The society of surgeons of Nepal ( SSN) successfully organized the 13th International conference on 23rd and 24th of December which was attended by more than three hundred national and international delegates.. The Venue of the conference was Park village Hotel and Resort , located at the northern edge of the Kathmandu Valley, just below the subtropical Shivapuri-Nagarjun National Park, overlooking the hustle and bustle of central Kathmandu less than half an hour’s drive from central Kathmandu or the airport.

Surgeons from various subspecialty from all over the country from Jhapa at the east to Dhangadi in far west and the plains of Janakpur to the himalayan region of Jumla attended the conference. International delegates came from several countries including India, China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, USA etc. There were four orations, two on each day with elaborate dissertation by eminent guest from India, China, Japan and Korea. There were 15 sessions with three parallel sessions on three halls each day. Sessions covered Hepatobiliary and pancreas, Upper GI, Lower GI, Urosurgery, Neurosurgery, Cardiac Surgery, Thoracic and Vascular surgery, Plastic surgery etc. Endocrine surgery, Cardiac Surgery, Thoracic and Vascular surgery had their separate sessions for the first time. Though the participation was low in these sessions, we expect more participation in subsequent years as more surgeons get involved in these subspecialties.
There were 47 guest lectures with subjects ranging from Liver transplantation, Oncosurgery to Evidence based medicine and palliative care. There were 56 free papers with 14 award papers and 14 posters presented at the conference. There were three panel discussion of 45 minutes each amongst which two on Management issues of bile duct injury and Renal calculi conducted successfully by the NASG (Nepalese association of surgical gastroenterology) and NAUS (Nepal Association of Urological Surgeons) respectively.
A video session of two hours covered Bariatric surgery, Esophagectomy , Gastrectomy, Colorectal surgery, Pancreatic surgery and endoscopic neurosurgery.

National delegates included Prof.  Rajesh Gangol presenting on Palliative care in Surgery; Prof. U P Devkota on Evidence based Medicine and  Prof. J L Baidya on Stone management a changing pattern in Nepal and man power preparation in Urology. Prof. Gopal Raman Sharma, Prof. Mohan Sharma, Prof. Basant Pant and Dr Amit Thapa presented guest lectures on Neurosurgery. Prof  Shankar Man Rai presented his experience on challenges in management of Burn Patients in Nepal. Prof. Bhagwan Koirala, Dr Mohan  Devbhandari and Dr Rabindra Timala each had guest lectures on Cardiac session where as on Thoracic and Vascular surgery session, Dr Mohan  Devbhandari, Prof Uttam  K Shrestha and Dr Sampurna Tuladhar highlighted on VATS, Vascular emergencies and Lung Cancer.

Asian Clinical Oncology Society (ACOS) Oncology session was conducted under the chairmanship of Prof Han- Kwang Yang General Secretary, ACOS, and Council members, Prof. Y. P. Singh and Dr Prakash Raj Neupane. There were six guest lectures related to oncosurgery by speakers from Japan, USA , Thailand, India and Nepal. Deliberations were on Management of Stage IV gastric cancer, GE Junction tumors, carcinoma gall bladder , Rectal cancer and Breast cancer. Prof. Kazuhira Yoshida General Secretary, ACOS, presented on New strategy of oncosurgical approach on stage IV gastric cancer and a video presentation on VATS esophagectomy. Prof. Kazuhira Yoshikda General secretary of ACOS, presented Late Prof. A K Sharma Oration on “Great milestones and perspectives of ACOS” and Prof. B N Rana Oration was presented by Prof. Han –Kwang Yang on Updates of Gastric cancer treatment. Prof. Han –Kwang Yang gave a guest lecture on Minimal access Gastrectomy and a video presentation on Open, laparoscopic and robotic Gastrectomy. He also chaired a session in GI Surgery. During the ACOS session, Prof. Paleswan Joshi Lakhey and Dr Binay Thakur from Nepal presented guest lecture on Complications of Pancreaticoduodenectomy and Proposed protocol for treatment of resectable cancer of Esophagus and GE Junction in Nepal respectively. Dr. Sukchai Satthaporn from Thailand highlighted on Breast surgery in Thailand while Prof. Thakur DeenYadav from India presented the algorithmic approach to Carcinoma of gall bladder.

The inauguration of the conference was done by the guest of honor Prof. Lok Bikram Thapa on the evening of 23rd December. He is the first President of SSN. Chief guest was Hon. Health Minister Gagan Thapa. He addressed the gathering and highlighted the importance of having regional cooperation for the development of health sector in the country. The inauguration was followed by cultural program by the team from Wunjala Moskva. They performed traditional dances and songs. Traditional dance in Nepal is a religious art form. The dance is a means of realization of higher state of consciousness. They performed Prayer Dance which represents the dance during processions for deities that are taken out on chariots or palanquins during special events. It was followed by Dhinnale Sintan performed during Indra Jatra and is named after the music that is played during this festival and Manjushree Dance which is dedicated to the process of learning by cutting through ignorance with the flaming sword of wisdom. The dance tells the story of the creation of Kathmandu valley. The program was further continued into the night by Surgeons Dr Rupesh Mukhia, Prof Mahesh Khakurel , Dr Arbin Joshi ,Dr Shail Rupakheti and Prasan Bir Kansakar singing and dancing into the night, celebrating the occasion with surgical precision.