If you don’t recall your IUGA web site log-in details, or are having difficulty accessing the members-only section of the website, please contact Amy Cassini, the Membership Manager, at amy@iuga.org. 

Vote in the run-off election for IUGA Vice President
Thank you to everyone who voted in the IUGA elections. The results of the election can be found by clicking here. Since none of the three candidates for Vice President received more than 50% of the vote, and in keeping with a decision of the board at its July, 2014 meeting, there is a run-off election currently taking place between the top two candidates, Lynsey Hayward and Heinz Koelbl. An reminder e-mail with voting instructions was sent to members on Friday, December 12 with the subject line: 2015 IUGA Vice President Runoff‏. The run-off election will close on December 22nd. If you have any questions about voting, please contact Nailah Metwally at nailah@iuga.org.

Call for abstracts
The 2015 abstract submission system is open! The deadline for submission will be February 1, 2015.  For more information or to submit your abstract, please visit, http://www.iugameeting.org/abstracts/.

Meet the experts roundtable breakfast–call for proposals extended to January 8th
The ever popular “Meet the Experts Roundtable Breakfast” is back! These are set-up as small sessions, with ten people to a table, giving particpants an opportunity to interact with experts in a more intimate setting.  IUGA has had a lot of success with these in the past. At the AUGS/IUGA Scientific Meeting in Washington, D.C. almost 100% of the tables were sold out. Some of the popular topics included understanding ureteral vaginal fistula, chronic pelvic pain & interstitial cystitis: pearls on diagnosis & treatment, how to create an award winning pelvic floor center and making a surgical video. If you feel you have a topic that would be of interest to IUGA meeting attendees, please complete and submit a short application along with a CV to ensure transparency and fairness in the selection process.  The deadline date has been extended to January 8th. The breakfast will be held on Friday, June 12th with a maximum of 20 tables.  To download the application form, please click here. For any questions, please email office@iuga.org.

Visit www.iugameeting.org for more information about the 2015 annual meeting.

Research grant opportunity-less than one week left to submit applications
IUGA, with the generous support of Uroplasty, is soliciting applications for research grant proposals within the clinical space of overactive bladder or fecal incontinence.  The amount of the grant will be $15,000. 

Submissions for this grant competition will be reviewed and awarded by the IUGA Research and Development Committee using their regular review processes, which involve peer-review.   The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, December 17, 2014. It will be awarded to one IUGA member who properly completes and submits the required application prior to the stated deadline.  Only complete applications that include all required material will be forwarded for review.  The notification of award will be announced at the end of February 2015. 

Click here to submit your grant application.

IUGA Webinar:“Laparoscopic Sacralcolpopexy Tips and Tricks”
December 18, 2014 at 3:00pm – 4:00pm EST
On Thursday, December 18 at 3:00pm EST in North America (early December 19 in Asia and Oceania) IUGA will offer a webinar to IUGA members titled ‘Laparoscopic Sacralcolpopexy Tips and Tricks’. Topics will include pertinent anatomy and scientific background data supporting laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy vs. other options (i.e. vaginal mesh or traditional surgery), dissection tips and tricks and avoiding complications, step by step suturing and setup, how to be efficient with laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy and much more. This session is being supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Coloplast.  As with previous webinars, this session will be recorded and will be available to IUGA members via the IUGA website.

For more information about this webinar, including time equivalents in various countries and webinar tools, please visit http://www.iuga.org/?page=webinar. The link to access the webinar will be posted online and e-mailed to members a few days prior to the webinar.

Survey: variation in techniques of prolapse and incontinence surgery
We would be grateful if you could take the time to complete this short survey on variation in techniques of prolapse and incontinence surgery. We are investigating the range of practice globally as we believe it varies significantly. Your responses will help us to produce a consensus statement.

The survey should take no longer than 5 minutes and consists of 23 short multiple choice questions.

Click Here!

Thank you in advance,

Dr. Monika Vij
Urogynaecology Subspeciality trainee
MBBS,MS,MRCOG
Derriford Hospital,
Plymouth
UK