CHICAGO—The 2006 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons-one of the largest international meetings of surgeons in the world-will convene October 8-12, 2006 in Chicago. The Clinical Congress will feature hundreds of scientific presentations highlighting research in progress in all surgical specialties. The Hilton Chicago will serve as the headquarters hotel for the meeting, and McCormick Place Lakeside Center will house the general and scientific sessions, as well as all scientific and technical exhibits.

The Clinical Congress program includes guest lectures by prominent leaders in surgery; 34 postgraduate courses; more than 283 hours of general and specialty sessions (159 total sessions); more than 63 hours video-based education selections (23 total sessions); more than 20 leading-edge, research-in-progress papers for presentation during the Surgical Forum and Papers Sessions; a series of press conferences; and a peer-reviewed poster session.

Approximately 250 companies will display products or services that improve the quality of surgical patient care or enhance management practices within the surgical profession.

This year's meeting will feature educational sessions including:

• Bariatric Surgery for All Surgeons
• Preparing Your Community: How to Structure a Mass Casualty Disaster Response
• Team Training in Surgery: Lessons from Aviation
• Advanced Technology in Image-Guided Diagnosis and Treatment of the Breast for Ultrasound and Stereotactic Imaging
• Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation
• Minimally Invasive Surgery: The Next Steps
• Laparoscopic Lymphadenectomy
• Grant-Writing Symposium for New Investigators

Press registration materials will be available in late June. If reporters planning to cover the Clinical Congress have any questions once press preregistration begins, they should contact Ms. Sally Garneski, ACS Communications: 312-202-5409, e-mail: sgarneski@facs.org.

The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and to improve the care of the surgical patient. The College is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scientific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for all surgical patients. The College has more than 69,000 members and it is the largest organization of surgeons in the world.

Online April 11 , 2006

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