The Georgian Association of Onco-Urology is preparing for the 2018 World Congress, which will take place in October. To better understand the significance of this upcoming congress, it is helpful to reflect on the first congress held in 2017, which was covered in an article published in the journal “Mkurnal” last year:
On October 4, 2017, the first international congress was held at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, organized by the Georgian Association of Oncological Urology. The event was part of the Scientific Festival organized by Georgia’s Ministry of Education and Science. It focused on modern methods for diagnosing and treating cancers of the genitourinary system.
Leading experts and scientists from the USA, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Turkey, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia participated in the congress. Professionals exchanged their experiences, scientific achievements, innovations, and treatment methods.
This was a grand event — a major scientific celebration, which, in addition to fascinating presentations and video demonstrations, included — for the first time in the South Caucasus — a transatlantic demonstration of ultra-modern robotic surgical technologies, with a live broadcast from the United States. Thanks to this “live surgery and lecture” broadcast, participants witnessed a robot-assisted radical prostatectomy performed by Vipul Patel (Florida, USA).
The congress was significant in many ways. In addition to presenting the latest developments in oncological urology and contributing to medical education, it also served to showcase the knowledge and expertise of Georgian professionals. As reported, foreign colleagues — esteemed members of the global elite in onco-urology — were deeply impressed by the practical experience, knowledge, and professionalism of Georgian doctors. This, of course, is a great source of pride for the entire nation and represents another distinguished milestone in the history of the Georgian medical community.
To discuss the upcoming congress in more detail, we spoke with Professor Guram Karazanashvili, President of the Georgian Association of Oncological Urology and Laureate of the National Prize of Georgia:
– Professor Karazanashvili, first of all, on behalf of the congress participants and numerous Georgian colleagues, we would like to once again thank you for organizing such a magnificent scientific event…
– It truly was a great scientific celebration, as participants heard presentations of the highest standard from both foreign and Georgian colleagues. We hosted elite figures — the world’s leading onco-urologists, top-level guests before whom Georgian doctors demonstrated their high level of experience and professionalism. This greatly enhanced the prestige of Georgian medicine in the eyes of both our neighbors and the Western world.
It is gratifying that participants were impressed by the quality of the scientific congress. Doctors from the Acad. F. Todua Research Institute, Aversi, and other leading clinics participated, along with representatives from 10 countries across the region and the West.
We elected our distinguished guests as honorary members of the Georgian Association of Oncological Urology, which they received with great joy.
Interview with Professor Guram Karazanashvili – The Development and Success of the Georgian Association of Oncological Urology
– Could you tell us more about the Association? Organizing such large-scale events must significantly enrich the organization’s work and expand its reach.
– The Georgian Association of Oncological Urology was founded this year. Despite being newly established, we already have over 100 members. Membership is growing rapidly, especially since our association is not single-specialty – it brings together professionals from various fields: clinical oncologists, urologists, chemotherapists, pathologists, radiation oncologists, radiologists – in short, all specialists involved in oncology.
One of the distinguished congress participants from Belgium, Hendrik Van Poppel, a legendary figure in onco-urology and Vice-President of the European Association of Urology (a 40,000-member organization), reaffirmed to us that we were right in creating such a multi-specialty platform. In any mono-specialty organization, like the European Urological Association, the oncology section tends to be relatively weak. Naturally, specialists from other disciplines don’t feel entirely “at home” there. In contrast, our Association is outstanding in this regard.
– What were the main innovations or highlights for Georgian doctors?
– Interestingly, none of the topics discussed were new or unfamiliar to Georgian doctors, as we already apply nearly all modern techniques and approaches here. A lot was discussed about bladder cancer. Stefan Müller (Germany) gave a compelling presentation on cystectomy – when, how, and why it should be done, and how to prevent complications. I presented a video of our own experience in creating an artificial bladder using the Hautmann technique after radical cystectomy. Fuad Guliyev from Azerbaijan shared an analysis of 200 cases.
There were excellent presentations from Acad. F. Todua Medical Center. Zaal Kvirikashvili showed a video demonstration of complex metastasis removal surgeries in testicular cancer. A colleague from St. Petersburg presented on high-dose brachytherapy. As you know, low-dose brachytherapy is already performed in Tbilisi. On this topic, Andro Dzneladze, a Georgian specialist, gave a presentation. Turkish colleagues covered external beam radiation therapy, and the range of topics discussed included kidney resections, prostate cancer chemotherapy, and more. The congress started at 9 AM and concluded at 8 PM, finishing with a unique social program for our guests.
– How did the demonstration of the robotic surgical operation go?
– This was one of the most exciting moments of the congress. Robotic technologies are advancing rapidly, but due to certain restrictions (a kind of technological veto from manufacturing companies), these systems are not sold in the Caucasus region, including Georgia. So, the live broadcast from the U.S. was a unique and highly impressive experience for all attendees. Through a special internet connection, we broadcast a robot-assisted prostatectomy, which sparked great enthusiasm among colleagues.
– I’ve heard foreign experts were also impressed by the operations performed at Karazanashvili Robotic center and the overall expertise of Georgian specialists?
– On October 5, as part of the congress, we held a seminar and case discussions at Karazanashvili Robotic Center where complex cases were reviewed, and consultations took place. Georgian doctors received feedback from invited foreign experts. The exchange of professional knowledge and approaches was extremely valuable. Before the congress officially started, we also performed joint reconstructive surgeries for both children and adults.
You may know that in the past, surgical intervention was not commonly used for advanced prostate cancer. However, today, the approach has changed dramatically. We now perform surgeries in such cases and have seven years of experience, with very positive outcomes in terms of life expectancy. It was especially rewarding to see that our Belgian colleagues presented almost identical approaches, matching our standards and methods.
I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s both gratifying and a matter of national pride to realize that what we are doing here in Georgia is being done in the same way by leading European clinics.
Reflections from Professor Giorgi Bochorishvili, an honorary congress participant, Doctor of Medical Sciences, member of the Georgian, European, American, and International Urological Associations, and President of the Georgian Men’s Health Association:
The program of the congress was incredibly rich. Among the participants were world-renowned professors who gave highly impactful presentations, including:
Hendrik Van Poppel – Vice President of the European Association of Urology (Belgium);
Stefan Müller – Head of the Urology Department at Bonn University Hospital, former President of the German Urological Society, former President and current Executive Committee member of the European Urological Board (Germany);
Rien Nijman – Head of Urological Oncology at the Nijmegen Cancer Center (Netherlands);
Serdar Tekgül – Head of Pediatric Urology at Ankara University (Turkey);
Eduard Stakhovsky – Head of the Urology Department at the Kiev Cancer Center (Ukraine);
Fuad Guliyev – Deputy Director and Head of Onco-Urology at the Azerbaijan Cancer Center;
Sergei Polyakov – Head of Onco-Urology at the Belarusian Cancer Center;
Colleagues from Armenia and St. Petersburg.
The Georgian presentations were also very impressive. Our team gave two presentations, one of which focused on our experience with brachytherapy.
It’s worth emphasizing that despite the packed schedule, everything ran on time, allowing for plenty of meaningful discussions and debates.One of the highlights was the live broadcast from Florida by Professor Vipul Patel, who performed a robot-assisted radical prostatectomy and gave a fascinating lecture.
Interview conducted by Tinatin Gotsadze
