Announcing the 5th International Salivary Gland Congress and 1st Multidisciplinary Salivary Gland Society (MSGS) World Congress
October 25-26, 2019-5th International Salivary Gland Congress
Preceded by the 3rd Jefferson Sialendoscopy course October 24, 2019
Background and Historical Development of the Congress: How it all came about.
The 5th International Salivary Gland Congress, in Philadelphia, has been in the making as early as the 3rd International Salivary Gland Congress in Geneva, Switzerland in 2012. It will cover inflammatory diseases and neoplasms. The meeting has been endorsed by the AHNS, the AAO-HNS and the European Salivary Gland Society (ESGS). Faculty from 6 continents and over 20 countries will be speaking and/or part of the Senior Faculty Advisory Council. Abstracts are encouraged.
With less than 3 months away, please consider joining the Multidisciplinary Salivary Gland Society (MSGS) and you will receive a discounted congress registration rate.
More information can be found here: https://oto.med.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2019/03/Program-Brochure-5th-International-Salivary-Gland-Congress.pdf
The history of the International Salivary Gland Congresses is fascinating. The first International Salivary Gland Congress was held in Geneva, Switzerland in 2002. This pioneering event organized under the banner of the ESGS was led by Dr. Pavel Dulguerov as the president of the organizing committee and was hosted by Dr. Dulguerov and Dr. Francis Marchal. It was a multidisciplinary meeting bringing together surgeons, dentists, pathologists, radiologists, immunologists and basic scientists from several continents.
In 2007, the Second International Salivary Gland Congress was held in Pittsburgh and included a post-congress sialendoscopy lab course. Dr. Barry Schaitkin was a course director along with Dr. Francis Marchal. Notable leaders from the American Head and Neck Society included Dr Eugene Myers, Dr. David Eisele, Dr. Ricardo Carrau and Dr. Henry Hoffman. Dr. David Cognetti, Dr. Rohan Walvekar, Dr. Chris Rassekh and Dr. Robert Witt also participated.
The 3rd International Salivary Gland Congress was again held in Geneva, Switzerland in 2012 and was accompanied by the First International Sialendoscopy Conference. Dr. Boyd Gillespie, a leader in the AHNS, participated in the Sialendoscopy conference. At this time Dr. Chris Rassekh with the support of Dr Bert O’Malley and Dr. Dulguerov raised the possibility of an International Congress in Philadelphia.
A formal proposal was initiated at the Louisiana State University Sialendoscopy course in 2016 at the pre-course Faculty Strategic Planning Meeting with Cook Medical. Dr. Michael Turner supported the proposal at the First Annual Advanced Sialendoscopy course at Mount Sinai University in New York in 2017. A survey was conducted among sialendoscopy experts in the United states between these two meetings. Several candidate cities were proposed and Philadelphia received the most supporting votes.
Dr. Ehab Hanna played a vital role in bringing the Congress to Philadelphia at the International Federation of Otolaryngology Societies (IFOS) in Paris in June, 2017. The ESGS announced the 4th International Salivary Gland Congress in Barcelona in October, 2017 as a part of the CEORL-HNS (Congress of European ORL-HNS). Dr. Rassekh and Dr. Witt were speakers at the meeting and at the ESGS business meeting in Barcelona, it was agreed that the next International Meeting would be in Philadelphia. Dr. Rassekh included Dr. David Cognetti and Dr. Robert Witt to be congress co-chairs given their contributions to the field and ties to Philadelphia. The meeting in Barcelona was ultimately deemed the 4th International Congress. Commitments were established from the leadership of the University of Pennsylvania, Thomas Jefferson University and Christiana Care Health System for sponsorship of the meeting.
Dr. Cognetti has organized the highly successful 1st and 2nd Jefferson Sialendoscopy courses. It was determined that the 3rd course would precede the 5th International Salivary Gland Congress. The program and faculty were developed. Dr. Dulguerov was selected as international co-chair. The ESGS leadership (Dr. Marchal, Dr. Vincent Vander Poorten and Dr. Davide Lombardi) have provided much needed advice. Numerous faculty from the ESGS (now becoming the Multidisciplinary Salivary Gland Society), the AHNS and the AAO-HNS are involved as faculty speakers, scientific program committee or International Senior Advisory Council. The 5th International Salivary Gland Congress will be the 1st Multidisciplinary Salivary Gland Society (MSGS) and heralds the possible development of an International Salivary Gland Society.