Wednesday, March 22. Day 4 of SGS.
Day 4, and the final day of the 49th SGS conference started with a sunrise run up and down the hills surrounding the JW Marriott Starr Resort. After breakfast, I entered the Tucson Ballroom to attend the last 2 scientific sessions of the conference.
Highlights from the first session included a look at postoperative outcomes and complication rates between gynecologic surgeons and general surgeons using the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database by Dr. Douglas Luchristt, who showed no difference between the 2 surgical specialties (and even better outcomes by gynecologists in certain operative measures), as well as the work of Dr. Christopher Hong who used 2 separate surgical databases (NSQIP and Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative) to show that rates of vaginal hysterectomy have been decreasing from 2017 to 2020, even amongst patients who are likely good candidates for a vaginal route of hysterectomy. Dr. Jocelyn Fitzgerald presented her unique mixed methods research on how to better design the gynecologic office to improve the patient experience, using 3,000 Twitter responses to a question on this topic. Lastly, Dr. Emily Aldrich shared her work on better understanding the patient perception of same day discharge after major vaginal reconstructive surgery. An interesting finding of Dr. Aldrich’s study was that the most common response to her question about the “worst part of the surgical experience” was going home with a postoperative catheter, which surgeons often consider a small and temporary discomfort. The first session ended with the passing of the gavel from current SGS president Dr. Cheryl Iglesia, to the incoming SGS president Dr. Rosanne Kho, with much applause and excitement for what Dr. Kho will bring to the table in her new role.
The research presented at the final scientific session of the conference did not disappoint. A retrospective study on the influence of body mass index (BMI) on the time to surgical diagnosis of endometriosis by Dr. Melissa Markowitz found that obesity was associated with a delay of over 1 year in surgical diagnosis of endometriosis compared with normal and underweight patients. Dr. David (Ike) Rahn presented additional findings on his randomized, double-blinded, multicenter trial on perioperative use of vaginal estrogen cream in postmenopausal patients with prolapse. He found that 5 weeks of estrogen cream use was not associated with any improvement in urinary incontinence or sexual function.
Dr. Stephanie Glass Clark used the Premier Healthcare Database to show that that there was no difference in postoperative mesh exposure in patients who underwent a total hysterectomy compared with supracervical hysterectomy at the time of sacrocolpopexy. Dr. Kavita Mishra presented results from the FLOWER trial, which found no difference in postoperative outcomes for transgender women undergoing vaginoplasty for gender affirmation who did and did not undergo preoperative pelvic floor physical therapy. Finally, Dr. Carly Crowder shared her video of anatomy for sacral neuromodulation with some excellent cadaveric dissections to exhibit the peri-sacral and gluteal anatomy.
As the conference ended, raindrops pounded the sandy grounds of the resort as I waited in the lobby for my Uber to the airport. Dr. Rosanne Kho happened to walk by and stopped to speak with me and one of my attendings. She smiled as she asked about our experience at the conference and to wish us safe travels. To me, this moment embodies the spirit of mentorship and connection that is so unique to the SGS conference. I feel incredibly lucky to have met some of the physician leaders of our field, who genuinely want to get to know and help the next generation. This year’s meeting was attended by ObGyn generalists and surgeons of all gynecologic subspecialties and certainly met its goal in addressing topics with an “Impact Factor.” I am inspired by all the work that is happening across the country to move the needle and better our field. This was my first SGS experience, but it certainly won’t be the last. I hope you too will consider attending in the future!