The "New Technologies in Gastrointestinal Surgery – Minimally Invasive Techniques – Bariatric Surgery" programme is an MSc programme by the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School. It operates under the auspice of the 1st Propaedeutic Surgical Department of the Athens Medical School at the "Hippocration" General Hospital of Athens, it runs on a two-year long course rotation and is intended exclusively for specialist and resident surgeons.
The programme was originally envisioned by Athens Medical School Prof. Emeritus Emmanuel Leandros, and first opened its gates in 2019, under the title "Advanced Laparoscopic and Bariatric Surgery", hosting 16 students during its first course. The programme was created in order to amend the great void plaguing young Greek surgeons regarding their education in novel laparoscopic and robotic techniques: there are several initiatives by both the broader public sector, as well as private institutions, that aspire to provide these necessary skills to surgeons.
Our mission is to give to our students the opportunity to delve deeper in recent laparoendoscopic and robotic techniques, both in theory as well as in practice, via a meticulously organized, intensive two-year curriculum. Our goal is the preparation of the new generation of surgeons, ready to utilize all modern technical means, in any professional environment, so that they may provide to their patients high quality surgical and health services, safely and efficiently. To this day and since its inception, ours is the only university-mandated Master of Science programme in Greece that is addressed exclusively to surgeons, which allows us to focus intensively and in great depth on the matter at hand, with added emphasis on the students' hands-on training in multiple environments: simboxes, simulation stations, robotic console, as well as the operating theatre, with live participation in actual surgical procedures.
Bearing in mind that surgical science and technology never stop evolving, and given the ever-increasing demands of the modern era, the Steering Committee of the programme, after its first two-year course, decided that its continuous improvement and evolution is necessary, so that it may remain contemporary and relevant. Along this train of thought, the programme adopted its current form, under the current title "New Technologies in Gastrointestinal Surgery – Minimally Invasive Techniques – Bariatric Surgery", and brought its curriculum up to speed to include the latest minimally invasive techniques. Lectures are simultaneously attended both in person and – for a selected portion of the attending students working away from Athens or abroad – remotely via Internet, while all hands-on sessions are mandatory and carried out in person for all students with no exceptions, based on a tailored per-person schedule.
We strive for our laparoendoscopic and robotic MSc programme to become a de facto necessary stage in the training of every modern surgeon that wants to delve deeper into these technologies and add them to their arsenal.
We would be delighted to welcome you and guide you in the wondrous world of Minimally Invasive Surgery.
Sincerely Yours,
Dimitrios Theodorou
Professor of Surgery, Athens Medical School
Director of Studies, "New Technologies in Gastrointestinal Surgery – Minimally Invasive Techniques – Bariatric Surgery" MSc Programme
1st Propaedeutic Department of Surgery, National And Kapodistrian University of Athens
"Hippocration" GHA