Vilnius University Professor Elected as President of International Society of University Colon and Rectal Surgeons

Professor of Vilnius University (VU) Faculty of Medicine Institute of Clinical Medicine’s Narimantas Evaldas Samalavičius was elected as the president of the International Society of University Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ISUCRS) in the 30th Biennial 2020 Congress. The professor will lead ISUCRS until the next congress, which will be held in 2022 in Istanbul, Turkey.

The recognition of Prof N. E. Samalavičius is an extraordinary event for the medicine history of Lithuania. Before this, only one VU professor, academician cardiac surgeon Vytautas Sirvydis has reached a similar career high by becoming president of World Society of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons in 2005.

“For a representative from a small country to be elected as a president in a world organisation is a bit honour. I would even say it is a lifetime achievement. However, this honour is also a big responsibility, which calls for a lot of devotion and work. A lot of challenges are ahead and some of them are very difficult because of pandemic,” says Prof N. E. Samalavičius.

The Biennial 2020 Congress, like many other events, was held virtually due to Covid-19 pandemic. However, it did not stop the big turnout of almost two thousand people.

ISUCRS was founded in Mexico City, Mexico almost 60 years ago, on November 24, 1992. Back then, the society connected leading surgeons from the university hospitals all over the world. Although for a long time the focus was surgeons from academic institutions, now the society has a wider membership strategy and connects all surgeons from the field.