Abstract
The 2nd Annual Spring Meeting of the International Society of Dermatologic Surgery (ISDS) was recently held in beautiful Bangkok, Thailand. The theme of the meeting was ‘Myths, Science, and Fiction: When East meets West.’ The meeting highlights are presented here along with the excellent atmosphere within the ISDS.
Keywords::
Myths, Science & Fiction: when East meets West
The theme of the 2nd Annual Spring Meeting of the International Society of Dermatologic Surgery (ISDS) was ‘Myths, Science and Fiction: when East meets West’; and what a background to have such a meeting in the intriguing and exciting city of Bangkok, Thailand. This is the land of Siam, where meeting delegates were greeted with the warm hospitality of the Thai people and the wondrous sites and sounds of this vibrant city. Planning for this meeting took shape with our Congress President, Atchima Suwanchinda from Bangkok, at the helm, and her able assistants as Program Chairs, Miriam Emily Piansay-Soriano from the Philippines, and Neil Sadick and Michael Gold from the USA. Emails and program revisions traveled back and forth across the Pacific Ocean and to make this a truly global experience, we all utilized the talents of our administrative staff, including our Associate Executive Director Sonja Sattler and her able assistants Silvia Becker and Karin Schäfer, all from Darmstadt, Germany. Sharon Duncan, the US administrator, also helped keep the emails flowing and the revisions coming, until the final version of the program was ready and approved by Suwanchinda and our ISDS President, Gary Brauner from the USA.
Thus we were ready to go – and the Hilton Millennium Bangkok Hotel served as the backdrop for over 250 delegates and 40 companies and their representatives to highlight the ‘new’ dermatologic surgeons from the East, who are always thrilled to share their knowledge and skill with their colleagues and peers.
Pre-Congress Sessions: tumescent liposuction, laser lipolysis, hair transplantation & integrative & esthetic dermatology & antiaging
Our first stop was the very impressive Piyavate Hospital, where our precongress courses were held. These included live surgery sessions, including Tumescent Liposuction for Beginners followed by Liposuction with Lasers and Other Devices (Advanced) and Fat Transfer, as well as Hair Transplantation. The delegates observed first-hand the skill and expertise of Gerhard Sattler (Germany), Emily Piansay-Soriano, Sri Lestari (Indonesia), Lawrence Fields (USA), Michael Gold and Rommel Caballes (Philippines) as they performed tumescent liposuction and laser-assisted liposuction, as well as fat transfer following a liposuction procedure. These techniques have been mastered by many dermatologic surgeons and it was evident to the delegates that they were observing these procedures performed by some of the masters of the trade. Alex Ginzburg (Israel), Damkerng Pathomvanich (Thailand) and Agnes Thaebtharm (Philippines) demonstrated the proper techniques in performing hair transplantation surgery, a field of dermatologic surgery that has evolved greatly with micrografting and follicular unit placement of the hair grafts.
Other workshops in the precongress courses included lectures and live demonstrations of Botulinum toxin A for rejuvenation, led by Rassapoom Sumaetheiwit (Thailand), Jinda Rojanamatin (Thailand), Jonathan Dizon (Philippines), Isabel Mangubat (Philippines) and Doris Hexsel (Brazil), where facial anatomy was reviewed in detail and proper injection techniques in both the upper and lower face were outlined. Potential complications and the best ways to prevent them were also reviewed. Still other delegates learned about fillers and volumetric facial rejuvenation from Maurizio Podda (Germany), Neil Sadick, Cristina Puyat (Philippines) and Sarita Martins (Brazil). Lectures and live demonstrations showed how best to use the fillers available to us as dermatologic surgeons, how we are using these fillers for volume replacement, not just for filling lines and wrinkles, and demonstrating new techniques that will definitely aid the delegates in their own clinical practices. Finally, a session on Integrative and Aesthetic Dermatology & Antiaging, led by Nicoletta Frasca (Italy) and Stephen Holt (USA) illustrated to the delegates how one can incorporate antiaging medicine and medical spas into a dermatology practice, as well as using integrative cocktails for rejuvenation and stem cell technology to enhance our current medical therapies. Overall, it was an exceptional precongress day of courses for the delegates on hand.
Dermatologic Surgery from A to Z; Beauty Concepts in Men & Great-Grandfatherly Dermatologic Advice
The Hilton Millennium Bankok hotel was ready for the main sessions to begin. The ISDS President Gary Brauner opened the congress with a session entitled Dermatologic Surgery from A to Z, where some of the masters of our specialty, including Gerhard Sattler, Eckart Haneke (Germany), Maurizio Podda and Matthias Sandhofer (Austria) taught the young delegates. This included Basic Instrumentation, The Office Surgical Suite, Sutures and Stitches, Cosmetic Units to be used in Dermatologic Surgery, Flaps and Grafts and other closures. Additionally, attendees were enlightened with Great Grandfatherly Advice from Lawrence Field, our ISDS Travelling Chair in Dermatologic Surgery; a dermatological surgeon who has taught many of these dermatologists in their own hospitals and clinics all over the world and a truly outstanding member of the ISDS family. Our next topic was The Aging Face: How to Approach from A to Z, moderated by Gerhard Sattler, who lectured to the group on the topic ‘What is Beauty?’, an incredible analysis of how to determine which modality may work best for a particular patient. Marina Landau (Israel) treated the audience to Beauty Concepts in Men, an often overlooked segment of the population, where we have all seen a rise in those seeking cosmetic help from skilled dermatologic surgeons. She also lectured to us on the proper uses of dermal fillers, again sharing her incredible expertise. Neil Sadick shared his experience with intense pulsed light, lasers and radiofrequency devices for facial rejuvenation, and explained the medical literature reviews of how these medical devices can be used to enhance our rejuvenation techniques.
World Perspective on Melasma & Melasma Management
Next, we were treated to a World Perspective on Melasma and Melasma Management, a condition very common in this part of the world and for which there are a myriad of treatment options available. The basic understanding of melasma was reviewed by Evangeline Handog (Philippines), and the scientific basis for the use of medical devices was reviewed by Gary Brauner. Kei Negishi (Japan) shared her experiences with lasers and light sources with the audience, having been one of the pioneers in the use of these devices in this region and in the world. Combination therapies seemed to be the most common theme in the discussions, combining an appropriate topical therapy with a surgical modality, whether it is a chemical peel, a laser or a light source. The theme repeated itself as we had experts from the Middle East (Marina Landau), South America (Doris Hexsel), China (Yuanhong Li), Indonesia (Lis Surachmiati Suseno), Italy (Daniel Cassuto), Thailand (Dr. Penpun Wattanakrai), India (Thurakkal Salim), Japan (Kei Negishi), Korea (Choi Chun Pil) and the USA (Michael Gold).
After an exciting first day, delegates and their guests were treated to a wonderful dinner cruise on the Chaoprhraya River where the sights of Bangkok were visible for all to see, including the Royal Palace, an amazing conglomeration of buildings full of color, glitz and beauty.
Pearls in Dermatology Surgery & Global State of the Art specialties
For those interested in learning Pearls in Dermatology Surgery, the next two mornings were set for Lawrence Field to demonstrate his skills, to lecture about his years in dermatology and, more importantly, his numerous contributions to the field that have opened doors for many of those in attendance. Some of the masters in technology, including Emily Piansay-Soriano, Michael Gold and Neil Sadick, then demonstrated the hows and whys of lasers, light sources and radiofrequency devices utilized in dermatology. Next – a tradition of ISDS meetings – the Global State of the Art Lectures began, with numerous members of the faculty teaching their specialties, including Yuanhong Li describing her successes with intense pulsed light photorejuvenation and fractionated devices, Daniel Cassuto demonstrating how to effectively use lasers and light sources in skin of color, followed by new techniques in fractional lasers by Neil Sadick and Wichai Hongcharu (Thailand). Cellulite therapy was reviewed by Doris Hexsel, including the different medical devices, as well as the technique of subcision, made famous by Hexsel. Hair transplantation surgery was reviewed by Damkerng Pathomvanich, dermal fillers by Danny Touma (Lebanon) and volumetric augmentation by Neil Sadick. A lecture on liposuction was given by Gerhard Sattler and photodynamic therapy was reviewed by Michael Gold, including the uses of both aminolevulinate and methylaminolevulinate, where each one of these photosensitizers is best used, and some of the nuances that have been learned over the years in utilizing photodynamic therapy for acne keratoses, photorejuvenation, skin cancers, acne and chemoprevention. Matthias Sandhofer spoke on foam-assisted sclerotherapy and Neil Sadick spoke on new devices to look for in the future.
Current Concepts & New trends: East versus West
The remainder of day two centered on Current Concepts and New trends: East versus West, covering all of the major topics in dermatologic surgery. The interesting trend that emerged was that we are all doing things fairly similarly, whether it be for the treatment of facial rejuvenation – as witnessed by our Congress President Suwanchinda lecturing to the group on the use of all of the current modalities in her state of the art clinic and how she approached various patients who are looking for facial rejuvenation – or regarding skin tightening and body contouring, botulinum toxin use, dermal filler use or chemical peels. East has certainly met West, and our Eastern colleagues are shining through.
Learn from the Experts: videos on how they do it
A series of free communications again showcased the incredible talent that exists amongst young dermatologic surgeons, and we at the ISDS want to thank these gifted individuals and their university programs for sending them to the ISDS and helping them gain valuable experience in the dermatology arena.
That night, we had our Gala dinner – a Thai treat followed by a magical show of traditional Thai dances. Everyone truly enjoyed the food and the entertainment, all arranged by Suwanchinda and her Bangkok team.
Day three began with a fascinating morning of video presentations from experts in all facets of dermatologic surgery, and everyone enjoyed watching the varied techniques and the discussions that followed.
The 2nd Annual Spring Meeting of the ISDS in Bangkok, Thailand followed an incredible meeting the year before in Boracay, Philippines. Many of us thought that meeting could never be duplicated, but the Thais, led by Suwanchinda and her group, showed us that these Spring Meetings are a vital part of the ISDS and something we will look forward to for many years in great countries around the world.
30th Annual ISDS Meeting
Please join us as we celebrate the 30th Annual Meeting of the ISDS in Vienna, Austria, 5–8 November 2009 at the Hilton Vienna Hotel Citation[1], where you will be able to learn from the experts, make new friends, renew old friendships and experience the beauty of Vienna.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
Michael Gold is the Vice President of the International Society of Dermatologic Surgery. The author has no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.
Reference
Website
- International Society for Dermatologic Surgery 30th Annual Meeting www.isdsworld.com