BAPRAS Congress 2023 - Summary

BAPRAS Congress 2023 has been the biggest in history.
The overarching theme of "Interface," resonated throughout all sessions, underscoring the vital importance of teamwork and collaboration in the pursuit of enhancing patient outcomes.

Many thanks to all those who participated, presented, or shared their insights, as your collective contribution played a pivotal role in ensuring the success of this event!

The Congress was preceded by a fresh frozen cadaveric course, which has received excellent feedback. I also had the honour of opening the PLASTA day with their president, Nikita Joji and of listening to Greg Greco, the ASPS President, who gave an inspiring lecture to the trainees.

     
The first day of Congress 2023 started with sessions on Microsurgery, with a truly motivational talk by Francisco Piñal, Skin Cancer, and Aesthetics. The Professional Values session took centre stage after lunch, touching on subjects such as setting up a new plastic surgery service in the UK, bullying and harassment, gender disparity, and generational differences in the NHS workforce. Seeing and listening to Professor Naraynsingh from the University of the West Indies talk about mentoring, brought back some good memories and a reminder of how we could be better.

The BFIRST session followed and discussed working in LMICs, inspiring trainees to consider a career in plastic surgery as a basis for humanitarian work and gave insight into the global activity of the society.

The day concluded with the first edition of the Deanery Challenge, which crowned Merseyside as the winners for this year.

      
On Thursday morning, Mr Stuart Watson delivered a heart-warming Gillies lecture titled "Trying to carry the torch." With a focus on innovation and, in his own words, "trying to do the best thing for the individual patient," he provided an insightful reflection from which members of all vintages could benefit.

In the afternoon, we had the pleasure of hosting the Hunterian Lecture delivered by Mr Matthew Murphy, titled ‘The skeletal stem cell and its application in reconstructive surgery,’ giving insight into Matthew’s fascinating research into the stem cell niches and how one day, there may be an argument for regenerative medicine instead of reconstruction.

The Hunterian was followed by parallel sessions on research and technological innovation and sarcoma.

The day ended with the fully booked BAPRAS Social Event, which featured a delightful evening of dinner and live music performed by a band, extending into the early hours.

The final day of the Congress was a busy one, hosting the 6th edition of the Plastic Surgery Nurses Education Day. The excellent program convened by Ms Reena Agarwal and Ms Claire Porter attracted over 60 nurses from far and wide.

The first session on the main programme on Friday was dedicated to Breast, emphasizing the importance of collaboration. Attendees engaged in insightful discussions about what can be done to make services more efficient. The day continued with sessions on Head and Neck, Burns followed by the Cleft and Craniofacial Lymphoedema and Facial Palsy.

We are very grateful to our headline sponsors and education partners for supporting us this year thus allowing us to keep the registration fees low for our members.