Haru Inoue, MD, PhD, performed the world’s first peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) for achalasia 10 years ago, and on Saturday, June 2, he will share his expertise during a SSAT hands-on course at DDW^® 2018.

SSAT will offer two concurrent hands-on courses that day. One will provide a review of POEM and other endoluminal techniques, while the other will focus on transanal excision of tumors of the rectum.

“POEM is still relatively new but is gaining widespread adoption because it has been shown to be a very successful technique,” said Course Director Michael B. Ujiki, MD, a laparoscopic and bariatric surgeon at Northshore Medical Group, Evanston, IL. “Attendees will receive an introduction to the instrumentation and the steps necessary to perform the procedure. This has consistently been one of the more popular hands-on courses because of the success of the procedure.”

In addition to Dr. Inoue, the faculty for the Esophagus & Gastric course includes other POEM early adopters, such as Lee Swanstrom, MD, FACS, of The Oregon Clinic, Portland; Kyle Perry, MD, from Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus; and Eric Pauli, MD, of Penn State Health, Hershey.

“We really have an all-star faculty lined up to teach our POEM session,” Dr. Ujiki said. “You couldn’t ask for more experienced teachers for this technique.”

The course will also feature a new presentation on endoscopic suturing.

“This has become extremely important because it allows us to do several things, like suture stents in place, suture perforations and close mucosal defects,” Dr. Ujiki said. “Most people are looking for an introduction to endoscopic suturing because it has a wide array of applications for those who perform both upper and lower endoscopy.”

The course will also offer an introduction to endoluminal bariatric procedures, including endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty and endoscopic revisional surgery after gastric bypass.

“This will be a popular session because nothing is growing faster than endoscopic bariatric procedures,” Dr. Ujiki said. “This will be an important session for SSAT members because of the high patient demand for endoluminal procedures.”

The other hands-on course, Small Bowel & Colorectal, is being offered for a fourth time at DDW and will focus on transanal endoscopic surgery.

“Transanal excision continues to grow in popularity as we work toward improved organ preservation in rectal cancer,” said Course Director Alessandro Fichera, MD, FACS, professor and division chief of gastrointestinal surgery at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. “This course allows attendees to learn first-hand what can be achieved with transanal techniques and technology.”

Attendees will practice basic principles on bovine intestines and learn more complex techniques with guidance from expert faculty. Instructors will teach techniques in transanal endoscopic microsurgery, transanal endoscopic operation and transanal minimally invasive surgery.

“Our expert faculty will demonstrate techniques and offer tips and tricks not typically found in textbooks or videos,” Dr. Fichera said.

These ticketed CME courses require a separate registration and fee. Visit www.ddw.org or meetings.ssat.com to register.