Scientific Tracks

Our Clinical Obstetrics track will cover topics of great interest and relevance to the practice of health care professionals around the world. Be part of discussions on novel topics in clinical practice, witness the constant and continuous development of modern obstetrics, and analyse the transcendental challenges of providing high quality health care for women.

We will discuss the spectrum of placenta accrete – a significant contributor to maternal deaths due to the risks associated with caesarean sections – according to FIGO guidelines, with the purpose of reducing maternal mortality through better understanding. We will also analyse the impact of COVID-19 on the delivery and postpartum periods, including surgical and anaesthetic implications. Broad topics include but are not limited to vaginal birth after caesarean, state-of-the-art induction of labour, operative vaginal delivery, emergencies in labour and delivery, and safety and quality in obstetric care.

Don’t miss the opportunity to be part of the discussion of innovative topics in clinical practice, take part in the continuous development of modern obstetrics and analyse the transcendental challenges regarding health care for women.

Sincerely,
Clinical Obstetric Track Leads
Wendy Cárcamo
Honduras
Edgar Ivan Ortiz
Colombia

Advisors
Alison Wright, UK
Andrii Tkachenko, Ukraine
Anwar Nassar, Lebanon
Caroline Homer, Australia
Elizabeth Chatham, Australia
Fionnuala McAuliffe, Ireland
Jerker Liljestrand, Sweden
Maike Manz, Germany
Jack Ludmir, USA
Ricardo Fescina, Uruguay
Sami Mahmoud Abdelkhair, Sudan
Shilpa Nambiar, Malaysia
Tanya Nippita, Australia

The Maternal Fetal Health track sessions will encompass all of the diversity within the discipline. Included within the program are a spectrum of maternal medical issues including special attention to the obesity epidemic. Important developments in the prevention, early diagnosis and management of both preeclampsia and preterm labour will give some encouragement for the future care of these critically important conditions.

The session on prenatal diagnosis will be particularly cutting edge with talks on expanded pre-conceptional carrier screening (pan-ethnic), preimplantation genetic testing, management of fetal anomalies using exome sequencing and aneuploidy testing using maternal plasma for all chromosomes. Improved diagnosis and management of fetal growth restriction is a readily achievable goal for many jurisdictions and will be the focus of a great session.

In summary, the Maternal Fetal Health track will update the participants on all key topics. Many exciting innovations will be revealed by international speakers at the pinnacle of their respective areas of research.

Sincerely,
Maternal Fetal Health Track Lead
Michael Permezel
Australia

Advisors
Hema Divakar, India
Sue Walker, Australia
Ravi Chandran, Malaysia
Hemantha Perera, Sri Lanka
Gerard Visser, The Netherlands
Bo Jacobsson, Sweden
Gian Carlo Di Renzo, Italy
Priya Soma-Pillay, South Africa
Moshe Hod, Israel
Delayehu Bekele Mamo, Ethiopia
Joe Leigh Simpson, USA
Tamima Al Dughaishi, Oman
Hui-xia Yang, China
Janet Vaughan, Australia
Jacky Nizard, France
Samuel Karchmer, Mexico
Ana Bianchi, Uruguay
Liliana Susana Voto, Argentina

We are excited to bring the General Gynaecology track to the FIGO 2021 World Congress. Our track consists of 12 members representing 10 countries and 6 continents. We have dynamic speakers who will present current evidence based topics that are relevant for clinical practice. Our track leader is Dr. Autry who is an obstetrician gynaecologist at the University of California, San Francisco USA. Her interests include family planning and menopause and she will be coordinating the sessions exploring the effects of the pandemic on gynaecologic surgery, including best practices.

Additional sessions will include the general topics of paediatric/adolescent gynaecology; abnormal uterine bleeding/diagnosis of anaemia; diagnosis and management of fibroids, endometriosis, and adenomyosis; menopause; and office procedures. We are hopeful that participants will leave the General Gynaecology sessions with new knowledge that is practical and ready to be incorporated.

Sincerely,
General Gynaecology Track Lead
Meg Autry
United States of America

Advisors
Alfredo Celis, Peru
Anette Tønnes Pedersen, Denmark
Cesar Eduardo Fernandes, Brazil
Eddie Morris, UK
John Tait, New Zealand
Malcolm Munro, USA
Rohana Haththotuwa, Sri Lanka
Salwa Najjab-Khatib, Palestine
Angela Beard, New Zealand
Ian Fraser, Australia
Essam-Eldin Othman, Egypt

The FIGO 2021 World Congress Reproductive Medicine Track will showcase the latest advances in the field, including updates in reproductive endocrinology and innovations in assisted reproductive technology (ART).

Other highlights of the track include fertility care in times of global emergencies, like COVID-19, telemedicine and access to reproductive care, the reproductive consequences of environmental changes, male reproduction, nutrition and lifestyle and the impact of obesity. From the perspective of global reach the programme also includes ART in low resource countries and specific topics like legal and ethical challenges.

Join us and attend the reproductive medicine track session to discuss new developments and hear from renowned global experts. We look forward to welcoming you to the FIGO 2021 World Congress.

Sincerely,
Reproductive Medicine Track Lead
Edgar Mocanu
Ireland

Advisors
William Ledger, Australia
Nicole Sänger, Germany
Basil C. Tarlatzis, Greece
Ivonne Diaz, Colombia
Rasha Kamel, Egypt
James Kiarie, Switzerland
Xoangyan Ruan, China
Esther Polak de Fried, Argentina
Gitau Mburu, Switzerland

The Urogynaecology track will be covering a range of topics, including challenges in prolapse repairs, office urology/urogynaecology, fistula management, alternatives to midurethral slings, and the elderly urogynaecology patient. Some of the highlights of the programme include diverse topics from basics such as “anatomical conditions for pelvic floor reconstruction” all the way to advanced management like “robotics in urogynaecology.” In addition, a session focusing on office management will be extremely beneficial after the COVID-19 pandemic, where there will be limited operating room access all over the world.

We hope to achieve an updated comprehensive evidence-based approach to common urogynaecological conditions and are very excited to present amazing international speakers, who are iconic figures in the field of urogynaecology.

Sincerely,
Urogynaecology Track Leads
Ghadeer Al-Shaikh
Saudi Arabia
Ajay Rane
Australia

Advisors
Andrew Browning, Australia
Tsung Hsien Su, Taiwan
Christl Reisenauer, Germany
Lamya Al Kharousi, Oman
Willy Davila, USA
Ghamal Ghoniem, USA
Stephen Jeffery, South Africa
Manjula Annappa, UK
Anita Harding, Canada

The Operative Gynaecology track is designed to complement both the gynaecological oncology and urogynaecology tracks and will be looking at some of the challenges facing the vast majority of gynaecologists i.e. benign gynaecological surgery.

The content of the sessions includes surgery for fibroids and prolapse with special sessions on CPP (chronic pelvic pain), the challenges of surgery in the obese patient, plus dealing with infections in the modern era, particularly in the COVID-19 Pandemic.

In addition to looking at some of the newer innovations we will also address the current issues around modern training in surgery, patient safety and some focused live surgery sessions with tips and tricks from world renowned experts. Last but not least we are confident that everybody can find something in this track to excite them. You will not be disappointed!

Sincerely,
Operative Gynaecology Track Lead
Paul Fogarty
Ireland

Advisors
Nuno Martins, Portugal
Christine Solbach, Germany
Philippe Descamps, France
Juan Diego Villegas Echeverri, Colombia
Neji Khaled, Tunisia
Yee Leung, Australia
Jason Abbott, Australia
Olga Bougie, Canada
Shantha Kunari, India

This year’s Gynaecological Oncology track will have a diverse group of topics and speakers, all containing unique discussions on essential up to date topics including COVID-19 and cancer, enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS), cervical cancer updates, the era of sentinel lymph nodes, complementary and supportive cancer care and hormones and cancer.

Within the COVID-19 and cancer track, we will examine the effects of a global pandemic on cervical, endometrial and ovarian cancer and examine how COVID-19 has affected cancer treatment and survival.

The ERAS track will review new guidelines for ovarian debulking/HIPEC and peri-operative management of vulvar and vaginal surgery. We will also have a special track for obstetric ERAS, and help those who are interested in forming an ERAS program and conducting ERAS research.

Our cervical cancer lectures will discuss the role of radical hysterectomies after the landmark LACC trial, 2018 FIGO staging and examine what changed and why. We will also examine fertility preservation, less invasive procedures, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and review sentinel nodes.

Finally, our expert panel on hormones will dissect out the role of hormones in gynecologic and breast cancers: when should we use hormones, when should we use hormone antagonists, when are hormones truly contraindicated?

We expect this track to appeal and be beneficial for all who practice obstetrics and gynecology-focusing on contemporary issues with modern practice changes that affect everyone. We hope you will find these topics and exciting and exceptional!

Sincerely,
Gynaecological Oncology Track Lead
Alon Altman
Canada

Advisors
Neerja Bhatla, India
Young Tak Kim, Korea
Dr Greg Robertson, Australia
Barbara Schmalfeldt, Germany
Sean Kehoe, UK
Mauricio Cuello, Chile
Nisreen Anfinan, Saudi Arabia
Thuria Al Rawahi, Oman
Aikou Okamoto, Japan
Gregg Nelson, Canada
Raimundo Correa, Chile
Joanna Cain, USA

All health and rights have to keep the autonomy of the individual at the centre of the equation and nowhere is this more important than those related to women’s sexual and reproductive health. The Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Track at the FIGO 2021 World Congress will make sure the voices of women remain loud and clear, particularly in regard to access to safe abortion, since society and so many countries conveniently overlook and often stigmatise this. The track will comprehensively cover advances and innovations in contraception, moves to push the limits of induced abortion, the often underserved subjects of human sexuality, adolescent health, counselling and education in reproductive healthcare, as well as self and remote access to sexual and reproductive health services.

Anasuya Sengupta wrote, "Too many women, in too many countries, speak the same language of silence." Join the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights track at the FIGO 2021 World Congress to elevate women’s voices and demonstrate your commitment to the reproductive health, wellbeing and rights of women worldwide

Sincerely,
Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Track Lead
Nozer Sheriar
India

Advisors
Jaydeep Tank, India
Johannes Bitzer, Switzerland
Amanda Noovao Hill, Fiji
Jill Sheffield, USA
Kirsten Black, Australia
Taghreed K. Alhaidari, Iraq
Anne Kihara, Kenya
Nawal Nour, USA
Laura Gil Urbano, Colombia
Rubina Sohail, Pakistan
Beverly Winikoff, USA
Luis Cabero Roura, Spain
Frances Kissling, USA

The Women's Health Issues and Policy track will cover some crucial topics in gynaecology and obstetrics, which will be of pivotal importance for the day-to-day clinical practice for healthcare professionals in the field, including contraception and pre-conceptional counselling.

In addition, the track will heighten awareness on areas which necessitate actions be taken by all, including policy makers and healthcare managers. Topics include the impact of climate change on women's health; strategies to end preventable maternal mortalities; strategies to enhance dignity and respect in women's healthcare; applying artificial intelligence and telemedicine to ObGyn.

Moreover, the track will describe an innovative support platform tailored for doctors, midwives and community healthcare providers to overcome barriers to better women's healthcare. We look forward to welcoming all to the Women's Health Issues and Policy track at FIGO 2021 World Congress.

Sincerely,

Womens' Health Issues Leads
Richard Adanu
Ghana
Chiara Benedetto
Italy

Advisors
John Regan, Australia
Chiara Benedetto - Deputy Chair, Italy
Diana Galimbert, Argentina
Debora Diniz, Brazil
Rose Jepchumba Kosgei, Kenya
Ernesto Castelazo Morales, Mexico
Claudia Garcia-Moreno, Switzerland
Steve Robson, Australia
Linda Giudice, USA
Ozge Tuncalp, Switzerland