Some 800 delegates gathered for the 18th Annual International Congress of the Asia Pacific Hernia Society (APHS) 2023 at the Setia SPICE Convention Centre.

The three-day gathering will see delegates from Singapore, India, the Philippines, Japan, Thailand, UAE, Bangladesh, Indonesia, China, Vietnam, South Korea, Australia, and Fiji among others.

Guest-of-honour was the State Exco for Youth, Sports and Health YB Daniel Gooi who was accompanied by APHS organising chairman, Dr Gafoor Mubaruk Congress President APHS 2023, Dr Vimal K Vasudevan and Professor Dr Davide Lomanto.

Also present was Dr Chen Jie from China who is the President of Asia Pacific Hernia Society.
In his opening remarks, Gooi welcomed all delegates to the island of Penang and commended their work and research on hernia surgery.

"I also learned that there are several advances in the field of  hernia surgery for the benefit of patients. Surely, this will bring much benefit and relief to patients, added Gooi
In the meantime Gafoor added that he was happy to see good turnout and this is the 18th Congress. This is the second time Malaysia has been given the honour to host this congress.

"I also wish to thank the various companies and industry players for their support of this gathering. In the meantime, welcome to Penang," said Gafoor.

Delegates also attended various talks and briefings to update the latest advancement and information in the industry.

The event also offered an invaluable opportunity for knowledge exchange and networking within the field of hernia surgery.

The organising committee consisted of Mohamad Aznan Shuhaili (Secretary), Wan Muhamad Mokhzani (Treasurer), Kirubakaran Malapan (Scientific Chair), Davide Lomanto ( Sponsorship Committee Singapore), Yan Yang Wai (Scientific committee Malaysia), Yeap Chee Loong (Scientific Committee), Lau Peng Choong (Scientific Committee Malaysia), Anil Sharma (Scientific Committee India), Sujith Wijeratne (Scientific Committee Singapore), Jose Macario Faylona (Scientific Committee), Kiyotaka Imamura (Scientific Committee), Qin Changfu, Ahmad Tarmizi Mohammad, Reynu Rajan, Mah Jin Jiun, Sentilnathan Subramaniam, Agus Murcahya and Pakkavuth Chanswangphuvana