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About us

The E-AHPBA aims to be the prime interdisciplinary organisation for HPB-related surgical science and scholarship in the Europe-Africa-Middle-East region.  We provide an international forum to discuss and learn about state-of-the-art developments in HPB surgery and practice by

  • conducting a biennial scientific meeting (alternating with the IHPBA World Congress)
  • offering participation in other events throughout the year including consensus conferences, post-graduate courses, technical courses, and workshops
  • supporting select educational and scientific activities generated within our membership and strategic partners
  • improving education in our field by formalising the postgraduate course curriculum and its delivery through national chapters. Related to this, a new process for accreditation of training sites is currently being introduced
  • and holding a Regional Congress which will be held in Lyon, France from 6th to 9th June 2023.

The official journal of E-AHPBA is HPB – an international forum for clinical, scientific and educational communication with an impact factor in 2023 of 2.9.  It has risen in importance in the last few years and is now the major HPB journal in which the latest advances in our speciality are published.

The E-AHPBA also publishes newsletters on a regular basis and the website is updated regularly throughout the year to inform our wide group of stakeholders about activities, news and updates in our field.

Today, the E-AHPBA plays a major role in the development and dissemination of cutting-edge HPB-related news and clinical updates on a global scale. We aim to be a friendly and efficient platform enabling practitioners, researchers and clinicians to share ideas, scientific information, studies and information of particular interest to trainees. The desire to learn from each other in an international and interdisciplinary world is our motivation.

The E-AHPBA plays a major role in the understanding of HPB diseases worldwide.  As a regional association of the IHPBA, we are  committed to the combined membership of the two organisations which ensures that we remain aligned with the vision of the IHPBA and the other regional associations: the AHPBA and the A-PHPBA.

When you join, your membership is a joint membership to both E-AHPBA and IHPBA.

 

Principles of the E-AHPBA

  • The E-AHPBA is committed to excellence in patient care and is devoted to elevating standards of care throughout the world.
  • The E-AHPBA encourages the recruitment, mentorship, training and career development of individuals interested in hepato-pancreato-biliary disorders.
  • The E-AHPBA embraces a multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of hepato-pancreato-biliary disorders and fosters collegial relationships.
  • The E-AHPBA encourages membership by qualified candidates interested in hepato-pancreato-biliary disorders including anaesthesiologists, hepatologists, gastroenterologists, radiologists, oncologists, surgeons, transplant physicians, nurses, allied health professionals and investigators.
  • The E-AHPBA is focused on the development of new national chapters and increasing our membership.
  • The E-AHPBA is committed to the highest ethical standards in research, education, organisational operation and interaction with industry.

Currently, the Association welcomes more than 1000+ active members from Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Our region also includes national chapters which represent countries including: CIS (Russian Federation and CIS Countries), Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Great Britain and Ireland, Greece, Italy, Kenya, MENA (Middle East and North Africa), Netherlands, Scandinavia, Spain, South Africa and Turkey.

History

The idea to found the EHPBA was conceived in May 1990 during the 3rd World IHPBA Congress in London, England. At that time there were two European candidate cities for the organization of the 4th World Congress in 1996: one was Bologna (Italian, Chapter), headed by Prof. G. Gozetti and the other was Athens (Greek Chapter), headed by Prof. B. Kekis. Bologna was chosen to organize and host the 4th World Congress.

It was thereafter suggested that a European Congress should be organised in between odd years of the World Congress. By making the venues more accessible we would facilitate the participation of colleagues from Europe, who constitute the majority of IHPBA members. John Terblanche from Cape Town, South Africa, proposed to give the Greek Chapter the opportunity to organise the First European Congress in Athens in 1995 to test the suitability of a regional HPB organisation. President Martin Adson adopted the idea, and Secretary General Robin Williamson replied: “Let’s give it a try! If the meeting in Athens is a success, then we shall continue; if not, then we will forget the idea altogether.”

The Athens Congress in 1995, under the presidency of Basil Kekis was a great success both in terms of participation of HPB specialists from all over Europe and in terms of the quality of the organization. To pursue this positive experience, it was decided to organize a follow up 2nd Congress in 1997 under the Presidency of Christoph Broelsch, Hamburg, Germany. Inspired by the success of these two European meetings, the idea for the creation of a European Chapter matured; By-laws were written and European leaders in HPB were identified to serve as founding members.

The first General Assembly took place in May 1999 in Budapest, Hungary, during the 3rd European Congress. The creation of the Regional European HPB Association was voted unanimously in this 1st General Assembly. The by-laws were approved and the founding officers were elected to serve for the initial period (1999-2001). It was as follows:

  • Founding Council and Officers President: Basil Kekis (Greece)
  • President-Elect: Christoph Broelsch (Germany)
  • Secretary-Treasurer: Spyros Skaltsas (Greece)
  • Members: Peter Kupcsulik (Hungary), Dirk Gouma (The Netherlands), Robin Williamson (U.K)

The new general Committee took the responsibility of selecting venues for the bi-annual Congresses of the Association. Amsterdam was chosen for 2001 and the meeting was successfully organised by Dirk Gouma. Istanbul held the 2003 EHPBA meeting under the leadership of Ali Emre. It was during this meeting that the EHPBA, which now included the Middle East and Africa, was inaugurated formally. The council was expanded more formally organised and new officers were elected. In Istanbul, the vision, spirit and tradition of the EHPBA became established, and its future secured.

Basil P. Kekis
Chris Broelsch

Leadership History
Past Presidents Past General Secretaries
2019-2021 Kevin Conlon Ireland 2019-2021 Roberto Salvia Italy
2017-2019 Christos Dervenis Greece 2019* Xavier Rogiers Belgium
2015-2017 Martin Smith South Africa 2015-2019 Kees DeJong Netherlands
2013-2015 Claudio Bassi Italy 2010-2013 Kevin Conlon Ireland
2009-2013 Pierre Clavien Switzerland 2009-2010 Yaman Tokat Turkey
2007-2009 Jacques Belghiti France 2005-2009 Pierre Clavien Switzerland
2005-2007 Dirk Gouma Netherlands 2001-2005 Andrea Frilling Germany
2001-2005 Christoph Broelsch Germany 1999-2001 Spyros Skaltsas Greece
1999-2001 Basil Kekis Greece
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