I would like to welcome you to our newsletter and website as the new editor of the MISSC.

The emphasis of the MISSC has always been to promote advanced surgical training and since its inauguration nearly one year ago, the center has already successfully conducted 26 training courses in different disciplines of surgery. Over one hundred experts were invited as guest faculty from all over the world and 812 delegates benefited from these extensive programs.

In the year ahead we look forward to an even greater number of courses with information pertaining to exciting advances particularly in the field of minimally invasive surgery.

As one of the foremost training center in Asia, our facilities will be continually upgraded to keep up with the fast pace of new surgical technology. Our first scheduled upgrade will occur in the next few months in which our 9 surgical pendants will be outfitted with the newest equipment as well as anaesthetic gas outlets. It is hoped that these improvements will enable a greater variety of courses to take place and bring about a more enhanced experience in hands-on training in the animal labarotory.

We hope you will find our courses useful and educational.

To spearhead various initiatives and maintain the momentum of the Centre’s development, we need excellent software to support. In this connection, two functional committees, namely Education and Training Committee and Research & Development Committee are setup to be the think tanks.

Members of the Committees are listed as follows:

2nd Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery Course for HST (2006)      27 - 28 July 2006

The Course provided the skills required for good progress in clinical laparoscopic practice. It described the technical steps, which were used for advanced laparoscopic procedures, described results and potential complications and methods to prevent them, and practiced on live tissue in order to give participants the technical capacity to improve their skills.

An one-day intensive course focusing on the latest development in the diagnosis of early cancers of the upper GI Tract. Advanced endoscopic technology including chromo-endoscopy, narrow-band imaging and magnifying endoscopy were shown. Novel treatment modalities ranging from cap-mucosectomy and endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) were demonstrated through high quality CCTV or video clips.

The Temporal Bone course is primarily designed for Higher Surgical Trainees with the aim of delivering a comprehensive overview of surgical procedures on the temporal bone. In its Fourth Course held on 28-30 August and 1-9 September this year, the course was joined by Dr. Dennis Choa, Consultant Otologist from the Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital, Dr. Navnit Shah, former Consultant Otologist and Dr. Anthony Cheesman, former Neuro-otologist & Head & Neck Surgeon in London, UK. There were three runs of temporal bone dissection which were tailor-made for both trainees and specialists who wished to refresh on temporal bone procedures.

This three-day workshop consisted of lectures, hands-on cadaver dissection, live surgery and mini-workshops. A faculty of expert surgeons shared their knowledge and experience in surgery of the facial plastic surgery. Basic and advanced topics were covered during the workshop.

The advent of Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) significantly reduces the trauma of surgery and pain suffered by patients and enables faster recovery lowering the cost of surgical procedures and aftercare. However, not many patients in Hong Kong and Greater China can benefit from the advantages of MIS as there are scarce opportunities allowing surgeons in the region to acquire basic MIS skills. The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is amongst the world’s pioneers in MIS and was the first to introduce MIS to Hong Kong. Over the years, members of different divisions have developed a great number of novel MIS techniques, with many world's and Asia's firsts having been performed at the Prince of Wales Hospital, the teaching hospital of the Faculty of Medicine. In light of the foregoing, the Department of Surgery is offering a Certificate Programme in Minimally Invasive Surgery for surgeons, general practitioners, nurses and allied health in the region with a view to enhancing their knowledge and skills of the MIS.

A one-day intensive training course focusing on latest technology and development in Hernia surgery. Advanced MIS techniques including laparoscopic totally extraperitoneal hernioplasty (TEP), laparoscopic repair of ventral hernias and controversies in hernia surgery were demonstrated. The delegates were familiar with various approaches to hernia surgery and the latest advances in its development after the workshop.

A one-day intensive training course focusing on latest technology and development in Hernia surgery. Advanced MIS techniques including laparoscopic totally extraperitoneal hernioplasty (TEP), laparoscopic repair of ventral hernias and controversies in hernia surgery were demonstrated. The delegates were familiar with various approaches to hernia surgery and the latest advances in its development after the workshop.

Prof Arthur Li, Secretary for Education and Manpower, HKSAR, visited on 8 May 2006.

Prof Robin Williamson, The Royal Society of Medicine, UK, visited on 13 July 2006.

Invited by Hong Kong Trade Development council, the representatives of the MISSC attended the HK International Medical & Health Care Fair 2006 on 17-21 August 2006. Public were briefed on the knowledge of MIS through forum and the exhibits. Feedback of the booth was overwhelming.