak internationally that I previously would not accept because I would lose too much time from work. Some things, like interactions with experts, have also expanded during the pandemic.
There is a lot of individual personal preference involved in whether people want to take a block of time to attend an in-person meeting and network with others vs. enjoying the scientific presentations in the privacy of their own home.
In this case, attendees have a choice. We have significantly more people attending DDW in person, but we have many attending virtually also.
Healio: Which sessions are you interested in and which ones should attendees include on their agenda?
Rex: The postgraduate courses are always great, and the ASGE postgraduate course this year features live endoscopy for the first time in a long time. Live endoscopy is always popular, because endoscopists see experts dealing with both routine and challenging cases in real time.
In addition, for the first time ever at DDW, ASGE will hold an all-day live endoscopy session on Monday during the scientific meeting. We will have the equivalent of several symposia devoted to live endoscopy with cases relevant to both advanced and general endoscopy.
Personally, I always like the ASGE videos sessions the video plenary session and the ‘World Cup’ of endoscopy, where people bring their best videos. A real highlight is going to be the presidential plenary on Saturday morning — half of it is devoted to general endoscopy and the other half with advanced endoscopy. Then, as always, we have a number of clinical symposia including symposia held in conjunction with our sister endoscopy societies in other countries and regions.
Healio: What hot topics are you hoping will be discussed by presenters and attendees?
Rex: There are many abstracts submitted to ASGE on artificial intelligence including detection in colonoscopy, assessment of bowel preparation and examination quality, predicting histology, and cost effectiveness. There are also many abstracts on advanced endoscopy of interest, including comparisons of EMR and ESD, closure methods after resection, bariatric endoscopy, long term results of G-POEM, studies on POEM, bariatric endoscopy and many others.
Healio: What are you most excited about at DDW this year?
Rex: I am most excited for the ASGE Crystal Awards, because of the opportunity to have some fun, see people that I have not seen for a while and celebrate gathering again.
From a scientific standpoint, I think the introduction of live endoscopy by ASGE in both the postgraduate course and full session is groundbreaking. It is a new direction that is going to be of tremendous interest to the attendees.
Collapse
Healio Interviews
Read more about
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts