President's Letter

SGS teams are busy preparing for our important meetings as we head into the fall season! 

The SGS Annual Course in Advanced Gynecologic Surgery (internally called the Winter Postgraduate Course) will be held in exciting New Orleans on November 29 – December 2 at the Hilton New Orleans – St. Charles Avenue hotel! Designed to optimize faculty – attendee interaction, it is considered one of the Society’s precious gems. Our Program Directors, Drs. Cara King and Lauren Siff, utilize a unique speaker panel format to discuss advanced Complex Gynecology/MIGS and Urogynecology topics. We will offer a full day of cadaveric workshops with laparoscopic and vaginal dissections with top SGS faculty at LSU’s state-of-the-art simulation center, in addition to a laparoscopic suturing course with Dr. Kip McKenzie. I never fail to learn something new at this course. Come join us – this course should not be missed! Visit https://www.sgsonline.org/2023AdvancedCourse for the full program schedule and registration.

We plan to mark a crucial milestone in SGS history with the 50th Annual Scientific Meeting in Orlando, Florida on March 24-27, 2024! The Scientific Program Committee, led by Dr. Sawsan As-Sanie, has been working tirelessly to create a thoughtful and invigorating program. Our theme, The Changing Landscape in Gynecologic Surgery, highlights notable speakers who will address the challenges we face to stay at the forefront of innovation, mentor and educate the next generation of surgeons, and prioritize our own well-being in these stressful times. Thanks to our members and reviewers, we have already received a record number of abstracts and videos that is keeping our reviewers very busy!    

Our Winter Postgraduate Course and our Annual Scientific Meeting are testaments to the dedication and passion SGS has to education and advancing research. For your colleagues who haven't yet experienced the SGS 'secret sauce' (as past president Dr. Vivian Sung called it), share my letter.  Save the dates. Block your calendars. We hope to see you all soon! 

Rosanne Kho, MD
SGS President, 2023-2024

Joint Statement: Code of Conduct

We know that, unfortunately, many individuals are subject to harassment and violence every day in our country, with reports being publicized regularly across many different industries and sectors.  

The Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) and Society of Gynecologic Surgeons (SGS) are united in opposing harassment and violence in all its forms.  

We have collaborated on a joint statement reflecting our organizations’ commitment to the same and emphasizing the code of conduct to which we hold our members.  

We share that statement with you below:

Our organizations categorically oppose and condemn sexual or verbal harassment of any kind.

We strongly support a culture of mutual respect, professionalism, and inclusion in the workplace and beyond. All people should be treated with dignity, respect, and compassion.

We also condemn violence for any reason in any setting. Retaliatory violence merely perpetuates the harassment, violence, and negative workplace culture we seek to avoid and correct.

We expect our members to uphold principles of ethical conduct with everyone, including patients, staff, colleagues, trainees, other professionals, and everyone involved in the care we provide.

If needed, resources to support those affected by harassment or violence are available through their entity’s Human Resources Department, Graduate Medical Education Department, Compliance Officer/Supervisor, State Licensing Board, as well as the National Sexual Assault Hotline (1-800-656-4673) or the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233).  

Please email [email protected] with comments or questions.

Read Full Statement

Posted 6/6/2023

SGS Statement on Roe v Wade ruling

The SCOTUS ruling on June 24, 2022, in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, now ends the nearly 50-year-old constitutional protection for abortion, returning the rights to state legislatures and severely restricting access to reproductive health care for millions of US women. As members of the executive board of the Society of Gynecologic Surgeons, we continue to support full access to essential women’s reproductive health care and the preservation of the patient-physician relationship.   

Pregnancy termination, regardless of indication and including elective, is proven scientifically to be a safe and effective procedure when performed medically or surgically by a trained provider. Training in pregnancy termination is essential for healthcare providers in women’s surgery. Denial of access to pregnancy termination by trained providers not only harms women seeking pregnancy management due to limited access to safe medical care but will deny access for appropriate training of present and future gynecologic surgeons, further restricting access to safe gynecologic procedures for pregnancy. 

We firmly support the necessary training and availability of comprehensive health care for women and stand with ACOG reiterating the message that abortion is essential health care: https://www.acog.org/advocacy/abortion-is-essential  

SGS Board Supports ACOG Efforts to Protect a Woman's Right to Healthcare and Preservation of the Physician-Patient Relationship

We on the SGS Board of Directors support ACOG and its efforts to protect a woman's right to healthcare and preservation of the physician-patient relationship. For more information regarding advocacy efforts at ACOG please see: https://www.acog.org/news/news-articles/2022/05/a-message-to-the-acog-community-regarding-the-future-of-abortion-care-and-acogs-role

SGS Releases SGS Tradition of Mentoring Vol 2 at SGS 2022

Joint Statement on Re-introduction of Hospital and Office-based Procedures in the COVID-19 Climate for the Practicing Gynecologist

View the new joint statement HERE

A guide for urogynecologic patient care utilizing telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic: review of existing evidence

Thanks to the hard work from the SGS' Systematic Review Group (SRG) and the Collaborative Research in Pelvic Surgery Consortium (CoRPS) the above titled manuscript is now published in the International Urogynecology Journal. Click HERE to read the manuscript.