• United Nations International Volunteer Day
• Surgical Practice Patterns Survey
• Mesh Webinar Series Part 2 of 3: Mesh Extrusion
• Reminder about Submissions for the 2014 Meeting

The United Nations International Volunteer Day is celebrated on December 5th of every year. It is a chance to celebrate and recognize volunteerism in all its facets and for volunteer-involving organizations and individual volunteers to promote their contributions to development at local, national and international levels. IUGA will be using December 5th to thank its volunteers for their support of its mission over the past year. Be on the lookout for a video from IUGA’s President, Willy Davila, on the web site along with letters of appreciation. For more information about International Volunteer Day and how to get involved, please click here.

Dear colleague:

I am writing on behalf of the IUGA Research and Development Committee to request your help with an important project. We are conducting a survey of current surgical practices in the field of urogynecology and female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery to ask about your experiences.

I know that this is a busy time of year for you, but I hope that you will take just 5 minutes of your time to participate in this brief web survey.

To complete the survey online, please go to the ‘Take Survey’ icon below and then follow the online survey instructions. If you do not have access to the Internet, or prefer to answer the questionnaire on paper, you may request a paper survey by sending an email to the IUGA office to amanda@iuga.org.

As a token of our appreciation for your participation in this important study, upon receipt of your completed questionnaire, the Office of IUGA will enter your name to win an iPad. Please enter your IUGA constituent number noted below to enter the draw!

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Your answers will be completely confidential. Moreover, the results of the survey will be reported in a summary format, so again no one will link you to your responses.

Thank you in advance for your participation in this important project. If you have any questions about the administration of the survey, please contact IUGA office at amanda@iuga.org.

Gamal Ghoniem, MD, FACS
IUGA Research & Development Committee
“Begin challenging your own assumptions. Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in awhile, or the light won't come in.” Alan Alda

Or, click on the following URL: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8KZS76R

To participate in the draw for the iPad, please enter the following IUGA constituent number in the space provided at the top of the survey: @@constituent_id@@

On Dec 5 (Dec 6 in Asia and Oceania) IUGA will offer the second webinar in a series of three regarding mesh.  This event will begin at 10pm Greenwich Mean Time.  To see the time difference between your local time and that time, please consult: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/

This session will focus on mesh extrusion and will feature the following speakers and topics:

Moderator – Willy Davila (Fort Lauderdale, USA)

Willy Davila
Background – explain the range of complications associated with mesh
Incidence – discuss the frequency of mesh-related complications
Alternatives – outline the conservative management of mesh exposure

Dennis Miller (Wauwatosa, USA)
                              Surgical management of mesh extrusion, when and how much to remove

Hans Peter Dietz (Penrith, Australia) (alternate: Clara Shek)
                              Ultrasound findings of mesh following implantation
                              Ultrasound as a tool for diagnosis of mesh complications

All panel members
Surgical solutions when there is recurrence following vaginal mesh implantation

Willy Davila
Final discussion and wrap-up

This webinar will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis.  Information regarding connecting to the webinar will be distributed to members a couple of days before the event.

Abstract, workshop and roundtable* submissions for the 2014 AUGS/IUGA Joint Scientific Meeting are open. The deadlines for submission are listed below along with links to submit and get more information.

Workshops – December 9, 2013 Click here for more information about workshop submissions.
Roundtables* - February 1, 2014 Click here for more information about roundtable submissions.
Abstracts – February 3, 2014  Click here for more information about abstract submissions. 

*The roundtables are the same format as IUGA Meet the Expert sessions at previous annual meetings.

Please note that due to time constraints, there will be no extensions granted for workshops and abstracts submissions. The deadlines listed above are final. Please send all questions to office@iuga.org.

Visit www.augs-iuga2014.org for more information about the 2014 meeting.