EHS Monothematic Conference, Ljubljana, Oct. 17th, 2025

EHS Monothematic Conference, Ljubljana, Oct. 17th, 2025

Minimally invasive approach for ventral hernia repair

The idea for the event came from Prof. Umberto Bracale after we met a year ago at the Monothematic EHS conference in Sofia, Bulgaria. The offer from him and from the EHS as scientific supporters and providers of excellent speakers was very generous. The idea of combining the 11th Slovenian biennial national hernia conference, planned for fall 2025, with an EHS conference was very well received by my colleagues after I presented it to the Slovenian Hernia Society. Gregor Kunst, MD, the current president of the Slovenian Hernia Society, agreed, and we formed a 10-member organizing team that shared the tasks (scientific, financial, UEMS CME credits, social, etc.)—a model that has proven successful in recent years in organizing national conferences. We received active support from the Slovenian Medical Association in terms of administration and financial control. Scientific support came from the local journal SSE (Surgery and Surgical Endoscopy), which indexed and published all abstracts (Volume 5, Supplement 2).

We were very proud and happy that eight renowned international lecturers agreed to actively participate (Prof. Stabilini, Prof. Bracale, Prof. Köckerling, Prof. Fortelny, Prof. Kukleta, Prof. Radu, Prof. Chen, and Prim. Dr. Schrittwieser). They presented the current state of modern treatment of abdominal wall hernias worldwide. During the afternoon program, several Slovenian experts demonstrated how new technologies are being implemented in daily practice. Slovenia is no longer geographically on the edge of the European Union, so we felt obliged to invite some of our Croatian and Serbian colleagues to present case series from their own practice. We see this cooperation between countries in this part of Europe as an opportunity for the future.

The Grand Hotel Union in the center of Ljubljana provided a pleasant setting for the event. We had a total of 76 participants.

We would like to thank the EHS for their support, in particular Prof. Stabilini, Prof. Bracale, and Teresa Krausmann and her team from CAP Partner. Many thanks to Dr. Jagrič from the Maribor Medical Center for including our abstracts in the SSE magazine.

We firmly believe that this event will lead to even better and more responsible surgical care for our patients in this part of Europe in the future. New contacts and friendships will open up opportunities for further hernia meetings in the coming years

Assist. Prof. Jurij Gorjanc, MD, PhD, FRCS, FEBS AWS hon., president of the organising committee