WASHINGTON — Honorary Fellowships in the American College of Surgeons (ACS) were awarded to eight highly recognized surgeons from around the world at this year’s ACS Clinical Congress 2026 in Washington, D.C.
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, September 26, at the Convocation Ceremony, which preceded the opening of the 2026 ACS Clinical Congress. This year’s recipients are:
Jorge Daes, MD, FACS, Bogota, Colombia — Dr. Daes is a general surgeon who is globally recognized for achievements in laparoscopic, bariatric, and hernia repair surgery. He is the academic director of the Minimally Invasive Surgery Department at Clinicas Portoazul and Iberoamerica, in Barranquilla, Colombia.
Paolo De Coppi, MD, PhD, FMedSci, FRCS (Hon), London, England — Dr. De Coppi is an internationally renowned leader in pediatric surgery, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine. He is the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Professor and Nuffield Chair of Paediatric Surgery at the University College London (UCL) Institute of Child Health, as well as head of the Surgery Unit in the Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Section of the Developmental Biology and Cancer Programme at the UCL Great Ormond Institute of Child Health, in London, England.
Christian Gerber, MD, PhD, FRCS (Ed; Hon), Zürich, Switzerland — Dr. Gerber is a leader in orthopaedic surgery and expert in musculoskeletal medicine. He is a former professor and the former chair and current chair emeritus of the Department of Orthopaedics at the University of Zürich, as well as the former medical director of Balgrist University Hospital in Zürich, Switzerland.
Rosa Maria Jorba Martín, MD, PhD, Tarragona, Spain — Dr. Jorba Martín is a renowned academic gastrointestinal surgeon and surgeon-leader. She is the clinical director of the Surgery Department at Joan XXIII University Hospital and an associate professor at Rovira i Virgili University, both in Tarragona, Spain.
Abhay Rane, OBE, MBBS, MS, FRCS (Glas), FRCS(Urol), Surrey, England — Dr. Rane is a urologist known for his pioneering work in laparoscopic surgery. A consultant urological surgeon and professor of surgery at East Surrey Hospital in Redhill, England, she is a prolific researcher. He also led the team performing the first single-port nephrectomy, which led to development of the single-port robotic surgery platforms used widely today.
Jean-Baptiste Ricco, MD, PhD, FEBVS, Poitiers, France — Dr. Ricco is a prominent emeritus professor of vascular surgery with notable achievements in humanitarian surgery. Dr. Ricco spent his career at University of Poitiers in Poitiers, France, where he became a tenured professor and chief of the Department of Surgery, then emeritus professor of vascular surgery and chair of educational affairs.
Norbert Senninger, MD, PhD, FACS, FRCS, Münster, Germany — Dr. Senninger is an innovator in transplantation and complex gastrointestinal oncological surgery. While serving as a surgeon at Heidelberg University Hospital in Heidelberg, Germany, Dr. Senninger performed the first pancreas transplant in that city.
Han-Kwang Yang, MD, PhD, FACS, Seoul, Korea — Dr. Yang is an acclaimed gastric cancer surgeon and global leader on management of cancers of the stomach. He has served in various leadership roles at Seoul National University in Seoul, South Korea, for more than 30 years, including serving as chair of the Department of Surgery and Cancer Research Institute, director of the Gastric Cancer Center, and general director of the Seoul National University Cancer Hospital. Under his leadership, the center completed 1,000 gastric cancer procedures per year, of which Dr. Yang performed 250 himself.
A photo and additional information on each of this year’s Honorary Fellows are available by contacting pressinquiry@facs.org.
