Celebrating 50 Years
of World Endoscopy

OMED will host a Celebration of its 50th Anniversary from September 10-14, 2011. The planned event will represent the 50th anniversary of the coming together of a World Group to plan an International Organization of Endoscopy separate from gastroenterology. This was formalized during the WCOG in Munich, Germany in 1962. Much has happened in the field of endoscopy in the past 46 years.

Jerome D. Waye

It is time for endoscopy to emerge officially as a world force in the field of medicine. Endoscopy cuts across the borders of medicine, surgery, pathology, pediatrics, geriatrics, nutrition, and radiology. Endoscopy is the motor that drives gastroenterology and this era of cooperation between surgeons and gastroenterologists is bringing these large specialties into closer relations. Over these 46 years, endoscopy has grown from the passage of rigid tubes into the stomach to an amazing array of instruments, devices, and techniques that allow entry into every orifice and even the peritoneal cavity.

We are standing on the threshold of huge changes in our field, and it is time to show to each other and to the world the tremendous strides that have been made in endoscopy and bring everybody up to date on where we are, where we have been, and where we are going in the future. This celebration, the 2011 International Congress of Endoscopy will be designed to accomplish these goals through the mutual collaboration of all the Societies, medical and surgical, deeply involved in Endoscopy. There will be a strong scientific program providing multiple interactions, involving all constituents of the endoscopic community. The program will include meetings, symposia, state of the art lectures and multiple live sessions from various parts of the world, where there will be telecast advances in endoscopy, advances in surgery, and the state of combined approaches to gastrointestinal diseases.

Jerome D. Waye, MD
President Elect, OMED