Program description
This premier event brings together leading surgeons, innovators, and Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) to explore the evolving landscape of hernia surgery and abdominal wall reconstruction. While the in-person attendance is by invitation only, the virtual broadcast is open to all and will be streamed live on HerniaU.
The program is designed to educate and empower attendees through a dynamic blend of cutting-edge scientific insights, advanced surgical techniques, and data-driven decision-making. A key feature of the event is the sharing of personalized algorithms by KOLs, offering deep clinical insights that help optimize patient outcomes.
Participants—whether attending in person or virtually—will gain practical frameworks for selecting the most appropriate products for individual patients, balancing anatomical, procedural, and patient-specific factors to ensure the highest standard of care.
The symposium concludes with a collaborative roundtable and key takeaways session, reinforcing a shared commitment to continuous learning and innovation in hernia surgery.
Agenda and Speakers
Inguinal session
7:00AM – 9:00AM MDT (Mountain Daylight Time) UTC/GMT -6 hours | 09:00 AM – 11:00 AM EDT
|
INGUINAL |
Moderator: David C. Chen, MD, FACS |
|
Anatomy of an Inguinal Hernia! It’s not Just a Hernia |
David C. Chen, MD, FACS |
|
Robotic eTEP for Inguinal Hernia Surgery; Technical Pearls and Considerations |
Gabriel Arevalo, MD |
|
Tailored Approach in Open Inguinal Hernia Surgery: From Shouldice to Reinforced Shouldice |
Andreas Koch, MD, FACS |
|
Live Surgery Broadcast |
Andrea Pakula, MD, MPH, FACS |
|
Strategies for Avoiding and Treating Chronic Groin Pain |
Flavio Malcher, MD, MSc, FACS, FEBS-AWS |
|
Inguinal Panel Discussion and Q&A |
David C. Chen, Gabriel Arevlo, Andreas Koch, Andrea Pakula, and Flavio Malcher |
Inguinal session
7:00AM – 9:00AM MDT (Mountain Daylight Time) UTC/GMT -6 hours | 09:00 AM – 11:00 AM EDT
|
INGUINAL |
Moderator: David C. Chen, MD, FACS |
|
Anatomy of an Inguinal Hernia! It’s not Just a Hernia |
David C. Chen, MD, FACS |
|
Robotic eTEP for Inguinal Hernia Surgery; Technical Pearls and Considerations |
Gabriel Arevalo, MD |
|
Tailored Approach in Open Inguinal Hernia Surgery: From Shouldice to Reinforced Shouldice |
Andreas Koch, MD, FACS |
|
Live Surgery Broadcast |
Andrea Pakula, MD, MPH, FACS |
|
Strategies for Avoiding and Treating Chronic Groin Pain |
Flavio Malcher, MD, MSc, FACS, FEBS-AWS |
|
Inguinal Panel Discussion and Q&A |
David C. Chen, Gabriel Arevlo, Andreas Koch, Andrea Pakula, and Flavio Malcher |
Moderated by
David C. Chen, MD, FACS
Gabriel Arevalo, MD
Andreas Koch, MD, FACS
Andrea Pakula, MD, MPH, FACS
Science
9:00AM – 10:15AM MDT (Mountain Daylight Time) UTC/GMT -6 hours | 11:00 AM –12:15 AM EDT
|
SCIENCE |
Moderator: Amit Badhwar, PhD |
|
The Material Science Behind Innovation |
Amit Badhwar, PhD |
|
A Deep Dive into AMPs; Why Should They be Important to Me? |
George S. Hussey, PhD |
|
Material Science Panel Discussion and Q&A |
Amit Badhwar, George S. Hussey, Stephen Badylak and David Martin |
|
Coffee Break |
Science
9:00AM – 10:15AM MDT (Mountain Daylight Time) UTC/GMT -6 hours | 11:00 AM –12:15 AM EDT
|
SCIENCE |
Moderator: Amit Badhwar, PhD |
|
The Material Science Behind Innovation |
Amit Badhwar, PhD |
|
A Deep Dive into AMPs; Why Should They be Important to Me? |
George S. Hussey, PhD |
|
Material Science Panel Discussion and Q&A |
Amit Badhwar, George S. Hussey, Stephen Badylak and David Martin |
|
Coffee Break |
Moderated by
Amit Badhwar, PhD
George S. Hussey, PhD
Stephen Badylak, DVM, PHD, MD
David Martin, PhD
Ventral
10:15AM – 12:00PM MDT (Mountain Daylight Time) UTC/GMT -6 hours | 12:15 PM – 2:00 PM EDT
| VENTRAL | Moderator: Salvatore Docimo Jr., DO, FACS |
| A Data Driven Approach to Abdominal Wall Reconstruction | John P. Fischer, MD, MPH, FACS |
| Redefining Umbilical Hernia Repair: Before, During and After the Bump | Alisa Mae Coker, MD, FACS |
| Standardization and Ten Essential Steps in the Lateral Robotic ETEP Repair in Ventral Hernias | Alexander C. Morrell,MD, PhD, FACS |
|
Open VHR Best Practices – An Integral Part of Complex Ab Wall Reconstruction A Community Surgeons Approach to VHR; Robotic IPOM+… to Robotic ETEP. Education and Mentors are Key |
J. Scott Roth MD, FACS Amber Koon DO, FACS |
| Data Driven Decisions to Incorporating P4HB into a Synthetic Mesh Hernia Practice. My Tipping Point | Salvatore Docimo Jr. DO, FACS |
| Complications and Solutions in AWR | Giampiero Campanelli, MD, PHD, FACS |
| Ventral Hernia Panel Discussion and Q&A | John P. Fischer, Alisa Mae Coker, Morrell, J. Scott Roth, Amber Koon and Salvatore Docimo |
Ventral
10:15AM – 12:00PM MDT (Mountain Daylight Time) UTC/GMT -6 hours | 12:15 PM – 2:00 PM EDT
| VENTRAL | Moderator: Salvatore Docimo Jr., DO, FACS |
| A Data Driven Approach to Abdominal Wall Reconstruction | John P. Fischer, MD, MPH, FACS |
| Redefining Umbilical Hernia Repair: Before, During and After the Bump | Alisa Mae Coker, MD, FACS |
| Standardization and Ten Essential Steps in the Lateral Robotic ETEP Repair in Ventral Hernias | Alexander C. Morrell,MD, PhD, FACS |
|
Open VHR Best Practices – An Integral Part of Complex Ab Wall Reconstruction A Community Surgeons Approach to VHR; Robotic IPOM+… to Robotic ETEP. Education and Mentors are Key |
J. Scott Roth MD, FACS Amber Koon DO, FACS |
| Data Driven Decisions to Incorporating P4HB into a Synthetic Mesh Hernia Practice. My Tipping Point | Salvatore Docimo Jr. DO, FACS |
| Complications and Solutions in AWR | Giampiero Campanelli, MD, PHD, FACS |
| Ventral Hernia Panel Discussion and Q&A | John P. Fischer, Alisa Mae Coker, Morrell, J. Scott Roth, Amber Koon and Salvatore Docimo |
Moderated by
Salvatore Docimo Jr., DO, FACS
John P. Fischer, MD, MPH, FACS
Alisa Mae Coker, MD, FACS
Alexander C. Morrell, MD, PhD, FACS
Scott Roth, MD, FACS
Amber Koon DO, FACS
Case Reviews
1:30PM – 2:15 PM MDT (Mountain Daylight Time) UTC/GMT -6 hours | 3:30 PM – 4:15 PM EDT
|
Faculty Video Case Reviews; Let’s Be Honest! |
Sean Orenstein, MD, FACS, John P. Fischer, MD, MPH, FACS |
|
Key Takeaways |
John P. Fischer, MD, MPH, FACS |
Case Reviews
1:30PM – 2:15 PM MDT (Mountain Daylight Time) UTC/GMT -6 hours | 3:30 PM – 4:15 PM EDT
|
Faculty Video Case Reviews; Let’s Be Honest! |
Sean Orenstein, MD, FACS, John P. Fischer, MD, MPH, FACS |
|
Key Takeaways |
John P. Fischer, MD, MPH, FACS |
Moderated by
Amit Badhwar, PhD
Scott Roth, MD, FACS
John P. Fischer, MD, MPH, FACS