Prof. Dr. Catalin Copaescu

Current Position:

Consultant General & GI Surgeon, Bariatric & Metabolic Surgeon, Head of the General Surgery Department, Director of Bariatric Center of Excellence, PONDERAS Hospital, Bucharest, Romania. Executive Director of the Endoscopic Training Center.

Main professional responsibilities and activities:

GI & Metabolic Surgery: over 700 procedures per year - mostly laparoscopic. Pioneering and developing metabolic surgery, laparoscopic colorectal surgery, laparoscopic hernia, GERD, SILS and NOTES in Romania, it was offered the opportunity to gain extensive experience for: Bariatric & Metabolic surgery, laparoscopic hernia repair, laparoscopic treatment of GERD, primary & incisional Hernia, laparoscopic Colorectal surgery, endoscopic revisional  surgery.

Training in laparoscopic surgery: 22 years of experience, Executive Director of the DELTA Endoscopic Surgery Training Center (RAES, EAES and ASM Endorsed), Course director of 12 courses per year since 2011, Director of Clinical immersions and Workshops for international surgical teams since 2010

Degrees and academic background:

• 1987 – MD - Faculty of General Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, “Carol Davila”, Bucharest
• 1987-1989- Postgraduate MD Workout in Municipal Hospital Campulung-Muscel, Arges, Romania
• 1990-1993- Residency in General Surgery, St John Emergency Hospital, Bucharest, Romania
• 1993 - General Surgeon Accreditation – Romanian Minister of Health
• 1995 - Laparoscopic and Thoracoscopic Surgery Accreditation – Romanian Minister of Health
• 1997 - Senior Consultant in General Surgery Accreditation – Romanian Minister of Health,
• 2008 - PhD – University of Medicine and Pharmacy, “Carol Davila”, Bucharest - Laparoscopic Treatment of GERD – prospective study of 550pts, and Experimental surgery and Training Model
• 2008 - Invited Professor of the “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania – since
• 2011 - Associated Professor of the “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania
• 2013 - Scientific researcher Grade 1 (CS1) – Romanian Minister of National Education (2013)

Other certificates

• 2012 - Bariatric Surgeon of Excellence – by IFSO –European Chapter
• 2014 - Bariatric Surgeon of Excellence – Surgical Review Corporation (SRC_ ICE (USA)
• 2016 - Hernia Surgeon of Excellence – SRC, USA
• 2017 – Colorectal Surgeon of Excellence – SRC, USA

Hospital appointments

• Staff General Surgeon – General Surgery Dep., St John Emergency Hospital, Bucharest, Romania – 1993-2007
• ORs Dep.Chief Surgeon – St John Emergency Hospital, Bucharest, Romania -2007-2011
• Head of the General Surgery Department, Delta Hospital, Bucharest, Romania 2011-2013
• Hospital Manager – Ponderas Hospital, 2013-2015
• Head of the GI & Metabolic Surgery Department, PONDERAS Hospital, Bucharest, Romania-since 2013
• Director of Bariatric& Metabolic Center of Excellence - since 2013

Academic Appointments

• Associated Professor of the “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest – since 2011
• Scientific researcher Ist Grade Academy of Medical Science - RO Minister of National Education – since 2013

Endoscopic Surgery Education &Training Activity

• Laparoscopic Surgery Expert Trainer in the St. John Laparoscopic Training Center – 1994-2010
• Executive Director of the Endoscopic Surgery Training Center – ETC-(RAES, EAES and ASM Endorsed) since 2011 Course director of 12 international courses per year organized in the ETC.
• Director of Clinical immersions and Workshops for international surgical teams since 2010 (Greece, Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Bulgaria, Latvia, Egypt, Turkey, Moldova, etc.) - Expert Trainer for Eastern Europe and Middle East Asia for Laparoscopic colorectal, Hernia and Bariatric Procedures
• Member of EAES Education &Training Committee – 2011-2015
• Member UEG Education &Training Committee – representing EAES since 2015
• Member in IFSO EC – ETC

Research:

Involved in 13 grants - Clinical research in the field of GERD, recto colic cancer, metabolic surgery, prosthesis for hernia, technology in surgery, NOTES (, Partner (11), Project Coordinator (1) Project Director (1) – Romanian Agencies & Minister of Education & Research, European Union 7th Frame Program, and Romanian Academy of Medical Science).

Publications and presentations in meeting

• Published original papers: 79 (on National /International Journals, 49 on PubMed MEDLINE). 24 Books or Chapters in Surgical Books (Author or Coauthor); 370 Lectures in different symposia/ congresses (local or International events) (280 after year 2000).
• Referee: (Peer Reviewer): Obesity Surgery - ISSN: 0960-8923 (Print) 1708-0428 (Online) Surgical Endoscopy ISSN: 0930-2794 (Print) 1432-2218 (Online) Techniques in Coloproctology  ISSN: 1123-6337 (Print) 1128-045X (Online) Acta Endocrinologica (ISSN - 843 - 066X) Chirurgia - ISSN: 1221-9118 Online ISSN: 1842 – 368X , World Journal of Gastroenterology ISSN1007-9327 (print) ISSN 2219-2840(online)
• Editorial Board: Chirurgia - ISSN: 1221-9118 Online ISSN: 1842 – 368X

Active Membership

• European Association of Endoscopic Surgery – since 2004 [Member in the NOTES working group 2008-2009,Member of the EAES Education &Training Committee and Chair of the ETC Membership-2011-2015, Congress President of the 23^rd EAES Congress, Member UEG E&T Committee – representing EAES since 2015];
• Romanian Society of Surgery – since 1992, Board Member (since 2014),
• Romanian Association of Endoscopic Surgery –since 2002 (Co-Founding Member, General Secretary 2006-2013, President Elect 2013-2015, 8^th RAES Congress President, RAES President 2015- ),
• Romanian Association of Bariatric Surgery – since 2006 (Co-Founding Member),
• The Foundation for Laparoscopic and Thoracoscopic Surgery – since 1999 - (Co-Founding Member), International Federation of Surgery for Obesity–since 2005 [IFSO-EC – Communication Committee – since2014],
• American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) - since 2010;
• The European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy – ESGE – since 2007;
• The International Associations of Surgeons Gastroenterologists and Oncologists (IASGO) since 2000;
• The European Society of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism – ESPEN – since 2006;
• The Society for Medical Innovation and Technology – SMIT E.V. – since 2009,
• The South Eastern European Robotic Surgery Society – SEERSS (Co-Founder Member) – 2010
• Romanian Society of ColoProctology (SRCP) - Founding Member (2009) Honorary Member 2016;
• European Society of ColoProctology (ESCP) (since 2012);
• Romanian Society of Diabetes, Nutrition, Metabolic Diseases – since 2015;
• The Serbian Society of Surgery – Honorary Member – 2010.

Other Appointments in Professional Organizations - Elected /Nominated positions:

• President of Romanian Association of Endoscopic Surgery (2015-2017, 2017-2019)
• Member of the UEG Education & Training Committee (representing EAES) since 2015
• Member of the Board of Romanian Society of Surgery (2014 - )
• Member of the General Assembly of the Romanian College of Physicians – 2011-2015, 2016 –
• Member of General Council of Bucharest College of Physicians since 2016
• Member of the EAC-BS Accreditation Review Committee of Excellence in the management of BMS – 2012
• Member of Communication Committee of IFSO European Chapter – since 2015
• Member in the Board Committee of International Bariatric Club (IBC) -2012

Scientific and organizing Committee of various scientific events (the most important):

• President of the 23^rd EAES International Congress,
• Romanian Society of Surgery Congresses (scientific, organizing committee and chair since 2006)
• Congresses of Romanian Association of Endoscopic Surgery (scientific, organizing committee, chair since 2005, 8^th RAES Congress President). President of the National Bariatric & Metabolic Surgery Symposium (seven editions, annually organized in Bucharest since 2009), (scientific, organizing committee and chair since 2009). Romanian Society of ColoProctology (SRCP) (scientific, organizing committee and chair, 2010 -2016. The Fourth International Congress of Robotic Surgery – SEERSS (scientific, organizing committee and chair) 2015, International Workshop Rectal Surgery, Bucharest, 2013

Scientific events Faculty and Chair (selection):

• EAES Congresses : Geneva, 2010; Torino, 2011; Bruxelles, 2012; Vienna 2013, Paris; 2014, Bucharest 2015
• IFSO Congresses – 2009, Paris; 2010, Los Angeles; 2011,Hamburg,; 2012, New Delhi; 2013, Istanbul; 2014,Montreal; 2015, Vienna;  I
• FSO-EC Congresses Barcelona, 2012; Bruxelles, 2014
• International Obesity Surgery Expert Meeting: Saalfelden, Austria 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010,2011, 2012, 2013 ,2016) ; Salzburg, Austria, 2014
• 3rd, 4^th and 5^th International Consensus Summit for Sleeve Gastrectomy, New York, 2010; 2012; Montreal, 2014.
• The Congress of The Portuguese Mini-invasive Surgery Society May, 2010, Viseu, Portugal
• The 11th Panelhellenic Congress
• The 5^th Biennial Meeting Of The Israeli Society For Endoscopic Surgery, November, 25-26^th, 2010, Daniel Hotel, Herzlia, Israel
• Joint Meeting of the Israel Society of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Israeli Society of Endoscopic Surgery, Israeli Forum of Bariatric Surgery, November, 2014,
• The Second Serbian Congress on Obesity with international participation Zlatibor, October 9-12, 2014; Bariatric & Metabolic Surgery Congress, Antalya, Turkey, 2015,
• Mediterranean Bariatric Surgery Congress, Turkey, 2015 ;
• International Congress of Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery, April, 2016, Moscow, RU

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