Our Story      Goals and spirit     About Meetings    Presentations and publications

Why and how to be a member?     Meet other members - join the Email list

Belgium is a very small country in Europe, but it's size does not reflect it's innovative spirit.

The Belgian Group for Endoscopic Surgery was created in September 91, as an independent association, by a small group of belgian surgeons fascinated by this new domain: Robert ALGABA, Chantal CORNIL, Frans DE WEER, José ETIENNE, Michel GELIN, Jean-François GIGOT, Benoît NAVEZ, André de NEVE de RODEN, Ludo VEREECKEN and  Joseph WEERTS.

André de NEVE de RODEN, past and first general secretary, has been at the heart of our evolution and is still a very active member. Ludo VEREECKEN and Bob VANHEE were presidents of the Belgian Royal Society of Surgery. Jean-François GIGOT (EAES board member), Benoît NAVEZ (general secretary and teacher at the Strasbourg Center) and  Joseph WEERTS (working with Bernard DALLEMAGNE - SLS award) are recognized as main representatives of European surgical endoscopy.

Our main goal is to establish contacts between all surgeons involved in this field, and also with political, scientific and business partners. You do not have to be an expert in the field to become a member. We are happy to see the rapidly growing number of members (about 400 in Belgium).

The Belgian Group for Endoscopic Surgery is now the official "surgical endoscopy" branch of the Belgian Royal Society of Surgery.

A partnership was established with several industry partners. Ethicon (main sponsor) and AutoSuture Belgium (major sponsor). And many others (Rhone-Poulenc, Styker..).

Our meetings are the heart of our development. We will continue to develop joint meetings (Belgian Society, Deauville Congress, BABS) , teaching courses (Strasbourg) and foreign scientific travels (due to the success of the Belgo-Jordan meeting, Burma and Cuba travels).

The Belgian Group for Endoscopic Surgery has made a lot of presentations in international congresses. Our first study (registry on lap cholecystectomy) was also the first in the world to show the increased risk of biliary injury.

Informed consent documents (from the BGES medico-legal committee) were published in the Acta Belgica.

Current studies include a  prospective registry on laparoscopic colonic resection, and on acute cholecystitis.

Why? Well, to stay informed on the latest developments in the field. And help us if you wish.

How? Just contact us - annual fee for Belgian members is only 100 Euros for surgeons and 25 Euros for "junior" members (post-graduates). Foreign members are welcome for free.

The combined BGES-EAES membership with "Surgical Endoscopy" is even more interesting, 190 Euros for Seniors, 75 Euros for juniors.

You can download the registration form (Word document), print it, fill it in and send it back by fax or standard mail. The same is tue for the renewal form.