EAES FROM ITS CONCEPT TO GENESIS
Jacques Périssat, Founding President of the EAES
The “European Association for Endoscopic Surgery and other Interventional Techniques” was officially inaugurated October 4th 1990 at the Palais des Congrès Convention Center Paris, France when some 47 surgeons practicing in European Union ratified the founding by-laws of this new surgical scientific society and elected its 1st Board. That ceremony was the achievement of a project initiated by some ten European surgeons attending the annual meeting of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) in Louisville (Kentucky) USA in 1989.
The first European meeting was the 1st Symposium, which took place in the middle of May 1989 in Erlangen hosted by Prof Gall, organized by Prof Hans Troidl and Heiner Groitl. The acronym EAES (for European Association for Endoscopic Surgery) was proposed and a tentative steering committee was set up co-chaired by Prof H. Troidl and J. Pérrisat. In June 1989 the 2nd symposium, “State of the art on biliary lithiasis treatment”, was organized at Bordeaux University on behalf of the EAES steering committee, the SFCERO ((French Society of Endoscopic Surgery and Interventional Radiology) ) and the French Surgical Association. As the founders of the future EAES started a network of teaching centers, January 1990 saw another symposium in Bordeaux attracting new contingents of surgeons coming from Italy (Albert Montori and Mario Morino), from Spain (Elisabeth Vincent-Hamelin, Enric Laporte), from Benelux (B. Dallemagne, B.Navez, G.B.Cadière, J Himpens, J.Bonjer) from UK & Ireland (A Cuschieri, D.Dunn, Bouchier-Hayes), Germany (H Troidl, Gall, H. Groitl), Austria (W. Wayand), Switzerland (Ch Klaiber, B. Ghavami), and Turkey (C. Avci). In June 1990, a symposium was organized in Heidelberg where the name of EAES was definitively adopted with additional phrasing “and other interventional techniques” to maintain free access to interventional flexible endoscopists and radiologists; the first draft of the EAES education and scientific committees was formulated. The EAES then participated officially the SAGES international meeting April 1990 in Atlanta Georgia USA, the 2nd World Congress of Endoscopic Surgeons (WCES), thus enhancing our international visibility.
It was at that meeting that the International relationship committee of SAGES invited EAES to participate in the choice of the 3rd WCES in 1992. The application of Bordeaux was unanimously adopted. Jack Jakimowicz took the position of General Secretary and started to build up an efficient EAES secretariat with the help of Ria Palmen in Eindhoven: inauguration day was October 4th 1990. The 3rd WCES took place June 17-18-19 under the auspice of EAES, SAGES and SFCERO. Because of the presence of SAGES and newborn societies around the world (JSES Japan, ELSA society, ALACE and FELAC from Latin America) the International Federation Societies Endoscopic Surgeons (IFSES) was founded with the mission to determine the venues of future WCES meetings, each other year.
All along 1993 EAES membership continued to grow with increasing participation of colleagues from ex Eastern Europe. From then on the Society decided to organize annual meetings in Europe. Prof. Hans Troidl, as President-Organizer, set up an International event in Cologne June 1993. EAES celebrated its third birthday and first 1500 members. EAES had a logo and a banner. EAES had its official journal “Surgical Endoscopy” managed by Sir Alfred Cuschieri in conjunction with Ken Forde and then Bruce Mac-Fayden of SAGES. EAES created an active Educational and Scientific Committees insuring its recognition of excellence at an international level. EAES started cooperation and gained support from major companies manufacturing surgical equipment. Prof. Hans Troidl became the next EAES President for a two years term.
All along the following 25 years each President left his particular mark in the history of EAES. Thanks to Profs Karl Fuchs, Paul Fockens (ESGE) and Antonio Lacy, EURO-NOTES was created. International registries have been created, the new website is flourishing, committee actions have strengthened the educational and teaching mission.
