BIOS, IFSO APC VIRTUAL CONGRESS

BIOS
Friday, November 27, 2020 | Day 1

HISTORY AND FUTURE OF IFSO AND IFSO APC

Kazunori Kasama (Japan)
Director, Weight Loss and Metabolic Surgery center, Yotsuya Medical Cube.
Graduated from Gunma University, School of Medicine
Director, Weight Loss and Metabolic Surgery center, Yotsuya Medical Cube.
Clinical Professor of Oita University, school of medicine, Department of Surgery.
President of International Federation of Surgery for Obesity and metabolic disorder: Asian Pacific Chapter. (IFSO-APC).
Immediate Past President of Asia Pacific Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Society (APMBSS). Executive Board of IFSO Fellow of American College of Surgeon (FACS), Honorary Member of Venezuelan Society of Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery, Honorary Member of Indonesian Society of Endoscopic Surgery Honorary Member of Chinese Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Executive board of Japan Society of Treatment for Obesity Executive board of Japan Society of Endoscopic Surgery (JSES)
Chair of International affair committee of JSES Board member of International Bariatric Club (IBC).

Lilian Kow (Australia)
Prof. Lilian Kow is current President of IFSO, Senior Past President of IFSO Asia Pacific Chapter and Senior Past President of the Obesity Surgical Society of Australia and New Zealand (OSSANZ).
Prof. Kow is a senior consultant surgeon at Flinders Medical Centre and Clinical Associate Professor at Flinders University of South Australia. She has been involved in training surgeons in bariatric surgery nationally and internationally. Over the years, Prof. Kow has visited many bariatric clinics around the world and is of the firm belief that bariatric surgery works better with an effective support program. She has been at the forefront along with her colleagues at the Adelaide Bariatric Centre in developing a very effective multidisciplinary program for supporting our patients in their weight loss journey. The program in Adelaide was one of the initial ones adopted in Australia and internationally and the first to be used in South Australia.

Harry Frydenberg (Australia)
Dr. Harry Frydenberg AM, Surgeon, Director of the Epworth Centre for Bariatric Surgery in Melbourne, Australia, is a highly experienced general surgeon who has been involved in Bariatric (Obesity) Surgery in Australia for more than 30 years. He performs a wide range of Bariatric Surgical procedures including Gastric Banding, Roux-en-Y and One Anastomosis Gastric Bypass and Sleeve Gastrectomy.
He was involved in the early organization of Bariatric Surgeons in Australia (OSSANZ/ANZMOSS) and is Founding President and Honorary Life Member of IFSO APC. He is also a Past President and Life Member of the IFSO (International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders).

PROMISING TECHNOLOGIES: EAST AND WEST

Natan Zundel (USA)
Dr. Zundel is a Clinical Professor of Surgery and serves as the Vice-Chairman of the Department of Surgery at FIU, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine in Florida. Dr. Zundel has extensive experience with Minimally Invasive and bariatric surgical procedures. He is an active member of the following societies, serving on various committees and executive boards: ACS, ASMBS, SAGES, IFSO, IFSES, FELAC, ABE, ASGE, ALACE of which he was also a former President. Dr. Zundel has served as a Founder, Active or/and Honorary member of Surgical, Laparoscopic and/or Bariatric Societies in 41 Countries around the world. He was the President of several international surgical societies and meetings, including the World Congress of Endoscopic Surgery (2012), International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and metabolic disorders (IFSO) (2015-2016), the Latin-American chapter of IFSO (2013-2015), and the VI IFSO LAC Congress in Los Cabos, Mexico, (July 8-11,2015). He currently serves as the Secretary/ Treasurer for the ACS South Florida Chapter. Dr. Zundel was awarded the academic rank of Professor of Surgery at various universities in 4 different Countries.

Simon Wong (Hong Kong)
Dr. Simon Wong is the president-elect of Asia-Pacific Metabolic & Bariatric Surgical Society (APMBSS). He is also the chairman of the Hong Kong Society of Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (HKSMBS), and treasurer of the Hong Kong Association of Study of Obesity (HKASO). He represents Hong Kong at the International Federation of Surgery of Obesity (IFSO) and its Asia-Pacific Chapter. Since 2008, Dr. Wong has been the consultant surgeon in the Upper Gastrointestinal & Metabolic Surgery Division at the Prince of Wales Hospital. He was also appointed as the Honorary Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Dr. Wong’s main clinical and research interests are in the field of bariatric surgery, minimal invasive upper gastrointestinal surgery, and advanced therapeutic endoscopy.

Matthew Kroh (UAE)
Matthew Kroh, MD, FACS, is the Director of Surgical Endoscopy in the Digestive Disease and Surgery Institute at Cleveland Clinic. He is the Program Director for the Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery and Flexible Surgical Endoscopy Fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Kroh also holds positions with the Bariatric and Metabolic Institute and the Center for Surgical Innovation, Technology, and Education, located at the Cleveland Clinic main campus. He is the Surgery Clerkship Director in the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and he is currently the Director for the Center of Advanced Skills Training (CAST). He is Associate Professor of Surgery in the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. He is licensed by the State Medical Board of Ohio and board-certified by the American Board of Surgery. His specialty interests include advanced laparoscopic surgery, bariatric surgery, gastrointestinal surgery, surgical endoscopy, single incision laparoscopic surgery, and robotic surgery.
After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Boston College and Master’s degree from Boston University, Dr. Kroh received his medical degree from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine of New York University.
His professional memberships include the American College of Surgeons, the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons, the Association of Surgical Educators, American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopists, and the Central Surgical Association.

Manoel Galvao Neto (Brazil)
Dr. Galvão Neto graduated in Medicine in Escola Bahiana de Medicina e Saúde Pública in 1989. After completing the Medical Residency Program in Hospital 9 de Julho, São Paulo, which took 3 years to complete, he returned to Bahia to take the position of invited teacher of the surgical technique discipline in Escola Bahiana between 1993 to 1998, being effective as coordinator of the researches core in experimental surgery and assistant professor in 1998, remaining there until 2000. During this period, he developed a model of laparoscopic surgery with rats, using conventional equipment, focused in graduation students, training four classes composed by 200 students of the Medicine school. This training model was exported to other Brazilian colleges, including Santa Casa of São Paulo, where he was adopted on the curriculum of the Gynecology discipline for graduation and post-graduation. At the public service between 1993 to 2000, he was the preceptor responsible for the accreditation of the general surgery residency in Cleriston Andrade hospital, in Feira de Santana, Bahia (MEC, decree 19-95 / process 004399/95), and he occupied, yet, the general manager function during 1996 and 1997. In the period between 1999 to 2000, he acted on the Hospital São Rafael as an assistant doctor, preceptor and responsible for the installation and posterior training of the esophageal manometry team, of the hospital’s surgeries service. In 2001, he returned to São Paulo, where he started the activities as coordinator of the esophagus functional analysis’ services of the America Diagnoses laboratory and, in parallel , he developed a research and consulting activity alongside Alacer Biomedica® company, which resulted on the development of the national equipment for PHmetry and esophageal manometry, which are the current leaders of the sector, and to capacitate the market, he developed a training model in advanced interactive basis, which already trained more than 500 doctors around the country until now. In 2002, he founded the clinic Gastro Obeso Center alongside Drs. Almino Ramos and Manoela Galvão, being the scientific coordinator and responsible for the development of processes and training since its opening. This is probably the most succeeded case in bariatric surgery in Latin America, performing more than 6.000 obesity surgical procedures (92% of them performed by laparoscopy or endoscopy) since the beginning of his activities. In this area, he developed the training model for the bariatric laparoscopic surgery and multi-disciplinary teams in a partnership with Ethicon Endo-Surgery® company, and trained, until now, more than 200 surgeons and 100members of multi-disciplinary teams in all Latin America, Portugal, Spain, Japan and India. During this period, he also was the pioneer in Brazil, performing procedures with endoscopic capsules in the small intestine in 2001, in the esophagus in 2006 and in the colon in 2007.

Jerome Dargent (France)
Private practice since 1991 in Polyclinique Lyon-Nord, France. General surgery, Obesity surgery and laparoscopic surgery, minimally invasive bariatric techniques.
President of the French Society for Obesity Surgery (SOFFCO) 2017-2019.
Associate member of the French National Academy of Surgery (2019).
Member of the Editorial Board of Obesity Surgery Journal since 1999, Associate Editor since 2007; Editor in chief of the French journal “Obésité”.
Representative for France at the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity (IFSO) 1997-2019.
Past President of the IFSO-European Chapter (2006-2009)
Chairman of IFSO New Technologies Committee (2014-2017)

COVID-19 AND BARIATRIC AND METABOLIC SURGERY

Wei Jei Lee (Taiwan, China)
Chair of IFSO APC Scientific Committee.
Former President of IFSO APC.
Professor Lee was trained as a gastro-intestinal surgeon in Taiwan. However, he not only dedicated his time to clinical service but also continuously looked at developing innovative surgical techniques and performed multiple clinical studies. Since 1990 he has moved conventional gastric surgery into the era of laparoscopic surgery. He later developed laparoscopic bariatric surgery for the treatment of severe obesity in Asia in 1997, helping thousands of the Asians with obesity thereafter. He innovated in the surgical treatment of diabetes using laparoscopic gastro-intestinal or metabolic surgery in 2005. Through his effort, this innovation will in turn help millions of diabetic patients worldwide. He is one of the expert committee in IDF 2012 statement about diabetes surgery.

Cunchuan Wang (China)
President Elect IFSO APC
Professor Wang is a pioneer of laparoscopic surgery in China. He started performing metabolic and bariatric surgery in China in 2000, becoming the first surgeon to perform the laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) in mainland China. Additionally, Professor Wang performed a LRYGB on a male with a BMI of 99 who was at the time considered as the man with highest BMI in China. Professor Wang initiated the founding of the Chinese Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (CSMBS) in 2012 with experts from Shenyang and Shanghai. He is currently the President of the CSMBS, Vice-President of the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, and Director of the Department of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (International Bariatric Center). He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the first Chinese journal pertaining to the clinical and basic research of metabolic and bariatric surgery named the Chinese Journal of Obesity and Metabolic Diseases and the Editor-in-Chief of the first Chinese textbook on bariatric surgery named Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery.

Ahmad Aly (Australia)
Dr. Ahmad Aly, MB.BS, FRACS, MS, is a General Surgeon and Specialist Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeon. He trained at the Austin Hospital, Melbourne, and completed subspecialist fellowships in Adelaide and the U.K, gaining expertise in the full spectrum of upper gastrointestinal surgeon before returning to Melbourne in 2005. He is the Head of Upper GI Surgery at The Austin Hospital, a senior lecturer and researcher with Melbourne University. He is Past President of OSSANZ and also a board member of ANZGOSA. He is extensively well published at an international level. He also presents at conferences locally and internationally. On a local scene, he and his practice at “Advanced Surgical” conduct “Master Classes” for aspiring surgeons developing subspecialty practice

Wah Yang (China)
Dr. Wah Yang is currently a surgical specialist in the Department of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China, which is one of the largest bariatric centres in China. He trained as a laparoscopic general and bariatric surgeon under the supervision of Prof. Cunchuan Wang, a pioneer of laparoscopic surgery in China and the current President of Chinese Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (CSMBS). Dr. Yang is also currently undertaking a PhD at the State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong. He has authored articles in peer-reviewed journals both in general surgery and bariatric surgery as well as written book chapters in obesity surgery, laparoscopic surgery and thyroid surgery. He has been invited to present, moderate and do live surgery demonstrations at national and international conferences. He organised the 24th IBC Symposium that was held at the CSMBS Annual Congress in Guanghzhou, China on September 15th, 2017, the first IBC event in China. He also has patents of medical equipment which is widely applied in clinical practice.

Chih Kun Huang (Taiwan, China)
Dr. Huang, Chih-Kun is the director of B.M.I Surgery center and also International Minimally Invasive Surgery Training Center of E-Da hospital in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. He is also the president of Taiwan Obesity Support Association (T.O.S.A) and also the founding Chairman of International Excellence Federation for Bariatric & Metabolic Surgery (I.E.F). Dr Huang has been devoted to minimally invasive surgery and bariatric surgery for 10 years. And he finished 1st single incision trans-umbilical laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass in 2008 and 1st laparoscopic adjustable gastric banded plication in 2009 in the world. His center was also designated as 1st International Center of Excellence for Bariatric Surgery (I.C.E) in Asia-Pacific area in 2009. Because of the contribution and devotion, he was awarded of Endos Award in Medical Science & Technology in 2010 and International Award of ASMBS in 2011. He is also the founding Chairman of International Excellence Federation for Bariatric & Metabolic Surgery.

John Dixon (Australia)
Head of Clinical Obesity Research at Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne Australia.
Chair of IFSO APC I.H. Committee.
Member of the IFSO Registry Committee.
Adjunct Professor, School of Primary Health Care, Monash University, Melbourne.
Adjunct Professor, Iverson Health Innovations Institute, Swinburne University, Melbourne.
An experienced clinician, he is known globally for his breadth of clinical research into obesity and its comorbid conditions as well as weight loss treatments and their effects on health. He rates in the top researchers worldwide in the fields of obesity; weight loss; morbid obesity; and bariatric surgery (expertscape.com) and has over 250 original research, review and guideline publications. Prof. Dixon is focused on seeing findings translated into clinical practice and on patient advocacy for the obese. Involved in a wide range of organizations here and internationally, he is Co Editor in Chief of Current Obesity Reports, an Associate Editor of Clinical Obesity, Obesity Surgery and SOARD, and is on 4 other editorial boards.

BARIATRIC ENDOSCOPY: IS ASIA READY?

Asim Shabbir (Singapore)
Secretary of IFSO APC.
Prof Asim Shabbir is a Senior Consultant with the Division of General Surgery (Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery) at the National University Hospital, Singapore. He is also Chief of General Surgical Services at Alexandra Hospital. He completed his basic and advance surgical training at NUH, Singapore. He was awarded fellowships from Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and was accredited a surgical specialist by the Specialist accreditation board in 2007. In 2009, he did a clinical fellowship on Gastric cancer management with special interest in laparoscopic surgery for gastric cancer at the Seoul National University Hospital, South Korean. In 2010, he trained at Eda Hospital, I Shou University Kaohsiung, Taiwan in Bariatric and Metabolic surgery and was awarded as Fellowship.
Prof Asim’s specialty is general surgery and his special interests are upper gastrointestinal surgery, bariatric & metabolic surgery, advance endoscopy and laparoscopic surgery. He has been active in international as well as local meeting of his interest. His research interest includes obesity, surgery for type 2 diabetes and gastric cancer. He won the Best free paper award for his presentation “Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass for the Treatment of Type II Diabetes Mellitus in Chinese Patients with Body 25-35kg/m2at Asia Pacific metabolic bariatric surgical society meeting 2010. He has published in reputed journals in his field of interest.

Ken Loi (Australia)
Dr Ken Loi is a specialist Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeon with appointment at St George Public and Private Hospital, Kareena Private and Sutherland Public Hospital. He has performed more than three thousand advance laparoscopic surgery include primary and revisional bariatric operations. He has studied extensively about Bariatric surgery since 2002 and advance his experience from USA and Australia. Currently he hold position as Honorary Treasurer of OSSANZ (Obesity Surgery Society of Australia and New Zealand) and also in Education and Training position in IFSO – International Federation of Obesity Society (Asian-Pacific chapter). Has also has numerous publications and been invited speaker for local and international meetings.
Since 2003 Dr Ken Loi has been involved in setting up Multi-disciplinary surgical weight loss program in St George Private Hospital and also from 2009 in Sutherland Public hospital for (SESAHS – South-Eastern Sydney Area Health Service). He has performed thousands of Bariatric operation with good result and minimal complications. Currently he holds the advisory role with DoHA (Department of Health and Ageing) in facilitating new Bariatric surgery item number classification and NCCC (National Case-mix Classification Centre) in funding for bariatric surgery. Besides bariatric surgery, Dr Ken Loi also has extensive experience in Advance Upper Gastrointestinal Laparoscopic surgery include hernia surgery and oncology surgery and also Endoscopy.

Mohit Bhandari (India)
Bariatric, Metabolic and Robotic Surgeon. He is known for his work in laparoscopic and robot-assisted surgery. He was one of the first to perform robotic bariatric surgery in India, & first in India to perform Single Anastomosis Duodenal-Ileal Switch.
Founder Director, Mohak Bariatrics and Robotics, Indore (India).
Director, Bhandari Hospital and Research Centre, Indore (India)

BIOS
Saturday, November 28, 2020 | Day 2

REVISIONAL SURGERY AND WEIGHT REGAIN

Thejana Weijeratne (Sri Lanka)
Dr Thejana Wijeratne is a board certified General Surgeon with special interest in Upper Gastro-Intestinal, Pancreatico-Billiary and Laparoscopic Surgery who has had advanced training in two high volume upper GI and Bariatric surgical centers in Australia including a Surgical Fellow post in the above field for one year. Since returning back to Sri Lanka he has established Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery with the help of a multi-disciplinary team of highly capable and committed specialists relevant to the field over last 8 years. He has been involved in many research and scientific work in the field of bariatric surgery and several papers and presentations have been done locally and internationally based on the follow up data of patients operated by his team. He has conducted several live operating workshops and symposia to enhance the knowledge of these operations among health care specialists in Sri Lanka. He is a member of the IFSO (International Federation for Surgery for Obesity) and also a member of several regional associations on deciding on guidelines for the region on management of obesity. Dr. Wijeratne has been invited to several scientific meetings both locally and Internationally to speak on Bariatric Surgery related topics and have been awarded an Oration on the same. He will be the President of the IFSO APC Meeting in 2021 in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Edward Oliveros (Philippines)
Dr. Edward Oliveros is a Minimally Invasive and Robotic Surgeon, specializing in Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery. He was part of a team who performed the first Bariatric Surgery for Morbid Obesity in 2002 at St. Luke’s Medical Center, Quezon City, Philippines. He has a dedicated practice in the treatment and the surgical management of obesity. He is also involved in research and education in minimally invasive surgery and bariatric and metabolic surgery.
He is President of the Philippines Society for bariatric surgery.

Suthep Udomsawaengsup (Thailand)
Associate Professor of Surgery, Co-director: Chula Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship Training Program, Chula Minimally Invasive Surgery center.
Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University,Bangkok, Thailand.
Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery (Lap Banding, Lap RYGB, Sleeve gastrectomy,Gastric Plication and Redo bariatric surgery). Laparoscopic Hernia Surgery (inguinal, incisional, parastomal Hernia).
Laparoscopic Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery (Fundoplication, Heller myotomy, Gastrectomy).
Endoscopic Surgery (Varieties of Feeding Access).
Intraluminal surgery (Combine Endoscopic Laparoscopic Intragastric tumor resection)
Minimally Invasive Thyroid Surgery (Endoscopic Thyroidectomy).
Robotic Surgery (Upper GI, Robotic Thyroidectomy).

Muffazal Lakdawala (India)
Dr. Muffazal Lakdawala is Founder of the Digestive Health Institute in Mumbai, which is the first Indian Centre for Excellence in Bariatric Surgery. He is the Chairman of Institute of Minimal Invasive Surgical Sciences & Research Centre, Saifee Hospital, Mumbai.
He is immediate Past President of IFSO- Asia Pacific chapter.
Dr Lakdawala has conducted numerous surgeries, in India, and abroad; a trained laparoscopic surgeon, he specializes in Bariatric surgery and GI oncology surgery. He is known internationally for his pioneering work in the field of scarless bariatric surgery and is a keen researcher in the field of diabetes surgery. He is very committed to mentoring and training younger surgeons and is a Professor at the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences. He regularly runs live surgery workshops and has been invited to conduct teaching workshops in almost every Asian country like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Bangladesh, China, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Middle East. He is a TEDX Speaker and his talk on the dangers of sugar in 2016 was very well-received.

John Dixon (Australia)
Head of Clinical Obesity Research at Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne Australia.
Chair of IFSO APC I.H. Committee. Member of the IFSO Registry Committee.
Adjunct Professor, School of Primary Health Care, Monash University, Melbourne.
Adjunct Professor, Iverson Health Innovations Institute, Swinburne University, Melbourne
An experienced clinician, he is known globally for his breadth of clinical research into obesity and its comorbid conditions as well as weight loss treatments and their effects on health. He rates in the top researchers worldwide in the fields of obesity; weight loss; morbid obesity; and bariatric surgery (expertscape.com) and has over 250 original research, review and guideline publications.
Prof. Dixon is focused on seeing findings translated into clinical practice and on patient advocacy for the obese. Involved in a wide range of organizations here and internationally, he is Co Editor in Chief of Current Obesity Reports, an Associate Editor of Clinical Obesity, Obesity Surgery and SOARD, and is on 4 other editorial boards.

EAST MEETS WEST IN BARIATRIC METABOLIC SURGERY

Muffazal Lakdawala (India)
Dr. Muffazal Lakdawala is Founder of the Digestive Health Institute in Mumbai, which is the first Indian Centre for Excellence in Bariatric Surgery. He is the Chairman of Institute of Minimal Invasive Surgical Sciences & Research Centre, Saifee Hospital, Mumbai.
He is the immediate Past President of IFSO- Asia Pacific chapter.
Dr Lakdawala has conducted numerous surgeries, in India, and abroad; a trained laparoscopic surgeon, he specializes in Bariatric surgery and GI oncology surgery. He is known internationally for his pioneering work in the field of scarless bariatric surgery and is a keen researcher in the field of diabetes surgery. He is very committed to mentoring and training younger surgeons and is a Professor at the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences. He regularly runs live surgery workshops and has been invited to conduct teaching workshops in almost every Asian country like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Bangladesh, China, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Middle East. He is a TEDX Speaker, as well and his talk on the dangers of sugar in 2016 was very well-received.

Peng Zhang (China)
Professor and Vice Chair of Surgery.
Director, Center for Medical Research and Innovation Fudan University Pudong Medical Center, China
Center for Medical Research and Innovation Shanghai, China.
Peng Zhang was born in Xian, China, on October 20, 1972. He received the M.D. degree and diploma from the Xi’an Jiaotong University College of Medicine, Xi’an, China, in 1994, and the Ph.D. degree in surgery from the Fudan University College of Medicine, Shanghai, China, in 1999.,He was a Postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Surgery at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA, from 1999 to 2001 and in the Department of Surgery at the University of California at San Francisco, CA, USA, from 2001 to 2002. He is currently a Professor and a Vice Chair of Surgery, the Founding Director of the Center for Medical Research and Innovation at Shanghai Pudong Hospital and Fudan University Pudong Medical Center, Shanghai. Besides his clinical practice in bariatric surgery, his research interests include etiology, mechanism, diagnosis, and innovative treatment of diabetes and obesity.

MAL Fobi (USA)
Internationally acclaimed bariatric surgeon- Dr. Mathias A. Fobi, also known as Hollywood’s weight loss surgeon has made thousands of heavy-weights leaner and fitter. His patented inventions and procedures are helping surgeons across the globe. Dr. Fobi is credited with 20 research projects on Surgical Treatment of Obesity and outcomes. He has made more than 450 presentations and lectures on Local, National and International platforms. Dr. Fobi has contributed over 40 publications on Obesity and Bariatric Surgery. He served as the President of The International Federation for Surgery of Obesity (2008-09), of the California Chapter of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery & The American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Foundation (2006- 08). His signature surgery, “The Fobi Pouch,” is a version of the stomach-shrinking gastric bypass and it is now used around the world for the treatment of obesity.

Pradeep Chowbey (India)
Past President of IFSO.
Dr. Pradeep Chowbey belongs to the cadre of the pioneer laparoscopic surgeons in India. He has graphed his career with singular determination to develop, evaluate and propagate Minimal Access, Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery in India. The advent of Laparoscopic surgery with his hands became a point in India’s medical history. He established the Minimal Access and Bariatric Surgery Centre, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi in 1996, which was the first of its kind in the Asian subcontinent. At present, he is the Chairman, Max Institute of Minimal Access, Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery, Max Hospital Saket, Delhi.

Chun Hai Tan (Singapore)
Dr Tan Chun Hai is a Consultant with the Department of General Surgery in Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. After graduating from the University of Melbourne, he completed his Basic and Advanced Surgical training in Singapore. He was conferred fellowship in the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh in 2015 and accredited by Specialist Accreditation Board in Singapore as Specialist Surgeon in the same year. In 2016, he was awarded Health Manpower Development Plan by Singapore Ministry of Health to advance his training. He has completed fellowship in Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery in Asia-Pacific Endoscopic Bariatric Surgical Centre in Taiwan, followed by advanced training in Minimally Invasive Surgery, Gastrointestinal Division in Seoul National University Bundang Hospital under world renowned surgeon Professor Hyung-Ho Kim in subspecialty Minimally Invasive Gastric Cancer surgery. His research interest is in Bariatric and Metabolic surgery, Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery, Advanced endoscopic and laparoscopic surgery. His presentation paper titled “Results and long term outcomes of resolution of NASH post bariatric surgery” won Best Free paper in 2016 Asia Pacific Metabolic and Bariatric Surgical Society conference. At the same conference his video presentation titled “Revision surgery for weight regain post banded vertical band gastroplasty” won him Best Video presentation. Dr Tan Chun Hai article review on “A safe and efficacious alternative to roux-en-y gastric bypass for the treatment of morbid obesity and type 2 diabetes – one anastomosis / mini gastric bypass” was published in Journal of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

Wei Jei Lee (Taiwan, China)
Chair of the IFSO APC Scientific Committee. Former President of IFSO APC.
Professor Lee was trained as a gastro-intestinal surgeon in Taiwan. However, he not only dedicated his time to clinical service but also continuously looked at developing innovative surgical techniques and performed multiple clinical studies. Since 1990 he has moved conventional gastric surgery into the era of laparoscopic surgery. He later developed laparoscopic bariatric surgery for the treatment of severe obesity in Asia in 1997, helping thousands of the Asians with obesity thereafter. He innovated in the surgical treatment of diabetes using laparoscopic gastro-intestinal or metabolic surgery in 2005. Through his effort, this innovation will in turn help millions of diabetic patients worldwide. He is one of the expert committee in IDF 2012 statement about diabetes surgery.

NUTRITIONAL AND SURGICAL COMPLICATIONS

Ken Loi (Australia)
Current Treasurer of IFSO APC.
Dr Ken Loi is a specialist Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeon with appointment at St George Public and Private Hospital, Kareena Private and Sutherland Public Hospital. He has performed more than three thousand advanced laparoscopic surgery, including primary and revisional bariatric operations. He has studied extensively about Bariatric surgery since 2002 and advance his experience from USA and Australia. Currently he holds the position as Honorary Treasurer of OSSANZ (Obesity Surgery Society of Australia and New Zealand) and also in Education and Training position in IFSO – International Federation of Obesity Society (Asian-Pacific chapter). Has also has numerous publications and been invited speaker for local and international meetings.
Since 2003 Dr Ken Loi has been involved in setting up Multi-displinary surgical weight loss program in St George Private Hospital and also from 2009 in Sutherland Public hospital for (SESAHS – South-Eastern Sydney Area Health Service). He has performed thousands of Bariatric operations with good result and minimal complications. Currently he holds the advisory role with DoHA (Department of Health and Ageing) in facilitating new Bariatric surgery item number classification and NCCC (National Case-mix Classification Centre) in funding for bariatric surgery. Besides bariatric surgery, Dr Ken Loi also has extensive experience in Advance Upper Gastrointestinal Laparoscopic surgery include hernia surgery and oncology surgery and also Endoscopy.

John Dixon (Australia)
Head of Clinical Obesity Research at Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne Australia.
Chair of IFSO APC I.H. Committee
Member of the IFSO Registry Committee.
Adjunct Professor, School of Primary Health Care, Monash University, Melbourne.
Adjunct Professor, Iverson Health Innovations Institute, Swinburne University, Melbourne
An experienced clinician, he is known globally for his breadth of clinical research into obesity and its comorbid conditions as well as weight loss treatments and their effects on health. He rates in the top researchers worldwide in the fields of obesity; weight loss; morbid obesity; and bariatric surgery (expertscape.com) and has over 250 original research, review and guideline publications.
Prof. Dixon is focused on seeing findings translated into clinical practice and on patient advocacy for the obese. Involved in a wide range of organizations here and internationally, he is Co Editor in Chief of Current Obesity Reports, an Associate Editor of Clinical Obesity, Obesity Surgery and SOARD, and is on 4 other editorial boards.

Soo Min Ahn (South Korea)
Diabetes Surgery & Metabolic Surgery Center, Pediatric Specialized Center, Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, Anyang, Korea, Division of Pediatric Surgery, Pediatric Specialized Center, Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital Vice President, Korean Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Faculty member, International Pediatric Endosurgery Group Director of Insurance policy committee, Korean Association of Pediatric Surgeons

Carlyne Remedios (India)
Ms. Carlyne Remedios is a Dietitian/Nutritionist in Worli, Mumbai and has an experience of 12 years in this field. Ms. Carlyne Remedios practices at Dr Muffi’s Digestive Health Institute in Worli, Mumbai. She completed Master in Dietics from Deakin University in 2008.
Senior Nutritionist at CODS India Pvt Ltd. Masters at Deakin University in Australia in Clinical Dietetics. Specialising in Nutrition/Diet for Obese/Overweight and Post Bariatric Surgery patients. Accredited Practising Dietician from Dietician Association of Australia Certified Sports Nutritionist

Stephanie Gilroy (Australia)
Stephanie is a consultant Dietitian and Owner Director of her nutrition consultancy business Nurture Nourish Thrive. Stephanie has worked across many health care settings in the UK and Australia. She has a strong interest in translating the complexities of the science of nutrition to suit individual lifestyles. She believes in a functional approach to healthy eating and empowering clients to make life long healthy choices to help achieve their goals and health potential.
Education details
• BSc (Hons) Nutrition and Dietetics
• Honorary Clinical Lecturer Macquarie University
• Accredited Practising Dietitian
• Accredited Nutritionist

Kwang Wei Tham (Singapore)

Dr. Kwang-Wei Tham is a Senior Consultant Endocrinologist from Singapore who graduated from the National University of Ireland and completed her Residency in Internal Medicine and Fellowship in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the Cleveland Clinic, USA.

She is the current President of the Singapore Association for the Study of Obesity (SASO), the Secretary of the Asia- Oceania Association for the Study of Obesity (AOASO), and the Co-Chair of the Integrated Health Committee, IFSO-APC. She was also part of the workgroup with the 2016 Ministry of Health Clinical Practice Guidelines on Obesity in Singapore.

Having established the Obesity and Metabolic Unit at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH), she has accumulated a great wealth and breadth of experience in establishing inter-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary care in obesity management and was the past Director of LIFE Centre in SGH, which she helped to establish. Her main interests are in clinical interventions in obesity management, the medical outcomes and complications related to bariatric surgery, having been involved in large clinical interventional trials in obesity management in Singapore.

As part of her clinical duties, she has been actively involved in medical education in obesity in Singapore over the years. Some of her education commitments involve being a member of the national Specialist Training Committee and Residency Advisory Committee in Endocrinology under the Ministry of Health, Singapore, from 2009 – 2015.

VIDEOS ON SURGICAL COMPLICATIONS

Ken Loi (Australia)
Treasurer of IFSO APC.
Dr Ken Loi is a specialist Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeon with appointment at St George Public and Private Hospital, Kareena Private and Sutherland Public Hospital. He has performed more than three thousand advanced laparoscopic surgery include primary and revisional bariatric operations. He has studied extensively about Bariatric surgery since 2002 and advance his experience from USA and Australia. Currently he holds position as Honorary Treasurer of OSSANZ (Obesity Surgery Society of Australia and New Zealand) and also in Education and Training position in IFSO – International Federation of Obesity Society (Asian-Pacific chapter). Has also has numerous publications and been invited speaker for local and international meetings.
Since 2003 Dr Ken Loi has been involved in setting up Multi-displinary surgical weight loss program in St George Private Hospital and also from 2009 in Sutherland Public hospital for (SESAHS – South-Eastern Sydney Area Health Service). He has performed thousands of Bariatric operations with good result and minimal complications. Currently he holds the advisory role with DoHA (Department of Health and Ageing) in facilitating new Bariatric surgery item number classification and NCCC (National Case-mix Classification Centre) in funding for bariatric surgery. Besides bariatric surgery, Dr Ken Loi also has extensive experience in Advance Upper Gastrointestinal Laparoscopic surgery include hernia surgery and oncology surgery and also Endoscopy.

Mohammad Talebpour (Iran)
Dr. Mohammad Talebpour was born at Tehran, Iran, 1964. He passed general doctorate and general surgery in Tehran University of Medical science (TUMS) from 1982 to 1993. He has started basic laparoscopy from 1994. He passed active fellowship of advanced laparoscopy at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, UK under supervision of Prof Cuschieri and at IRCAD Center under supervision of Prof Marescaux and Prof Leroy at 1999. He has started advanced laparoscopy from 2000 including bariatric surgery. He introduced gastric plication as the new novel physiologic restrictive bariatric method at 2000 and has the most experience in this field during 18 years with about 2000 cases. He is associate Prof and head of laparoscopic ward in TUMS, Sina Hospital, and Tehran, Iran. He is a member of IFSO, IEF, IAS and Management Committee of Minimally Invasive Surgery Association. He is a delegate of Iranian IFSO branch. He has published 25 papers, presented up to 100 oral lectures and was invited speaker in 18 international meetings

Nik Ritza Kosai (Malaysia)
Associate Professor Dato’ Dr Nik Ritza Kosai Nik Mahmood, graduated for university of St Andrews, Scotland with Bsc Med Sci followed with MBChB from Manchester university. He underwent Basic and higher Specialist Surgical training in the North West of England Deanery rotation leading to FRCS Gen Surgery and CCST. He joined the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in January 2011 and is currently the Head of Upper Gastrointestinal, Metabolic and Bariatric Surgical unit at the Faculty of Medicine. Since commencing his post in 2011, he has established the UGI and Bariatrics unit at Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz , PPUKM making it the country premier and the main referral centre for treatment for Upper Gastrointestinal Cancers and Obesity Disorder. This centre has since performed more than 1500 Bariatric and Metabolic surgeries, the most in Malaysia. He is currently very active in research in particular obesity , Upper GI cancers and helicobacter Pylori including international collaborations. He has published over 100 peer reviewed publications, book chapters, expert opinion catalogues, magazines and newspapers articles. He is currently the examiner for the MRCS (Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh), Conjoint Masters of Surgery and External Examiner at Universiti Sains Malaysia. He Sits in the committee for the Subspeciality Upper GI training in Malaysia and the national Guidelines for Bariatric surgery and the National Obesity Guidelines. He is currently the president of the Malaysian Metabolic and Bariatric Surgical Society, Vice president of Malaysian Upper GI Society and President of Malaysia chapter of IFSO (International Federation of Surgery for Obesity. As being one of the key opinion leaders for his field, he has been invited as a speaker and faculty at numerous national and international conferences and surgical workshops. He has also appeared on numerous occasions on Radio and Televison shows.