The 2024 edition of the annual EAU Robotic Urology Section Meeting will take place in Bordeaux, France, famous for its place in laparoscopic and robotic history almost as much as for its wines.
The meeting will take place on 11-13 September and feature special scientific programmes for Young Urologists and Nurses, in addition to the live surgical procedures and in-depth discussions on all things robotic. The scientific programme is further enhanced by ESU courses.
One of the leaders of the ERUS24 Local Organising Committee is Dr. Richard Gaston (Bordeaux, FR), winner of the ERUS Wickham Award in 2022 for his work as a pioneer in both laparoscopic and robotic urology. Building on the adoption of laparoscopic instruments in general surgery he codified laparoscopic radical prostatectomy in the late 1990s.
Dr. Gaston: “The coming of ERUS24 in Bordeaux is highly appropriate, as Bordeaux is an important part in the history of laparoscopic and robotic surgery in urology. Laparoscopy was born in France through Prof. Jacques Périssat who from the mid 1980’s onward had deeply developed laparoscopy in general surgery. He contributed to the training of the urologist teams of this city, who started laparoscopy in urology from the beginning of the 90’s.”
“Many surgeons from the whole world visited and continue to visit our institutions and develop laparoscopic and robotic urology. In that spirit, I look forward to welcoming the ERUS24 delegates this summer!”
A first for an EAU event
Dr. Gaston points to the uptick in use cases for robotics in urology. Beyond uro-oncological procedures, robotics are now also used for transplantation and reconstructive techniques. Single-purpose robotic systems are also coming to the market, beyond the surgical systems that surgeons have become accustomed to in the past two decades.
“Meetings like ERUS24 are very important for urologists, because new procedures have recently appeared in robotic laparoscopy, progressively replacing open surgery, whether in reconstructive surgery particularly for bladder reconstruction, or vena cava thrombosis surgeries, and also for all the surgery concerning pelvic floor disorders in women.”
“The use of robotics enables us now to perform kidney transplantations but also auto-transplantations and very difficult procedures of anastomosis reconstruction between bladder and urethra after prostatectomy.”
“ERUS24 in Bordeaux will be the opportunity to present a wide range of new robots whether 4-armed, 5-armed or single port, but a wider theme will be the development of telesurgery, which will take be a very important part of the future of robotics.”
“The meeting will generate a major first for the EAU as a team of Chinese surgeons will operate from Bordeaux, on a patient in Beijing with a time lag lower than 135ms. This will be the first demonstration of its kind at an EAU meeting. I believe this marks the beginning of many procedures of this type that will be performed in the future with all manner of robotic systems.”
Educational value
Educational programmes for young urologists are of course essential, especially in a quickly evolving field like robotic surgery. Dr. Gaston sees educational advantages to robotic systems as well:
“Learning robotics is easier than learning open surgery, this has been a great evolution in the past twenty years. All the major procedures are now standardised, documented and codified.”
“The attendance in Bordeaux of experienced surgeons will enable the young urologists to skip many steps and simplify the surgical procedures, for example regarding partial nephrectomy without clamping, using the robot to perform functional surgery, reconstruction or treatment of pelvic disorders in women.”
“The ERUS24 local organisers feel that the Bordeaux meeting will mark a turning point in the development of robotics. As robotic surgeons we are progressively contributing to the removing of the need for open surgery. Many brands of robots are now present on the market allowing an ever increasing quality through simplification of the procedures, and new technology like imagery directly inserted into the surgeon’s field of view. This Meeting in particular will be the opportunity to discover telesurgery, which we are confident will rapidly become part of daily life for surgeons.”
- Registration for ERUS24 is open! The discounted Late Fee is available until 29 August, after which the on-site fee will apply. Various fees are available for nurses, young urologists, medical students and EAU Members.
