ESGE Newsletter2^nd European Symposium on Ethics in Gastroenterology and Digestive Endoscopy
Kos, Greece, 6 - 8 July, 2006

2nd European Symposium

Ethics in Gastroenterology and Digestive Endoscopy

Kos, Greece, July 6 - 8, 2006

The members of the Organizing Committee of the 2nd European Symposium on Ethics in Gastroenterology and Digestive Endoscopy are grateful to all their colleagues who contributed to making this meeting as successful as the first symposium, which was held 4 years ago. The meeting was organized by the European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) and the World Organization for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (OMED), in association with the United European Gastroenterology Federation (UEGF), and was held on the island of Kos, the home of Hippocrates, which provided an appropriate historical atmosphere for such a scientific event.

Eminent gastroenterologists, surgeons, and scientists from all over Europe and indeed from all around the world actively participated in workshops, round tables, debates, and lectures. The abstracts and ethics cases that were presented during the symposium are published in this issue of ”Endoscopy”.

The principles of medical ethics constantly change as we are confronted with new challenges in our clinical practice and research. Powerful new drugs and novel and sophisticated diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopic techniques require formal evaluation and training in their use before they can be applied in daily clinical practice. We believe that both the first (2002) and second (2006) ethics symposia contributed significantly to the development of applied ethics in gastroenterology and digestive endoscopy. Because most of the scientific work that forms the basis of these symposia is published in medical journals such as ”Endoscopy” and ”Digestive Diseases” and is cited, they provide a firm foundation for the further development of important issues in medical ethics.

S. Ladas C. Stanciu