Message from the WSRM 2015 Organizing Chairman

India had the privilege of hosting the 8th Biennial Congress of the World Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery in March, 2015, at the Grand Hyatt, Mumbai. Organizing an event of such magnitude is a matter of pride, opportunity, trust, and leadership for the host nation. Dr. Ashok Gupta, Host Chair, had a great role in bidding for the congress and successfully bringing it to India.

The theme of the congress was “Looking Back and Surging Ahead.” Looking back to last year, we have fantastic memories of a great experience that we will cherish forever. It was the first time the World Society meeting has ever been held in this part of the world. Naturally, the biggest beneficiaries were India and young Indian surgeons who had the opportunity to listen to the masters first hand. The meeting generated immense interest in microsurgery in our nation, and tangible results will be seen in the years to come.

President Dr. L. Scott Levin chose two outstanding speakers, Dr. Ian Taylor for the inaugural S&T lecture and Mr. Anand Sharma as the Presidential invited lecturer. Dr. Samir Kumta, the Scientific Committee Chair, created a diverse academic program. Overall, 12 master classes, 3 themed lectures, 10 keynote lectures, a challenging case session, 22 panel discussions, and 2 video sessions were held over the course of the meeting. With four breakaway halls we organized 20 hours of free paper sessions and accommodated 20 invited talks and 170 free papers. Dr. Kumta had a tough time in choosing the best from over 500 papers submitted. One hundred papers were accommodated as e-posters. A precongress video workshop attracted more than 160 delegates.

On the social front, we had a very colorful cultural extravaganza during the inauguration and the banquet. We are grateful to our congress coordinator, Vinita Puri, who managed these events very well and professionally. The hotel staff was extremely cooperative, providing gastronomic delights at all times. To keep the memories alive, we have collected over a thousand photographs available for you to download at www.wsrm2015.com/gallery.php.

I sign off expressing my appreciation to the awesome support given by the Scientific Committee Chair, Dr. Samir Kumta; Organizing Secretary, Dr. Rajendra Nehete; and Congress Coordinator Dr. Vinita Puri, and to the entire Indian microsurgical community who stood as one to make this event a great success.