Tuesday, March 21. Day 3 of SGS.
It’s Day 3 of the SGS conference! In addition to the academic roundtables, conference attendees had the option of doing early-morning yoga with Dr. Mireille Truong. Yoga sounded nice, but I spent the morning in bed, catching up on sleep. (My own version of wellness!) The scientific sessions of the day started at 7:30 am, and I especially want to highlight the work of Dr. Amy Askew who performed a randomized controlled trial comparing patient removal of urinary catheters placed for postoperative urinary retention to office removal. She found that patient urinary catheter removal was a feasible and safe option with excellent patient satisfaction and a reduction of in-person postoperative office visits. At the end of the session, Dr. Cheryl Iglesia gave her presidential address, where she shared her journey to becoming the physician, educator, researcher, and leader she is today. She emphasized the importance of being a continual learner and to give back by mentoring and educating the next generation. “Learn it, earn it, and return it.”
This was followed by the Te Linde lecture, given by Dr. Pamela Moalli. An exceptional surgeon-scientist, Dr. Moalli shared about her work on the impact of mesh on tissue, as well as alternative biologic options being developed, such as 3D printed membranes, extracellular matrix scaffolds, and living tissue grafts to create new ligamentous supports for the vagina. She discussed novel research using stem cell transplantation to harness the power of regeneration in the urethra or vagina following injury. I think it is safe to say that the entire room was in awe of the work she has done, and what she continues to do to find better therapeutic options for girls and women with pelvic floor disorders. Her talk ended in a standing ovation. Afterwards, all the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center-Magee Womens Hospital trainees, faculty, and several alumni took a picture with Dr. Moalli (fifth from the right in the picture).
Lunch followed, which included a brief walk around the industry exhibition hall. I then returned back to the Tucson Ballroom to listen in on the next scientific session on surgical ergonomics. Organized by Dr. Amy Park who herself suffered from work-related musculoskeletal injuries, the session was composed of an excellent video by Dr. Abby Stork on stretches to prevent and reduce the risk of surgeon-associated musculoskeletal injuries, especially in vaginal surgeons. There was then a panel of 3 experts, Dr. Noor Abu-Alnadi, Dr. Ladin Yurteri-Kaplan, and Dr. Susan Hallbeck (PhD ergonomics expert), moderated by Dr. Amanda Fader and Dr. Kimberly Kho. In particular, Dr. Hallbeck developed a timer app as a reminder for surgeons to stop every 40 minutes to stretch for 1.5 minutes (orstretch.mayoclinic.org). This has been studied and found to reduce musculoskeletal pain after surgery and improve physical performance without increasing total operating time. If you would like to see some of these between- and in-OR stretches yourself, an informative handout can be accessed at mcforms.mayo.edu.
Tuesday afternoon was left open. I joined Dr. Veronica Lerner, Dr. Kelly Wright, and Dr. Louise Perkins King on a 7.5-mile hike into the surrounding desert hills. We marveled at the many Saguaro cacti, some over 100 years old and towering many feet high, as well as the beautiful yellow, purple, and magenta flowers that were scattered among the desert brush. Several rabbits and deer wandered by us during our hike. On one of the trails, the stone skeleton of an old house stood, once a home to the Bowen family who had moved to Arizona for health reasons. I could see why they would want to move here—I felt such a peace looking at the gorgeous view from what was once their doorway.
After a shower and a lot of stretching, I got ready for the evening event, A Taste and Toast with SGS: Under the Arizona Skies. The food and drink were delicious, and I got to spend the evening catching up with a good friend. We watched as conference attendees assigned to different color teams (red, green, blue, and yellow), fought for the hallowed Golden Uterus Trophy in several competitive gynecology-themed games (eg, throwing sacral neuromodulation needle “darts” at balloons and removing small pom poms from a water bottle with a disposable operative hysteroscope). As the evening progressed, the DJ turned up the music and people made their way to the dance floor. The event served as a fundraiser for the SGS Pelvic Anatomy Group and successfully raised $35,000.