SAN FRANCISCO – Honorary Fellowships in the American College of Surgeons (ACS) were awarded to eight highly recognized surgeons from around the world at this year’s Clinical Congress 2024 in San Francisco, California.
Conferral of Honorary Fellowship in the ACS began in 1913 upon the founding of the ACS. Individuals selected for Honorary Fellowship generally practice outside of the United States, possess an international reputation in the field of surgery or medicine, and have provided distinguished humanitarian service in the field of medical science.
The surgeons were awarded Honorary Fellowships on Saturday, October 19, at the Convocation Ceremony, which precedes the opening of the 2024 Clinical Congress. This year’s recipients are:
Emmanuel Adoyi Ameh, MBBS, FACS, FWACS, FRCSI – Dr. Ameh is a professor and chief consultant pediatric surgeon in the Department of Surgery at National Hospital in Abuja, Nigeria. A specialist in pediatric surgery and former chief of pediatric surgery at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Nigeria, he is the first Board of Governors member representing the Nigeria ACS Chapter and has played a crucial role in the success and expansion of this chapter.
Yuichiro Doki, MD, PhD – Dr. Doki is a groundbreaking esophageal cancer surgeon from Osaka, Japan. As the current director of Osaka University Hospital, Dr. Doki has helped build a pre-eminent academic department of gastroenterological surgery that includes 500 surgeons.
Christine Gaarder, MD, PhD, FACS, FEBSEmSurg, FEBSAWR – Dr. Gaarder is a leader in the development of trauma care and trauma systems in Europe and worldwide. She is the chief of the Department of Traumatology and a professor of trauma and simulation at Oslo University Hospital and an attending surgeon in the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery at Oslo University Hospital Ullevål, both in Oslo, Norway.
Andrew Graham Hill, MBChB, MD, EdD, FACS, FISS, FRACS, FRSNZ – Dr. Hill is a renowned colorectal surgeon in New Zealand. He is a professor of surgery, head of South Auckland Clinical Campus, and assistant dean in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland, as well as a consultant general and colorectal surgeon to the Counties Manukau District Health Board, all in Auckland, New Zealand. Dr. Hill is also the President of the Australia and New Zealand Chapter of the ACS and a member of the ACS Board of Governors.
Jamal Hoballah, MD, MBA, FACS – Dr. Hoballah, a vascular surgeon, is the chairperson and professor of surgery at the Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center of the American University of Beirut, in Beirut, Lebanon. He is a founder and leader of multiple Middle Eastern surgical associations. He is a past president of the ACS Lebanon Chapter, past ACS Governor, and past Vice Chair of the ACS International Relations Committee. He remains on the Executive Board of the International Relations Committee.
Patrick Ronan O’Connell, MB, MD, FRCSI – Dr. O’Connell is an internationally recognized colorectal surgeon and emeritus professor of surgery at the University College Dublin in Dublin, Ireland, and a past president of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Dr. O’Connell has served on the editorial board of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons and the Annals of Surgery, associate editor and editor of The British Journal of Surgery, associate editor of Diseases of the Colon and Rectum, past editor in chief for the European Surgical Association, and joint editor on several surgical textbooks.
Shailesh Vinayak Shrikhande, MBBS, MS, MD – Dr. Shrikhande is a renowned hepatobiliary surgeon. He is a professor and the head of the Division of Cancer Surgery, chief of the Gastrointestinal and Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Service, and deputy director of the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, India.
Catherine S. C. Teh, MD, FPCS, FRCS(Ed) – Dr. Teh is a renowned hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) surgeon from Manila, Philippines. She serves as chief of HPB Surgery at the Makati Medical Centre in Manila and Tarlac Provincial Hospital, in Tarlac City; director of the Great Valley Medical Center in Quezon City; and medical director of the Global Cancer Care Institute, in Bay, Laguna, all in the Philippines.
Full citations and sponsors for the Honorary Fellows, and the full list of all Fellows inducted during Clinical Congress, can be found at facs.org/convocation.
A photo and additional information on each of this year’s Honorary Fellows are available on request from the ACS Public Information Office: pressinquiry@facs.org.
