I have the pleasure of welcoming you on behalf of the Colorectal surgical unit of the department of
General Surgery, Christian Medical College, Vellore to the 9th International Colorectal Symposium
(ICRS, 2023) that will be conducted between Novmber 16th and 18th at the Sheraton Grand Resort,
Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, India.
The Christian Medical College is a 120 year old institution that has pioneered many changes in the
delivery of health care in India. The colorectal surgery unit was formed in 2003 as a result of one
such innovative change, namely the specialty oriented development of the Department of General
Surgery.
Since formation, the unit has been conducting academic meetings once in two years, where we discuss
nuances in the management of various diseases of the colon, rectum and anal canal. Our meetings have
always had a specific theme to ensure focused discussion and deliberation. We have been fortunate to
have our friends from both India and overseas participate in these meetings, enhancing the quality
and widening the perspective of our discussions.
This year our theme is “Colorectal Cancer – the way ahead”. The faculty includes surgeons, radiation
oncologists, medical oncologists, radiologists, pathologists and nurse practitioners from the
Australia, Brazil, Sri Lanka, the UK and the USA as well as many centres in India who have both
interest and vast experience in management of colorectal disease.
In addition to lectures, we will be conducting multidisciplinary team sessions during which our
discussions will be less theoretical and based on real life decision making dilemmas and
complications that we have encountered in our practice.
There will be three workshops prior to the symposium where we will be focusing on aspects of surgery
that often challenge surgeons at different stages of their careers. The anatomy workshop is for
surgeons who have are in training and plan to pursue a career in colorectal surgery. It will cover
the complexities of abdomen-pelvic anatomy relevant to rectal cancer surgery. The surgical research
workshop is for consultant surgeons and surgical faculty who wish to . The objectives of this
workshop are to learn how to formulate a research question, design and conduct a study to answer the
question and finally convert the study into an article for publication. The third workshop is tilted
“From Competence to Mastery”. This is a practical workshop aimed at established surgeons who hope to
sharpen their judgment and skills to reach the next level. The course focuses on how to use
knowledge gained from dealing with practical everyday complex scenarios to lead to a more complete
understanding of the optimum approach to obtaining the best results for patients.
I hope this meeting is not only a time for academic discussion and exchange of ideas but also an
opportunity to renew old friendships and make new ones.
Mark Ranjan Jesudason
Professor & Head
Colorectal Surgery,
Christian Medical College, Vellore
