August 2016 Leading Cancer Surgeon to Deliver Sir Peter Freyer Memorial Lecture at NUI Galway

NUI Galway will host the 41st Sir Peter Freyer Memorial Lecture and Surgical Symposium, the largest Surgical Conference in Ireland, from 2-3 September.

The annual event provides a platform for healthcare professionals to present their research and clinical work, and allows for the merging of both scientific and clinical information. It is named in memory of the Galway-born surgeon, Sir Peter Freyer, who performed the first successful surgical operation to remove an enlarged prostate in 1900. It comprises multiple research and education sessions across the various surgical subspecialties, two keynote addresses and discussion around the future of Irish Surgery.

Professor Michael Solomon, Consultant Surgeon and Director of Colorectal Research at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, will deliver the Memorial Lecture entitled ‘20 Years of Evolving Pelvic Exenteration’ on Friday, 2 September. Professor Solomon is a past President of the Colorectal Surgical Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSSANZ), and previously the Chairman of the Post-FRACS Training Board in Colorectal Surgery of Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and CSSANZ of which he remained a member for 16 years. He has received an honorary fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland as well as an honorary membership of the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland.  In 2014 Professor Solomon was recently awarded the prestigious RPA Foundation Research Medal, becoming the first Surgeon to be given this honour.

Professor Martin Corbally will deliver the State of the Art Lecture entitled ‘The Surgeon in the Modern World’ on Saturday, 3 September. A graduate of NUI Galway, Professor Corbally is Professor and Head of the Department of Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RSCI) - Medical University of Bahrain, Chief of Staff at King Hamad University Hospital, Kingdom of Bahrain, where he is also a Consultant Paediatric Surgeon.  Having trained in Dublin and London, Professor Corbally has previously worked as Associate Professor and Consultant Paediatric Surgeon in our Lady’s Hospital, Crumlin. He is Founder and Program Director of Operation Childlife, a registered Irish charity that brings paediatric surgical, cardiac, anaesthetic and nursing skills to Vietnam and Tanzania, with the support of the RCSI, the Christina Noble Foundation, Children in Crossfire and Atlantic Philanthropy.

Professor of Surgery at NUI Galway, Michael Kerin, who is hosting the event along with his colleague Professor Oliver McAnena, said: “We are delighted to welcome Professor Solomon and Professor Corbally to our University. They are focused on advancing the most effective techniques in precision surgery, aimed at improving survival and quality of life of the patient.  Their lectures are the pivotal points of a large programme containing some of the best surgical research from this country. In addition, the Conference provides a great opportunity for mentoring and development of trainees, networking and cultivating the future of Irish Surgery.”

For more information visit www.freyer.ie/.

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