• FDA Press release: FDA proposes to reclassify surgical mesh for transvaginal POP
• FDA Safety Communication: Laparoscopic Uterine Power Morcellation in Hysterectomy and Myomectomy
• 2014 AUGS/IUGA Joint Scientific Meeting
  • Late breaking news
  • Calendar of important deadlines
  • Preliminary program
  • Registration now open
• Upcoming webinar: submit an OAB case
• Mentorship registry
• Training site directory

FDA proposes to reclassify surgical mesh for transvaginal POP
On April 29, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued two proposed orders to address the health risks associated with surgical mesh used for transvaginal repair of pelvic organ prolapse (POP). If finalized, the orders would reclassify surgical mesh for transvaginal POP from a moderate-risk device (class II) to a high-risk device (class III) and require manufacturers to submit a premarket approval (PMA) application for the agency to evaluate safety and effectiveness. The FDA will take comments on the proposed order for 90 days.

To read the full press release, please click here.

Laparoscopic Uterine Power Morcellation in Hysterectomy and Myomectomy:
FDA Safety Communication
On April 17, the FDA released a safety communiation about the use of laparoscopic power morcellators in laparoscopic surgeries. The concern is unexpected morcellation of a leiomyosarcoma with a quoted risk of 1:350 cases. If laparoscopic power morcellation is performed in women with unsuspected uterine sarcoma, there is a risk that the procedure will spread the cancerous tissue within the abdomen and pelvis, significantly worsening the patient’s likelihood of long-term survival. For this reason, and because there is no reliable method for predicting whether a woman with fibroids may have a uterine sarcoma, the FDA discourages the use of laparoscopic power morcellation during hysterectomy or myomectomy for uterine fibroids.

To read the full safety communication, please click here.

New this year! Late Breaking News Abstracts
Late-breaking abstract submissions are intended to allow for the timely presentation of high impact trials to AUGS-IUGA meeting attendees.  It is expected that these abstract submissions are from studies for which no preliminary data was available at the time of the abstract submission deadline (February 3, 2014).

This meeting feature is not a mechanism to update previously submitted preliminary data or to provide an opportunity for previously rejected abstracts to be revised and resubmitted for consideration. The link to submit these abstracts through the OASIS system is now available. Please click here for more information about late-breaking news abstract submissions. Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Maureen Hodgson at Maureen@iuga.org.

Calendar of important dates
The next few months are very busy for IUGA and its members as preparations for the 2014 Joint Scientific Meeting continue. IUGA wants to ensure its members do not miss any important deadlines and have such have created the following calendar of important deadlines:

If you have any questions about these deadline dates, please e-mail office@iuga.org and someone will be happy to assist you.

Preliminary program now available online!
The preliminary program for the 2014 AUGS/IUGA Joint Scientific Meeting is now available online. Click here and select “download the full preliminary program”.

Registration now open
Registration for the AUGS/IUGA Joint Scientific Meeting is now open. This is the first-ever joint meeting between AUGS and IUGA, so it’s sure to deliver the best of both organizations! Don’t miss out on exciting debates, innovative presentations during the scientific program, a fun new twist on the typical Friday night closing celebration and so much more. Register by May 11 to take advantage of discounted registration fees. To view the various registration rates and types, please click here.  

IUGA members will be required to enter a key code during the registration process to identify them as members. The code and instructions for using it were sent via e-mail  on April 11th. You can also find the code on your profile page by logging in at www.iuga.org and selecting ‘Profile Home’ from the menu options on the left-hand side of the page.

CLICK HERE TO BEGIN YOUR REGISTRATION

Please send all registration questions to info@augs.org.

Upcoming webinar: we need your help!
Do you have a tricky OAB case you would like discussed by our panel of experts?  Send us a short paragraph of your clinical scenario to webinar@iuga.org by May 16.   It will be considered for inclusion in our upcoming webinar on Refractory OAB to be held later this month.

Mentorship registry available online
The IUGA office and the Research & Development and Fellows’ Committees are excited to announce the launch of the online mentorship registry. This tool was developed to encourage mentor/mentee relationships between IUGA members. Some of the mentorship categories we have identified include assistance with research, manuscript writing and career development advice. IUGA would like to invite you to visit the registry online to sign-up as a mentor, search for a mentor or simply see what it’s all about. The link to the registry is below:

http://www.iuga.org/default.asp?page=mentorship

Please bear in mind that submitting an application does not obligate you to mentor everyone who makes a request. IUGA hopes its members will take advantage of this exciting new registry and use the 2014 meeting in Washington, D.C. as an opportunity to meet face-to-face with their mentor or mentee.

Training Site Directory
The IUGA training site directory is an interactive PDF which contains a listing of fellowship training sites around the world, broken down by region. It is an excellent tool for anyone searching for a fellowship in their own country or internationally. This fluid document will be updated continuously throughout the year as we receive updates.

IUGA is planning to publish the directory in the IUJ in September. If you represent one of the sites listed in the directory, please review the entry to ensure the information published in the IUJ is as complete as possible. If the information for your site is incorrect, or your program is not listed and you would like it included, complete the “training site directory update form” on the training site directory web page.

Please click here to visit the training site directory page.

If you have questions regarding the directory, please contact Amy Cassini, Membership Manager, at amy@iuga.org.