ferdinando agresta

First of all let me introduce myself. I am an Italian consultant surgeon and I work in a Community Hospital in the north-east of Italy.

I have been practicing surgery for almost 35 years and I can say that, as a surgeon, I was born with an endoscope in one hand and in the other the knowledge that open surgery is still the benchmark to which every surgeon has to relate. I am an enthusiastic laparoscopic surgeon but I'm not a fanatic.

I don't know if everyone is aware what it means to work in a community hospital here in my country; it means lots of work, both in quality and quantity, but working most of the time alone and therefore there is little time to spend in study and research.

Research: in my personal dictionary it means above all the possibility to share knowledge with colleagues and specially to compare oneself with others in terms of daily practice.

Since my graduation I have made research a personal priority in order to validate my daily work. I have written papers and collaborated with other hospital and institutions and have become an active member of scientific societies such as the EAES and the EHS too.

I was one of the experts who helped produce the EAES' last guidelines in emergency laparoscopic surgery and I have also organized several others guidelines here in Italy including an update on the above mentioned guidelines, papers on laparoscopic cholecystectomy (both under the auspices of the EAES), emergency laparoscopy  and on ventral hernias.

I have also participated in prospective trials such as the LAPSIS trial (Laparoscopic versus Open Ventral Hernia Repair using a classical versus Collagen MEHS – Surgisis Gold ® - a European Multicenter Two Factorial Randomized Controlled Trial). I also participate in observational  studies such as the Complicated Intra-Abdominal Infections Observational European study (CIAO Study). I also actively collaborate in registers such as the EuraHS (European Registry of Abdominal Hernias) and the registers of the SICE on colon and ventral hernias.

I also contribute to the press releases issued by the EAES.

Clinical research involves gathering data and then collating and analyzing them in order to produce meaningful information. This is what mainly attracts me of our job. We all must do the best for our patients, we have to apply what has been shown to be the most effective, we have to practice evidence based medicine. To accomplish this we need the most reliable information to enable us to make the most appropriate healthcare decisions. This is what I  try to do in my daily practice too.