Home

Information about EHPBA

 HISTORY OF THE EHPBA

 
The idea to found the EHPBA was conceived in May 1990 during the 3rd World IHPBA Congress in London, England. At that time there were two European candidate cities for the organization of the 4th World Congress in 1996: one was Bologna (Italian, Chapter), headed by Prof. G. Gozetti and the other was Athens (Greek Chapter), headed by Prof. B. Kekis. Bologna was chosen to organize and host the 4th World Congress.

It was thereafter suggested that a European Congress should be organized in between odd years of the World Congress. By making the venues more accessible we would facilitate the participation of colleagues from Europe, who constitute the majority of IHPBA members.

John Terblanche from Cape Town, South Africa, proposed to give the Greek Chapter the opportunity to organize the First European Congress in Athens in 1995 to test the suitability of a regional HPB organization. President Martin Adson adopted the idea, and Secretary General Robin Williamson replied: "Let's give it a try! If the meeting in Athens is a success, then we shall continue; if not, then we will forget the idea altogether."

The Athens Congress in 1995, under the presidency of Basil Kekis was a great success both in terms of participation of HPB specialists from all over Europe and in terms of the quality of the organization. To pursue this positive experience, it was decided to organize a follow up 2nd Congress in 1997 under the Presidency of Christoph Broelsch, Hamburg, Germany.

Inspired by the success of these two European meetings, the idea for the creation of a European Chapter matured; By-laws were written and European leaders in HPB were identified to serve as founding members. The first General Assembly took place in May 1999 in Budapest, Hungary, during the 3rd European Congress. The creation of the Regional European HPB association was voted unanimously in this 1st General Assembly. The by-laws were approved and the founding officers were elected to serve for the initial period (1999-2001). It was as follows:

Founding council and Officers

President: Basil Kekis (Greece)
President-Elect: Christoph Broelsch (Germany)
Secretary-Treasurer: Spyros Skaltsas (Greece)

Members
Peter Kupcsulik (Hungary)
Dirk Gouma (The Netherlands) Robin Williamson (U.K)

The new general Committee took the responsibility of selecting venues for the bi-annual Congresses of the Association. Amsterdam was chosen for 2001 and the meeting was successfully organized by Dirk Gouma. Istanbul held the 2003 EHPBA meeting under the leadership of Ali Emre. It was during this meeting that the EHPBA, which now included the Middle East and Africa, was inaugurated formally. The council was expanded more formally organized and new officers were elected. In Istanbul, the vision, spirit and tradition of the EHPBA became established, and its future secured.

 

Basil P. Kekis
Chris Broelsch

 

VISION AND MISSION OF THE EHPBA

 

Vision

 
The EHPBA will be the prime regional organization of the IHPBA devoted to relief of worldwide human suffering caused by hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) disorders, by improving education, training, innovation, and patient care.

Mission

The mission of he EHPBA is to improve evidence-based care and optimize the outcome of patients with HPB disorders throughout the world by:

 

  • Disseminating research findings and best treatment practices
  • Advancing HPB specific training
  • Fostering research and innovation
  • Encouraging multidisciplinary collaboration

 


Principles

The principles of the EHPBA are as follows:

 

  • The EHPBA is committed to excellence in patient care and is devoted to elevating standards of care throughout the world.
  • The EHPBA encourages the recruitment, mentorship, training, and career development of individual interested in hepato-pancreato-biliary disorders.
  • The EHPBA embraces a multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of hepato-pancreato-biliary disorders and fosters collegial relationships
  • The EHPBA encourages membership by qualified candidates interested in hepato-pancreato-biliary disorders including anesthesiologists, hepatologists, gastroenterologists, radiologists, oncologists, surgeons, transplant physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, and investigators
  • The EHPBA is committed to the highest ethical standards in research, education, organizational operation, and interaction with industry.
     


Objectives

The objectives of the EHPBA are to:

 

  • Foster the development of HPB as a speciality
  • Have the World Congress be the prime international HPB meeting.
  • Establish HPB as an outstanding journal in the field.
  • Set standards for and accredit HPB fellowship training programs
  • Strengthen ties with HPB Regional Associations and National Chapters.
  • Foster mutually beneficial relationships with other speciality organizations supporting our mission and principles.
  • Expand education and support for HPB patients.
  • Support HPB research and career development through the European Fellowship.
  • Encourage HPB clinical trials to advance evidence-based medicine.
  • Develop HPB-related practice guidelines.
  • Expand membership to 650.
  • Manage the association in a financially sound, effective, and efficient manner.
  • Optimize communication by a web-based membership directory, an e-newsletter, and an online journal.
  • Acknowledge significant individual contributions through the HPB medallion.
  • Document the rich history of the association. 

 

  

The Council of EHPBA
based on HPB, Volume 8, Number 4 - 2006, p. 243-247

 

STATISTICS OF THE EHPBA

  

According to a survey in 2005 IHPBA counts 1012 members, whereof ~ 40% (423) are EHPBA members. The demographics of the EHPBA / IHPBA members are presented in the Table below.

The median age of EHPBA / IHPBA members is 47, and 63% of members are under 50 years of age. In all, 98% are men, and only 2% are women. Approximately 40% of the membership resides in the European / African region, 38% int the Asian/Pacific region, and 22% in the Americas.

Of the survey respondents, 96% described their primary speciality as surgery, whereas 3% specializied in gastroenterology or hepatology, and only 1% stated that they were radiologists, basic scientists or any other medical specialty (Figure).

Table

          
 
                                                                              
 
          Graph
 
          

 

Reference: HPB, Volume 8, Number 4 - 2006, p. 243-247