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Symposium

Perioperative

APP
Symposium

Preventing SSIs: A Battle We Can Win Before Surgery

Sunday, May 10, 2026
12:30 PM - 1:20 PM ET

CME Live Q&A and Polling

    Co-Moderator(s)

  • PC

    Peter Cataldo, MD (he/him/his)

    Professor of Surgery
    Larner College of Medicine
    UVM Larner College of Medicine
    Stowe, VT, United States

    All of the relevant financial relationships listed below have been mitigated.
    This individual has no financial relationships with ineligible companies.

  • Elise Lawson, MD, MSHS (she/her/hers)

    Associate Professor of Surgery
    University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
    Madison, WI, US

    All of the relevant financial relationships listed below have been mitigated.
    This individual has no financial relationships with ineligible companies.

CME .75 hours
Self-Assessment .75 hours

Symposium will include presentations on the gut microbiome and its influence on anastomotic leaks, pre-hospital treatment strategies to lower the risk of anastomotic leaks, the benefits of perioperative bundles in preventing SSIs, and new adjunctive technologies to lower the risks and consequences of anastomotic leaks.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:
  • Recognize the basic science evidence surrounding the microbiome and dangerous bacteria leading to anastomotic leaks (organ space SSI).
  • Describe prehabilitation and microbiome modification before surgery can potentially reduce anastomotic leaks (organ space SSI).
  • Specify how perioperative bundles can reduce organ space SSI, and how to implement these bundles.
  • Identify and evaluate future innovations that may lead to lower SSI rates.

Presentations:

  • 12:30 PM - 12:35 PM ET
    Introduction
  • 12:35 PM - 12:42 PM ET
    Microbiome and its Effects on Anastomotic Leaks

    Faculty: David B. Stewart, MD, MHA (he/him/his) – City of Hope - Chicago

  • 12:43 PM - 12:50 PM ET
    Prehabilitation, Dietary Manipulation, and Prevention of Anastomotic Leaks

    Faculty: Cindy Kin, MD, MS, FACS, FASCRS (she/her/hers) – Stanford University

  • 12:51 PM - 12:58 PM ET
    Perioperative Bundles and Anastomotic Leak Prevention

    Faculty: Robert Roland Cima, MD – Mayo Clinic

  • 1:00 PM - 1:07 PM ET
    New Innovations for the Prevention of Anastomotic Leaks

    Faculty: Alessio Pigazzi, MD PhD – Cedars Sinai Medical Center

  • 1:08 PM - 1:20 PM ET
    Question and Answer