President's Letter

Dear Colleagues & Friends, 
 
A month has quickly passed since our 51st Annual Scientific Meeting in Rancho Mirage, CA. It was wonderful to catch up with so many of you at the meeting. The meeting had a record-breaking 593 in-person participants and 51 virtual participants. It featured outstanding educational sessions and panels, ground-breaking science and a new simulation session that partnered recent innovations with our industry partners. Kudos to Dr. Hampton and Program Director Gena Dunivan and all of the SGS volunteers for organizing an outstanding meeting. 

I wanted to take opportunity in this newsletter to discuss future planning for SGS. Before doing so, I wanted to highlight a few historical SGS events that may guide our future direction:

• State of Gynecologic Surgery Summit, Tucson, AZ, 4/11/2010:  Fifteen years ago, SGS President Linda Brubaker convened this summit the day before the annual SGS Scientific Meeting. Those attending included leadership representatives from AAGL, ABOG, ACOG, ACS, ASRM, AUGS, CREOG, RRC (ACGME), SGO, SGS, SPRS. In opening the summit, Dr. Brubaker posed a question, “Does gynecologic surgery have a home?” and her summary question at the end of the summit, “Does gynecologic surgery have a voice?” The goal of gathering representatives from the many stakeholders, including representatives of subspecialty societies, was to seek opportunities for enhancing the practice of gynecologic surgery and to look for future opportunities for collaboration and synergy.
• SGS Retreat, Pittsburgh, PA, 9/9/22-9/11/22: This summary of this important retreat led by Nancy Frankel, PhD and Lennie Siegel, condensed SGS’ direction into five pillars as important SGS goals: Membership, Visibility, Education, Research and Financial. Since then, these pillars have been at the foundation for SGS Board’s decision-making and planning.

These two historical meetings highlight important considerations for SGS and our future direction. SGS membership celebrates inclusion of all gynecologic surgeons, including private practitioners, researchers and academic surgeons. We have members who are experts in many aspects of gynecologic surgery: adolescent gynecology, benign gynecologic (many practicing obstetrics), family planning, gynecologic oncology, minimally invasive gynecologic surgery, and urogynecology. Currently, some areas of expertise are recognized by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) and the American Board of Medical Subspecialties (ABMS) for “Subspecialty Certification”, others are recognized as “Areas of Focused Practice Designation”. The consensus among the SGS Executive Committee is that we are inclusive and strive to represent all gynecologic surgeons, irrespective of Board-Certification status. 

As we move forward, I am hoping to re-visit the questions posed by Dr. Brubaker in 2010, “Does gynecologic surgery have a home?” and “Does gynecologic surgery have a voice?” There are many opportunities to combine our resources and strengthen our society and gynecologic surgery. As we plan for the future there are several upcoming plans in the works:

• Membership survey:  The membership survey will be sent out this summer. When it arrives, please complete it so we can understand your goals and vision of gynecologic surgery’s voice and how we best care for our patients—the center of everything we do.
• Past-Presidents Council: I plan to establish a Past President’s Council, to engage SGS Past Presidents in a discussion of SGS’ history as we project our future.
• New Website design:  The Executive Committee and Board approved funding to update and improve the website and platform for SGS.  

Ongoing work will continue for the other strategic goals included in our Mission Statement, including continuing research and education. The Industry Advisory Group (IAG), created under Dr. Hampton’s tenure will continue to navigate with our industry partners under the enthusiastic leadership of Dr. Cheryl Iglesia. We will also continue the excellent work the Research Committee, headed by Dr. Cara Grimes. The SGS Research arms have been referred to as one of the crown jewels of SGS and through the Systematic Review Group (SRG), the Collaborative Research in Pelvic Surgery Consortium (CoRPs) and the Fellows Pelvic Research Network (FPRN), will continue their outstanding efforts. The Pelvic Anatomy Group (including the Nomenclature Group, the 3D Imaging Group and the Digital Library) have created unique resources for SGS members that promise to be enduring educational tools for all gynecologic surgeons nationally and internationally. The Annual Post-Graduate course will continue to be a resource for gynecologic surgeons to refine advanced gynecologic skills with experts in the field. 

As I begin the journey as SGS President this year, I am grateful to have the support of an incredible team including: the leadership of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors; the guidance of the Status Plus management team; and all of the volunteers that make SGS unique.  We are often asked how to become more involved in SGS. If you are interested in how you can volunteer, please take a look at the SGS website ongoing opportunities.

As I mentioned in my accepting the gavel from Dr. Star Hampton…I have big shoes to fill. In preparing for next year’s meeting in Phoenix, I am extremely grateful to our Program Scientific Chair, Dr. Peter Jeppson, in addition to experienced leadership of Dr. Keith Downing, chairing the Scientific Abstract Committee, and Dr. Lisa Chao, chairing the Video Review Committee. We hope you join us for next year’s meeting at the Hilton Phoenix Tapatio Cliffs Resort, in Phoenix, AZ, March 22-26, 2026. The theme of next year’s meeting is “Advancing Gynecological Surgery: Growth through Adaptability and Accessibility.” We hope to explore why there is such variation in access and quality of care within gynecologic surgery.

Sincerely,

Kris

Kris Strohbehn, MD

SGS President 2025-2026