ENDO 2024 Congress highlights!

ENDO 2024 took place from July 4 to 6, 2024. We were very excited to welcome 3200 delegates from 85 countries to COEX in Seoul, South Korea to join the three-day international conference, packed with the latest research and first-class educational opportunities.

Professor Hisao Tajiri, WEO and ENDO 2024 President made the following statement:

“ENDO 2024 had 3200 participants from all over the world despite the current medical strike happening in Korea, and we were able to have an intimate international exchange through many symposia, live demonstrations, hands-on courses, receptions, and so on. Many young doctors from developing countries in Asia also participated in the Congress. I believe that our WEO was instrumental in fulfilling its mission in terms of education for developing countries.

I sincerely appreciate the strong support of Prof Hoon Jai Chun, ENDO 2024 Congress Co-President and Prof Jong-Jae Park, President of KSGE [Korean Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy] and IDEN [International Digestive Endoscopy Network], and many other doctors involved in KSGE.

And I also thank organizing committee members of ENDO 2024, Dr. Jean-Francois Rey, Chair of the Steering Committee, Drs. Philip Chiu and Jong Ho Moon, Chair and Co-Chair of the Scientific Committee, Dr. Robert Hawes, Treasurer, Dr. Yutaka Saito, WEO Secretary General, colleagues in Japan, and all other organizing committee members including WEO office staff. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of them.

From Seoul, Korea, through the top experts of GI endoscopy, new insights and bright futures were brought to many endoscopists. I believe that the three-day program met the expectations of all gastroenterologists, endoscopists, and nurses who participated in ENDO 2024. The overwhelming response we have received from the participants, faculty, and industry alike is a great testament to the quality of the Congress and its high relevance to continuing education and to medical advancement; the initiation of both of those is part of WEO’s mission, as well as maintaining the quality of endoscopic teaching.

Finally, I would like to thank the industry partners who generously supported this congress. Without their help WEO could not organize a meeting of this magnitude. They are genuinely our partners, and we look forward to building on these relationships.”

Some highlights of ENDO 2024 included six outstanding live demonstrations and discussions from three international and three of the most advanced Korean centers, 22 hands-on training stations, 8 of WEO’s best-established educational courses, 10 joint symposia with our global partners, 5 KSGE-IDEN sessions and 2 young endoscopist forums, 17 sessions presenting the ENDO 2024 best oral abstracts, and 23 innovative industry symposia.

ENDO 2024 was honored to host several distinguished educational lectures, by Joo Young Cho (Korea), Fabian Emura (Colombia), Ian Gralnek (Israel), and Nageshwar Reddy (India).

As is traditional at ENDO congresses, the learning track offered well-established WEO courses including the Advanced Diagnosis Endoscopy Course (ADEC), Colorectal Cancer Screening Committee meetings, WEO International School of Endoscopy (WISE) sessions, the Research Forum, Video Capsule Endoscopy (VCE) and High-Q courses. A Women in Endoscopy session was held for the first time, covering gender-related aspects of endoscopy. ENDO 2024 President Hisao Tajiri commemorated this as the last session of the last day.

Newly added WEO sessions to showcase our international initiatives included the Centers of Excellence symposium and the WEO Outreach session. Some of the alumni of the WEO WISE and Emerging Stars courses gathered during ENDO 2024, to meet key WEO leadership and connect and reconnect with one another.

Live demonstrations and hands-on training

This year live demonstrations were streamed during the first two days of the Congress from three world-renowned endoscopy centers in India, Thailand, and China, and also from the three most advanced hospitals in Korea. More than 100 doctors, technicians, and nurses worked together to share the most advanced endoscopic procedures. The six sessions were chaired by 17 eminent international faculty, with live discussion and interaction with experts at each of the following venues: the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology (AIG), India, the King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand, the Chinese PLA General Hospital, China, and from Korea, the University of Ulsan Asan Medical Center, Korea University Anam Hospital, and Yonsei University Sinchon Severance Hospital, Korea.

Four video cases with live discussion were presented from highly renowned Japanese institutions, namely Tokyo Medical University, Osaka International Cancer Institute, Sano Hospital, and Dokkyo Medical University School of Medicine.

Two comprehensive hands-on training sessions, with 22 stations, had been developed for the Congress. International and local experts were present to impart the latest techniques to 270 participants registered for the different stations. The latter were categorized into EUS, general GI procedures, GI resections, colonoscopy, and ERCP. A dedicated capsule endoscopy workshop was also organized to provide in-depth knowledge of this modality.

Abstracts

Abstracts were received from 62 countries around the globe, comprising 76% from the Asia-Pacific region, 4% from the Americas, and 20% from Europe/Mediterranean region/Africa. Out of the 927 abstracts received, 870 were accepted, and of these more than 150 were selected as the best written or video abstracts that made an outstanding scientific contribution; these were given as Outstanding Poster Presentations over the three days of the Congress. In addition, 643 abstracts were selected for presentation as e-posters. The World Cup Video Forum was held for the third time, showcasing not only the best 15 video abstracts, but also the national costumes of the judges and contestants.

Three outstanding abstracts by Dr. Carlos Robles-Medranda (Ecuador), Dr. Bikkina Venkat Siddharda (India), and Dr. Yuichi Mori (Norway) respectively received the Hirohumi Niwa, Glaciomar Machado, and Anthony Axon Distinguished Abstract Awards.

Authors of nearly 80 top-ranked abstracts received grants from WEO and our partner societies, the Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society (JGES), the Asian-Pacific Society of Digestive Endoscopy (A-PSDE), and the Chinese Society of Digestive Endoscopology (CSDE).

Chairs and speakers

A total of 250 international and local faculty members from more than 30 countries contributed to the enormous success of the event. Nearly 40 scientific sessions and about 300 expert presentations, including honorary lectures, provided every delegate with a learning experience tailored to their particular interest.

The industry presence was enormous and companies had the chance to showcase their latest technology, as well as using ENDO 2024 as the best platform to reconnect with the clinicians.

On behalf of Professor Hisao Tajiri, ENDO 2024 President, and Professor Hoon Jai Chun, ENDO 2024 Co-President, WEO would like to thank all these faculty and partnering societies for their hard work and time in preparing for and presenting their sessions. Their contribution to the success of ENDO 2024 was absolutely crucial! Also, special thanks to all participants and industry for their great support too!

New WEO Presidency

At ENDO 2024 the WEO Presidency passed from Professor Hisao Tajiri to Professor Lars Aabakken.