ISSUE 1 // DECEMBER 2023 PAGE 1

EDSURG EDITION
THE OFFICIAL EDINBURGH STUDENT SURGICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
ESSS
ESSS
since
since2005
2005

WELCOME IN THIS ISSUE

Presidents' Address..... 2
2023/24 Committee..... 3

(BACK) TO
Announcements............. 4
Events Recap................... 5
Welcome freshers and
hello aspiring surgeons

What's On.......................... 7

EDINBURGH Specialty Spotlights..... 11

Surgeons share insights
into their specialties

Supp orting KidsO R....... 14

A charity working to
improve childrens’ access
to surgery worldwide

Surgery International... 15
Editor's note..................... 16
Our Sponsors................... 16

THE OFFICIAL ESSS NEWSLETTER ISSUE 1 // DECEMBER 2023

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PRESIDENTS'
ADDRESS
On behalf of Edinburgh Student Surgical Society (ESSS), we are delighted to welcome you back
to the society for the 2023-24 academic year!

Founded in 2005, ESSS is the official surgical society of the University of Edinburgh. Led by
students, we aim to provide opportunities for medical students interested in a surgical career.
During medical school, exposure to surgery – whether that be attainment of surgical skills
through practice, work experience, access to current research or networking opportunities – is
incredibly limited. Our society hosts a variety of events endeavouring to fill this void; this
includes regular surgical skills workshops, academic tutorials, careers workshops, lectures
from notable speakers, and a selection of special events.

Such events notably include our National Undergraduate Surgery and Trauma Conference, a
day of themed surgical talks and interactive workshops hosted at the Royal College of
Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) in March. For those exploring whether a surgical career is for
them, our Surgical Careers Roadshow will give you a whistlestop tour of the surgical
specialties, what a career in surgery involves, and how to boost your portfolio. More regularly,
we host our Surgical Skills Club, where members can develop practical skills including knot
tying and suturing, which is aided by our kit loan scheme where members can loan an ESSS
surgical kit for home practice. Other educational events include our Finals Weekend,
Undergraduate Teaching Series, and Surgical Anatomy Series.

We also advertise surgical related opportunities including ESSS teaching opportunities, the
ESSS Research Award, and of course our very own Annual Conference Abstract/Presentation
competition, as well as external opportunities from RCSEd and research collaboratives.

We hope you enjoy an action-packed year with the society! We look forward to seeing you
budding surgeons at our events.

JINGJING WANG & BEATRICE LOFTHOUSE

ESSS PRESIDENT & SENIOR VICE-PRESIDENT 2023/24

THE OFFICIAL ESSS NEWSLETTER ISSUE 1 // DECEMBER 2023

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MEET THE 2023/24 COMMITTEE

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THE OFFICIAL ESSS NEWSLETTER ISSUE 1 // DECEMBER 2023

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ANNOUNCEMENTS
ESSS has been awarded the MedAll
Exceptional Educator Award for
delivering regular, accessible, high-
quality teaching and receiving
positive feedback on a global scale.
Thank you to everyone who has attended our events and thank
you to all of our speakers, tutors, and sponsors who have
continuously supported the society - we could not have done it
without you!

We believe in making surgical

education accessible for all.

Annual Membership
continues to be absolutely

FREE
Get your free membership from the EUSA website: eusa.ed.ac.uk/activities/view/esss

THE OFFICIAL ESSS NEWSLETTER ISSUE 1 // DECEMBER 2023

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EVENTS RECAP

Photo: ESSS Outreach Getting into Medicine Weekend

ESSS FRESHERS'

Photo: Jingjing, Arushi & Dani. Fresher's stall

RMS
WELCOME FRESHERS'
T he annual ESSS Freshers’ Welcome on
FAIR
Tuesday 21st September marked the start of
our surgical skills events this academic year.
O n Saturday 9th September we welcomed many new and
returning students to ESSS at our annual stall at the RMS
Fair. Many skilled budding future surgeons were revealed!
We were privileged with a talk by Mrs
Phillipa Burns who shared with us her
journey to becoming a Consultant Vascular
UNDERGRADUATE SURGICAL
Surgeon, as well as current pathways for TEACHING SERIES
surgical career progression.
The ESSS Undergraduate Surgical Teaching Series has gotten
off to a flying start this semester! Sessions covering
Attendees also learnt about ESSS and
paediatric general surgery, bowel obstruction and limb-
practiced their surgical skills, with
threatening ischaemia have been attended by learners from
workshops on laparoscopic surgical skills,
across the UK as well as a number of countries in Europe,
suturing, and surgical knot tying.
Asia, Africa and South America and have provided a huge
amount of high-quality learning opportunities for ESSS
With a large number of new and returning
members and the wider medical community. The
students in attendance, the Freshers’
Undergraduate Teaching Series will continue in January and
Welcome was a fantastic start to a year filled
will cover a range of exciting, relevant surgical specialties
with many more exciting events!
and topics which will help students to ace their exams and
learn more about their areas of interest!
Sannah Ali Will Cawley
ESSS Academic Tutorials Manager 2023/24
ESSS Secretary 2023/24

THE OFFICIAL ESSS NEWSLETTER ISSUE 1 // DECEMBER 2023

ISSUE 1 // DECEMBER 2023
EVENTS RECAP
Photo: ESSS Fresher’s Welcome
CAREERS
ROADSHOW
I n November, we ran the first part of the
Careers Roadshow with our long-term partner
RCSEd. After feedback from last year, we
tailored our event to give students even more
time to network with surgeons from 10
different specialties. The in-person evening
also featured an insightful talk from our
President, Jingjing Wang, about what things
we can do to build our portfolios as medical
students.
It was a privilege to have so many
surgeons and students attend and we're
thrilled to see such positive feedback for
the event.
Thank you to everyone who attended our
Careers Roadshow so far, and make sure to
keep an eye out for the continuation of the
Careers Roadshow in Semester 2!
Luca Kovacs
ESSS Junior Vice-President 2023/24
THE OFFICIAL ESSS NEWSLETTER
PAGE 6
OUTREACH:
Getting into Medicine Weekend
A s part of our important outreach mission, we host two
events for keen secondary school students annually.
This year, our first event was expanded and became the 'ESSS
Getting into Medicine Weekend', which featured an online
day and an in-person day. Virtually, we provided a day of
talks and interactive workshops designed to inspire, prepare,
and strengthen student applications. Topics covered included
the UCAT, personal statment, interviews, medical ethics, as
well as a talk from our colleagues at the Edinburgh Widening
Participation Society.
We were pleased to have interested over 100 pupils to
tune in.
In-person, we provided an opportunity for pupils to practice
their interview skills in a friendly learning environment
facilitated by medical student mock-interviewers (many
thanks to our wonderful volunteers). Attendees also got a
chance to improve their teamworking and communication
skills while working through a PBL taster scenario.
We are now looking forward to our second event in April, the
'ESSS Medicine Taster Day'. This will also be undergoing a
revamp through an exciting collaboration with the Anatomy
Department. We plan to offer the pupils a glimpse into the
amazing teaching offered at Edinburgh Medical School
through a visit to the historical anatomy museum and lecture
theatre. More details will follow in the new year!
Julius Rogowski
ESSS Outreach Convenor 2023/24
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WHAT'S ON Recurring and upcoming events Details on

page...
UNDERGRADUATE
Semesters 1 & 2

TEACHING SERIES (Semester 1 & 2) ......................... 8

SURGICAL SKILLS CLUB (Tuesdays) .......................
CAREERS ROADSHOW (2-part series) .....................
SURGICAL KIT LOANS (Semester 1 & 2) ................. 9
15TH ANNUAL UNDERGRADUATE
CONFERENCE (30th March 2024) ..............................
Semester 2

FINALS WEEKEND (January 2024) ............................

10
REVISION TUTORIALS (2024) ......................................
ESSS AWARD .....................................................................

SCAN ME TO STAY
UP TO DATE!

Visit linktr.ee/edsurgsoc to get membership, sign

up to our events on MedAll, and access our socials!

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UNDERGRADUATE
TEACHING SERIES
The ESSS Undergraduate Surgical Teaching Series covers
core topics at the level expected of clinical year students. The
content is aligned to the Edinburgh Medical School
curriculum and is extremely useful for exam preparation!
Sessions run throughout the year, and consist of a
presentation by guest tutors followed by small group case
discussions and practice questions and answers.

Organised by Will Cawley

SURGICAL
SKILLS CLUB
We had good engagement from members in semester one
and look forward to seeing everyone again at the start of
the year. We aim to continue teaching basic suturing and
knot tying techniques in a friendly environment. The
sessions will continue to run on Tuesdays and be led by the
surgical skills manager or visiting doctors to the skills club
Tuesday evenings 6-7:30pm
and assist students in developing their skills through
In-person | £5 Full year
hands-on practice.
*Sign up on linktr.ee/edsurgsoc
Organised by Adam Blyth & Rayyan Khalid

CAREERS ROADSHOW *Sign up on

linktr.ee/edsurgsoc

This year, alongside our in-person networking event in November, we

will be developing our careers roadshow series by hosting a series of
webinars via MedAll, tackling the classic question of how to build your
surgical portfolio but also giving students insight into the breadth of
options in this career pathway. We will bring you talks on getting
involved in research as well as some tips on travelling abroad so make
sure you don't miss out by keeping an eye out for more announcements.

Organised by Luca Kovacs

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SURGICAL KIT

UPCOMING IN SEMESTER 2
LOAN SCHEME
W e are committed to providing accessible
surgical education for everyone. Our Surgical Kit
loan scheme allows members to loan out surgical
skills kits through a small deposit of £15 without
incurring the cost of purchasing a kit themselves.
This is organised by the Surgical Skills Club
Managers and can be arranged during our
weekly Surgical Skills Club.

Organised by Adam Blyth & Rayyan Khalid

15th ANNUAL
UG CONFERENCE

M ark your calendars because the ESSS annual conference is taking place on Saturday 30th of
March 2024 at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh! The title and theme for this years
conference is "Celebrating and Championing Diversity in Surgery". This promises to be an
exciting day packed with talks and interactive workshops delivered by leading surgeons and
medical companies.

We will also be running our

abstract and poster
competitions, so keep an
eye out for submissions
opening soon!

Organised by Sarah
Hutton, Julius Rogowski,
Vanessa Chou, &
Aaron Chong

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FINALS WEEKEND
The ESSS Finals Weekend is a FREE two-day online revision
series aimed at University of Edinburgh final year
students. It will aim to cover all the main topics for finals
and will take place from 10.00-16.00 on Saturday 13th and
Saturday 20th January 2024!
All tutorials will be taught by Edinburgh
graduates. Certificates will be provided for
attendees (upon completion of feedback forms).
Keep an eye out on the ESSS social media for
further updates!

Saturday 13th: Respiratory, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Organised by Beatrice Lofthouse

Neurology, Surgery & Anaesthetics, ENT, Dermatology and
Ophthalmology.
Sat 13th Sat 20th
Saturday 20th: Paediatrics, Renal & Urology, Cardiology,
Gastrointestinal, Haematology, Oncology, Breast and 10:00- Jan
Palliative Care.
16:00 2024

REVISION TUTORIALS
The year-round academic revision tutorials are a great way to consolidate
learning, which include high-yield topics taught by trainees followed by
question and answer sessions and evaluation of practice questions. We
are proud to have received wonderful feedback over the years and are
continuously working on improving our teaching resources. Having
attended these sessions last year, revisiting core topic areas with expert
tutors was highly productive and useful in my learning - I would highly
recommend. Hope to see you all there!
Organised by Will Cawley

ESSS AWARD
This year, our Treasurer will be responsible for managing the society’s finances and funds to support the running of
our events for students to engage with surgery. In order for the society and surgery to be accessible to as many
medical students as possible, our society membership continues to be made free for the second year running!

Additionally, we will be offering the ESSS Award, which allows one ESSS member to receive up to £100 to present
research they have completed at medical school at a national or international conference. More details to come soon!

Organised by Aava Param

ESSS Treasurer 2023/24

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SPECIALTY PAEDIATRIC
SPOTLIGHTS SURGERY
I am a consultant paediatric surgeon working at the RHCYP Edinburgh. I am one of 6 full time
paediatric surgeons in our department. We look after preterm babies to children up to their 16th
birthday. I cover all aspects of the general surgery of childhood and I also subspecialise in
urology and colorectal.

We are a tertiary referral centre for paediatric surgery patients, neonatal surgery and
urology for the South East of Scotland.

I was drawn to paediatric surgery because children are amazing creatures that make you
laugh everyday. Congenital abnormalities offer an ever changing set of surgical and medical
challenges. The relationships you foster with your families last a lifetime and this can be very
rewarding. We are the last true bastion of general surgery.

I have such a variable work life, I do a lot of on call, during this time we have to deal with
significant trauma flown in from all over Scotland, preterm babies who have perforated their
bowel and need emergency surgery (my smallest patient was 380g), complex needs children who
need emergency surgery due to volvulus and just the routine emergency take of acute
appendicitis and abdo pain.

We are expected to be gynaecologist, thoracic, trauma, colorectal, upper GI and

oncology surgeons all rolled into one.

Out of the on call, I subspecialise in urology and colorectal. Tomorrow I will be operating on a 3
year old girl that was born without an anus and was missed due to not having a baby check over
Covid. It is now my challenge to make this girl a functioning anus that will last her a
lifetime and most importantly keep her clean, so she can lead the rest of her life not worrying
about being clean. On the same list I will also be operating on a boy who has hypospadias. A
vastly different area but also vitally important for life long function. My job can at times be
emotionally challenging, but ultimately it is very rewarding and I would not want to do anything
else.

Mrs Claire Clark

Consultant Paediactric Surgeon

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SPECIALTY GENERAL
SPOTLIGHTS SURGERY
M y name is Dimitrios Damaskos and I am a consultant
surgeon at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. I did my
medical school degree and MSc in Greece, as well as my
surgical training. I then worked for a year in Belgium
before moving to the UK and Oxford as a fellow.

I undertook a fellowship in emergency general surgery,

and was able to see first-hand the setup of a
contemporary emergency surgery and trauma unit.

I was always fascinated by the quick decision making and immediate impact on patients
that emergency surgery had,

but that experience further consolidated my efforts to subspecialise in that area. Furthermore,
I saw an exciting opportunity in undertaking abdominal wall reconstruction as an additional
area of interest. That involves treating patients with complex and large abdominal wall
defects following previous surgery or trauma.

These cases are very demanding, despite the benign nature of the pathology, and
successful interventions have an immense impact on the patients' lives.

I was lucky enough to find a consultant job in Edinburgh and be mentored in that job by
colleagues that I respect enormously, like Simon Paterson-Brown, Andrew de Beaux, Bruce
Tulloh and Steve Wigmore. I was reading their books as a trainee back in Greece and I would
never have thought for an instance that I would get to work with them. Surgery is a fascinating
journey and there is always room for people with passion for what they do.

Mr Dimitrios Damaskos
Consultant Surgeon

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SPECIALTY UPPER GI
SPOTLIGHTS SURGERY

I ’m a higher specialty trainee in Edinburgh with an

interest in upper gastrointestinal (GI) surgery. At
present, I am out of programme completing the final
year of my PhD studying cancer cachexia and its
prognostic value in patients with ‘curative' upper GI
cancer. I completed my foundation and core
training in Newcastle, where I was fortunate to
have some excellent trainee and consultant
mentor s, who gave me clinical and academic
opportunities in surgery at an early-stage of my
career.

I’ve enjoyed most subspecialties throughout my training but have been particularly
drawn towards upper GI surgery and cancer resections.

You can operate in the abdomen, chest, neck, retroperitoneum… there are few
branches of surgery that give that variety in anatomy and breadth of skills.

I think it’s a very exciting time to work and train in the specialty. There are rapidly
developing new technologies and research areas (e.g. robotics, AI, precision oncology)
that will revolutionise our practice in the coming decades and I look forward to being
a part of that.

Mr Leo Brown
Specialty Registrar in General Surgery

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KIDSOR
At 'Kids Operating Room' we believe in a world
where every child has equal access to safe
surgery. That doesn’t seem like such a big ask.
Children who battle cancer and undergo Sadly, cripplingly under-resourced, this
chemotherapy shouldn’t get to the end of that facility did not have the resources or capacity
process only to be denied the surgery that will needed to save his life.
offer them the chance of survival. Children
who break an arm or a leg shouldn’t live the With his condition worsening by the hour, he
rest of their lives in disability. Babies who was rushed to CHU Treichville – a larger,
need simple procedures in the first hours of district hospital with a dedicated paediatric
life shouldn’t be left to die. facility – installed by KidsOR. Here
Mohammed underwent lifesaving surgery,
However, globally, a staggering 1.75 billion after being diagnosed with a urethral
children lack access to safe surgical care – this blockage. Without this KidsOR facility,
amounts to 7 out of 10 children. The state of Mohammed’s story could have taken a very
the situation is that more children lose their different turn.
lives to surgically treatable conditions than the
combined toll of HIV, Malaria, and TB. Given the scale of the crisis, our current
accomplishments are only the beginning. Our
Kids Operating Room (KidsOR) is a global goal is to install a total of 136 ORs by 2025
health charity focussed entirely on changing and provide 1,000 training opportunities for
this reality through the provision of high- medical professionals and biomedical
quality, safe surgical services for children in engineers by 2027. These developments mark
low - and middle - income countries. our first investments in Asia - including the
recent delivery of an OR in Ataturk Hospital,
Since our establishment in 2018, we have Kabul. Additionally, 2024 will see our team
delivered 79 state-of-the-art paediatric and local partners set in motion the
Operating Rooms and 58 paediatric surgical installation of 30 ORs across India and
scholarships across 27 nations. The result: Bangladesh.
100,000 life-changing operations.
Our vision is for a world where every child is
Baby Mohammed treated equally. We won't stop until every
One of the 100,000 was two-year-old child has access to safe surgery should they
Mohammed from the Ivory Coast. When need it.
Mohammed from the Ivory Coast began to
develop sudden sharp pains in his abdomen, Charis Phillips
his mother rushed him to the local hospital. Trust & Institutions Fundraising Manager

All proceeds from ESSS events are donated to KidsOR, donate here: https://www.kidsor.org/give-now/

THE OFFICIAL ESSS NEWSLETTER ISSUE 1 // DECEMBER 2023

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SURGERY
INTERNATIONAL
Surgery International is a first-of-its-kind
platform that aims to become the go-to place
for all surgical and operating theatre teams,
uniting them for the first time to share
unique insights, perspectives, and updates
from around the globe.

The free content on Surgery International is

focused on a number of key themes,
including technology, lifestyle, practice, and
legends. It explores the latest surgery news
Surgery International has been launched to
and developments while celebrating the
help develop a stronger voice for all surgical
leaders driving change and innovation
professionals and their multidisciplinary
within the profession.
teams in perioperative care. The expert
team curates a range of high-quality content
daily to inform, educate, and entertain a
global audience of surgeons and their
teams.

The platform is dedicated to sharing unique

insights and perspectives in the world of
surgery and delivering inspiring
conversations with today’s surgical leaders
from across the globe to inspire the next
generation.

To register for free and start exploring the fascinating world of surgery, visit
https://surgery.international/register/

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EDITOR'S NOTE
As ESSS embarks on its 18th year, we are proud to end the year with a jam-
packed newsletter. Thank you to our esteemed surgeons for sharing their
journeys and rich insights into their specialties in our “Specialty Spotlights”
feature. Our committee has worked hard to ensure that there are a range of
opportunities to cater for the diverse interests of our members, from hands-
on workshops to our online teaching series. We encourage you to participate
in our events and take advantage of the resources, networks and mentorship
opportunities through our free general membership. We are excited to
continue sharing our enthusiasm and these opportunities with you in the new
year. Please do not hesitate to come along to our events, make new friends,
and explore the world of surgery with us!

Have a wonderful 2024 and thank you for reading.

Sannah Ali
ESSS Secretary 2023/24

If you have any comments or queries, please message us on our socials or contact us
via joinus.esss@gmail.com

THANK YOU TO OUR

SPONSORS & PARTNERS
E D I N B U R G H
S T U D E N T E D S U R G S O C .
@ E D S U R G S O C @ E D S U R G S O C
S U R G I C A L W E E B L Y . C O M
S O C I E T Y

THE OFFICIAL ESSS NEWSLETTER ISSUE 1 // DECEMBER 2023