Bio
Dr. Belinda De Simone, born in Rome, Italy, graduated in Medicine and Surgery from the University "Sapienza" of Roma. Her ambition to become a Visceral Surgeon led her to Parma, Italy, where she trained at the University of Parma under the guidance of her mentor, Prof. Fausto Catena. Then, following the advice of her mentor, she went to Paris to be educated by one of the best minimally invasive surgeons, an expert in bariatric surgical procedures, Prof. Chouillard, at the academic hospitals of Poissy and Saint Germain en Laye. Dr. De Simone joined the World Society of Emergency Surgery board in 2022. She was responsible for scientific research from 2020 to 2023 at the Poissy and Saint Germain en Laye hospitals, and was the Principal Investigator for the ChoCO-W global observational study focused on the management of severe cholecystitis during the COVID-19 pandemic; the Artificial Intelligence in emergency and trauma surgery (ARIES) project; the operative management of acute abdomen injury after BAriatric surgery (OBA) project; and the management of surgical patients in the emergency setting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. De Simone splits her professional life between France and Italy, cultivating her multiple interests in surgical research and life as a female surgeon, committed to promoting the importance of education in emergency surgery for improving the management of frail and critically ill surgical patients. Research interests: emergency surgery and trauma management; geriatric emergency surgery; treatment of intra-abdominal infections and proper use of antibiotics; long-term outcomes of metabolic surgery; abdominal wall surgery and complex hernia repair; Artificial Intelligence implementation in emergency and trauma surgery.

Bio
Prof. Dr. Fausto Catena was born on 1 November 1971. He completed his degree in Medicine and Surgery (MD) at the University of Bologna, Italy. He received a Ph.D. in Physiology and Physiopathology from Bologna University. From 2000 to 2011, he was a Consultant General Surgeon at the Department of General, Emergency and Transplant Surgery at St. Orsola-Malpighi University Hospital, University of Bologna, Italy. He has been a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (UK) since 2012. In 2013, he received the Italian national certification as a full professor of general surgery. From 2012 to 2020, he was the Chief of the Department of Emergency and General Surgery at Parma University Hospital, Italy. Since 2021, he has been the Chief of the Department of General and Emergency Surgery at Bufalini Hospital Cesena, Italy. Prof. Dr. Catena has written more than 800 scientific papers (more than 400 on PubMed, H index = 49), 40 book chapters, and 5 Books. He won 20 national and international scientific prizes. He has performed more than 4000 medium–high-level surgical procedures. Prof. Dr. Catena is the Editor-in-Chief of the World Journal of Emergency Surgery and is the Editor of more than 10 other journals. Prof. Dr. Fausto Catena’s research activity is focused on emergency surgery (acute cholecystitis, adhesions, intra-abdominal infections, and trauma), renal transplantation (graft preservation), oncologic surgery (GIST and carcinomatosis–HIPEC), colorectal surgery (elective and emergency colorectal cancer, and diverticular disease), and abdominal wall surgery (biological prostheses).

Talk
The Management of Acute Diverticulitis: Last Recommendation for Practice

Bio
Prof. Dr. Sartelli is a Consultant Surgeon at the Department of General and Emergency Surgery, Macerata Hospital, Area Vasta 3, ZT n°9 (Italy), Coordinator of Scientific Activities, and Member of the Hospital Infection Control Committee. He has performed more than 3,500 operations of general and emergency surgery. His scientific activity is documented via publications in international scientific journals (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=sartelli). He is the author/co-author of nine manuals on emergency surgery. In recent years, he has devoted his progress in the field to the study of surgical infections and sepsis. He coordinated WSES guidelines for the management of intra-abdominal infections, WSES guidelines for the management of skin and soft tissue infections, and WSES guidelines for the management of clostridium difficile infection in surgical patients. He designed and coordinated four multicenter prospective studies (the CIAOW study, CIAO study, WISS study, and PIPAS study) involving medical institutions worldwide, defining epidemiological and management profiles of intra-abdominal infections. In 2016, he designed the AGORA project, a global alliance for the rational and appropriate use of antibiotics in managing intra-abdominal infections with the participation of clinicians from 79 countries worldwide. He is Deputy Editor of the "World Journal of Emergency Surgery" and a member of the Board of Directors of the "World Society of Emergency Surgery". He is the Founder and Acting Director of the Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery. The Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery is an independent alliance that was promoted in 2016 by the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES), for its cohesive and global approach to promoting research and education in the field of infections in surgery. Experts from 86 countries worldwide joined the International Advisory Board of the Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery. (www.infectionsinsurgery.org).

Talk
The Management of Acute Diverticulitis: Last Recommendation for Practice

Bio
Prof. Dr. Sartelli is a Consultant Surgeon at the Department of General and Emergency Surgery, Macerata Hospital, Area Vasta 3, ZT n°9 (Italy), Coordinator of Scientific Activities, and Member of the Hospital Infection Control Committee. He has performed more than 3,500 operations of general and emergency surgery. His scientific activity is documented via publications in international scientific journals (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=sartelli). He is the author/co-author of nine manuals on emergency surgery. In recent years, he has devoted his progress in the field to the study of surgical infections and sepsis. He coordinated WSES guidelines for the management of intra-abdominal infections, WSES guidelines for the management of skin and soft tissue infections, and WSES guidelines for the management of clostridium difficile infection in surgical patients. He designed and coordinated four multicenter prospective studies (the CIAOW study, CIAO study, WISS study, and PIPAS study) involving medical institutions worldwide, defining epidemiological and management profiles of intra-abdominal infections. In 2016, he designed the AGORA project, a global alliance for the rational and appropriate use of antibiotics in managing intra-abdominal infections with the participation of clinicians from 79 countries worldwide. He is Deputy Editor of the "World Journal of Emergency Surgery" and member of the Board of Directors of the "World Society of Emergency Surgery". He is the Founder and Acting Director of the Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery. The Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery is an independent alliance that was promoted in 2016 by the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES), for its cohesive and global approach to promoting research and education in the field of infections in surgery. Experts from 86 countries worldwide joined the International Advisory Board of the Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery. (www.infectionsinsurgery.org).

Talk
Technologies in Emergency Surgery: What Are We Missing?

Bio
Prof. Dr. Nicola de’Angelis (MD, PhD) is the Chief of the Colorectal and Digestive Surgery Unit of the Beaujon University Hospital of Clichy, and a Full Professor of Digestive Surgery at the Faculty of Medicine of the Université Paris Cité (Paris, France). Prof. de’Angelis graduated from the Medical School at the Università degli Studi di Parma (Italy) in 2005 and completed his residency in General Surgery at the Università degli Studi di Pisa (Italy). He obtained his PhD at the University of Naples “Federico II” in 2016. He was trained at Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris, AP-HP (France), at the King’s College Hospital in London (UK), and at the CHUM St. Luc of Montreal (Canada). From 2012 to 2022, he worked as a Consultant General Surgeon at the Henri Mondor Hospital of Creteil (France), where he developed a special interest and expertise in minimally invasive and robotic digestive surgery. Prof. de’Angelis authored more than 200 scientific articles published in peer-reviewed journals on general and digestive surgery and is the Editor of the book “Emergency Surgical Management of Colorectal Cancer” (Springer). He is also the Director of the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES) Fellowship in "Gastrointestinal Emergencies and Robotic Surgery".

Talk
The Operative Management of Acute Abdomen after Bariatric Surgery: The OBA Guidelines

Bio
Dr. Belinda De Simone, born in Rome, Italy, graduated in Medicine and Surgery from the University "Sapienza" of Roma. Her ambition to become a Visceral Surgeon led her to Parma, Italy, where she trained at the University of Parma under the guidance of her mentor, Prof. Fausto Catena. Then, following the advice of her mentor, she went to Paris to be educated by one of the best minimally invasive surgeons, an expert in bariatric surgical procedures, Prof. Chouillard, at the academic hospitals of Poissy and Saint Germain en Laye. Dr. De Simone joined the World Society of Emergency Surgery board in 2022. She was responsible for scientific research from 2020 to 2023 at the Poissy and Saint Germain en Laye hospitals, and was the Principal Investigator for the ChoCO-W global observational study focused on the management of severe cholecystitis during the COVID-19 pandemic; the Artificial Intelligence in emergency and trauma surgery (ARIES) project; the operative management of acute abdomen injury after BAriatric surgery (OBA) project; and the management of surgical patients in the emergency setting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. De Simone splits her professional life between France and Italy, cultivating her multiple interests in surgical research and life as a female surgeon, committed to promoting the importance of education in emergency surgery for improving the management of frail and critically ill surgical patients. Research interests: emergency surgery and trauma management; geriatric emergency surgery; treatment of intra-abdominal infections and proper use of antibiotics; long-term outcomes of metabolic surgery; abdominal wall surgery and complex hernia repair; Artificial Intelligence implementation in emergency and trauma surgery.

Talk
Laparoscopic Approach for Emergency Surgery: Advantages, Limits, Barriers

Bio
Dr Vallicelli works as a General Surgeon at Maurizio Bufalini Hospital in Cesena, Italy. He is an experienced laparoscopic surgeon, particularly dedicated to laparoscopic colorectal surgery, laparoscopic abdominal wall surgery, and laparoscopic emergency surgery. He is a Senior Surgeon of the trauma team. Dr Vallicelli is the author and co-author of several peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters. He has been involved as an invited speaker for several national and international congresses.