This year's annual FSIE party celebrated President and Founder Dr Lee Swanstrom's retirement from clinical practice (see post from July 15) in addition to the traditional graduation for the Summer Undergraduate Interns. It was a wonderful summer night mingling with friends and colleagues! See you next year!

The FSIE Undergraduate Summer Interns welcomed 9 promising high school students to join them for a special combined week of special sessions. They started the week learning the basics of resuscitation including IV starts and intubation in the simulation lab. The next two days included watching live laparoscopic and robotic surgeries, by Dr Steve Demeester and Dr Rehan Ahmad, projected into the lab conference room. The surgeons wore microphones so they could interact with the group in real time. Then the students experienced an incredible flexible endoscopy skills day lead by Dr Kevin Reavis and Dr Daniel Davilla Bradley after attending the weekly research meeting where the interns gave their final research presentations. But the icing on the cake was the Friday hands on surgical skills lab where the group performed Fundamental of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) tasks, flexible endoscopic surgery and laparoscopic surgery procedures in a laboratory setting. During breaks they heard lectures about electrosurgery by John Day and the future of surgery by Dr Swanstrom. A great time was had by all! A special thanks to the support of ERBE, Olympus, Stryker, Covidian, Endogastric Solutions, Medtronic, Boston Scientific and all the volunteers for making it all possible! 

FSIE President and Founder Dr Lee Swanstrom has been called "The Greatest Laparoscopic Surgeon in the World" by many of his peers (and patients!) and is clearly one of the most innovative minds in surgery. He is loved by colleagues around the world not only for his dexterity and brilliance but for his generous and patient mentorship. Dr Swanstrom envisions a future where "surgical" treatments are painless and non-disruptive to patients lives and bodies. His fearless commitment to this vision has inspired and impacted advancements in surgical treatment beyond what can be measured. Beyond the intangible accomplishments, some career highlights include: 

• Founder and Program Director of the first Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship 1993
• Past president of SAGES
• Founder of the Fellowship Council
• Creator of FLS
• Founder  FSIE
• ABS Board Member
• Chief Innovations Officer IHU France
• Editor Mastery of Endoscopic & Laparoscopic Surgery
• Pioneer in laparoscopic antireflux surgery.
  • First Lap Nissen, lap heller, esophagectomy in USA
  • Ist lap CBDE
  • First endoscopic pyloroplasty

Dr Swanstrom has announced his retirement from clinical practice. His role as world thought-leader, innovator, mentor and advisor will continue and as such we have a feeling the best is yet to come! Congratulations on retirement-you deserve it! 
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