Robert Graves Lecture 2014_Professor P Ronan O’Connell_Wednesday 17th September 2014

15/09/2014 in Corrigan & Graves Halls, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, 6, Kildare Street, Dublin 2

The Ileal Pouch, Then and Now

 Professor P Ronan O’Connell

Professor P. Ronan O’Connell is Head of Surgical Specialties at UCD School of Medicine and Consultant Surgeon at St Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland. He is the current President of the European Society of Coloproctology, Secretary of the BJS Society, and Associate Editor of Diseases of the Colon and Rectum. His research interests include inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal cancer, and pelvic floor physiology.

 Summary:

Professor John Goligher in 1984 was of the opinion that ileal pouch-anal anastomosis ‘may well become the chief method for elective surgical treatment of ulcerative colitis’. He was of course quite correct and some 30 years later, IPAA is routine. Many of the early technical issues have been addressed, however, new issues such as patient selection, surgical technique, perioperative sepsis, the ‘aging’ and the ‘failing’ pouch and the enigmatic condition known as ‘pouchitis’ are issues that continue to pose difficulties. The evolution of the operation and current challenges will be addressed  in this review of the Ileal Pouch – Then and Now

Refreshments will follow the lecture in the Graves Hall

For more photos click here

This is the fifty-fourth Graves Lecture since its beginning in 1961.