Scientific Program

SWAN Conference Program

Time Grand Ballroom 1 Grand Ballroom 2
07:00 – 07:45 Registration & Coffee
07:45 – 08:00 Welcome, Acknowledgement of Country & Official Conference Opening — Dr Scott D’Amours
08:00 – 09:30 Opening International Plenary – “Our Centres, Our Systems, Our Disaster Response” - Chair Dr Scott D'Amours
08:00 – 08:12 Saving Florida's Trauma System: Lessons from Hunting Gators — Dr John Armstrong
08:12 – 08:24 Trauma Systems in Thailand — Dr Narain Chotirosniramit
08:24 – 08:36 Helsinki University Hospital: Disaster response readiness — Prof Ari Leppaniemi
08:36 – 08:48 Approaches to Gun Violence in America — Dr Andre Campbell
08:48 – 09:00 Regional Disaster Preparedness: Engaging Non-Trauma Centers in Mass Casualty Overflow— Dr Rochelle Dicker
09:00 – 09:15 Panel Q&A (18 min)
09:20 – 10:15 Complex Case Discussion - "The Next Australian Disaster, How will you respond"? with International Faculty CHAIR: - Dr John Crozier Panelists: John Armstrong, Rochelle Dicker, Narain Chotirosniramit, Andrea Herring, Lilly Jenkins, Rob Scott, Tony Grabs, Matt Oliver, Helen Jowett
10:15 – 10:45 Morning Tea / Exhibits
10:45-12:15 Trauma Hard Talk - CHAIR: DR AILENE FITZGERALD “How I Do It” Operative Master-Classes - CHAIR: DR MARTIN JARMIN
10:45-10:57 Brain Swell Battle: Mannitol vs. Hypertonic Saline Showdown — Dr Simon Robertson Hepatic Trauma Beyond Packing — Prof Ari Leppaniemi
10:57-11:09 Tactical Paramedics — Adam Cantrick & Oli Ellis Emergency Thoracotomy Essentials - Dr John Armstrong
11:09-11:21 Sky Doctors: Air Retrieval in Rural Thailand — Dr Narain Chotirosniramit Carotid-Injury Management – Stent, Repair or Observe — A/Prof Tony Grabs
11:21-11:33 Complex Perineal Injuries — Dr David Read Stuck in Twilight – The complex abdominal wall - Prof Ramana Balasubramaniam
11:33 – 11:45 Damage control IR: Bridging Surgery and Non-Operative Management - Dr Suhrid Lodh Rib fixation in 2026: Indications, Incisions and Adjuncts - Dr Bhavik Patel
11:45 - 11:57 Q&A (15 min) Q&A (15 min)
12:00 – 13:30 Lunch

SYMPOSIUM "Mastering the Open Abdomen" Lunch Symposium Sponosred by Solventum— Panel: Dr Aditya Benjamin, Dr Andre Campbell, Dr Narain Chotirosniramit
13:30 – 15:00 Updates & Advances - CHAIR: DR TOM PATTERSON Acute Surgery Spotlight - CHAIR: DR ADITYA BENJAMIN
13:30-13:42 Thoracoabdominal Dilemma — Dr Narain Chotirosniramit Precision Under Pressure: Mastering Laparoscopic Common Bile Duct Exploration — Dr Paul Lambrakis
13:42 – 13:56 Military Trauma Systems — Col Anthony Chambers Conquering the Colossal: Surgical Tactics for Giant Duodenal Ulcers — Dr Yasser Farooque
13:56 – 14:08 Cryoablation in Rib Fractures — Dr Bhavik Patel & Dr Charlotte Frost Evolution of Open Abdomen Management — Prof Ramana Balasubramaniam
14:08 – 14:20 Next-Gen Haemostatics — Dr Martin Jarmin Emergency Laparotomy in the anticoagulated abdomen— Dr Ailene Fitzgerald
14:20 – 14:32 GI Game-Changers: Frontier Advances in Interventional Gastroenterology — Dr Milan Bassan Silent Threat: Decoding Non-Occlusive Mesenteric Ischemia in the Critically ill Patient - Dr Rochelle Dicker
14:32– 14:45 Interventional Radiology Revolution: Saving Lives in Trauma Scenarios — Dr Shady Osman Crush Syndrome - Dr Andre Campbell
14:45-15:00 Q&A (15 min) Q&A (15 min)
15:00 – 15:30 Afternoon Tea / Exhibits
15:30 – 17:00 Raising the Bar: Excellence & Compassion - CHAIR Ms SALLY FORREST Surgical Frontiers - CHAIR: DR PAUL LAMBRAKIS
15:30 – 15:42 Orchestrating the Frontlines: Effective Governance in Pre-Hospital Trauma — Ms Andrea Herring Emergency Surgery in Cirrhosis — Dr Yasser Farooque
15:42 – 15:54 Nurse-Led Shock Assessment in the ED – Practical Tips & Real-World Impact — Ms Rachel Watkins Traumatic Abdominal Wall Hernias: The Case for Early Surgical Repair in Blunt Trauma — Dr Aditya Benjamin
15:54 – 16:06 Benchmarking Excellence: The Trauma Verification Journey in Australia — Dr Mary Langcake Crohn's Conundrum: Navigating Emergency Surgical Interventions— Dr Assad Zahid
16:06 – 16:18 Systems Based Trauma and Injury Management - Dr Aliene Fitzgerald Mesh Matters - Prof Ramana Balasubramaniam
16:18 – 16:30 Modern Paediatric Trauma Systems — Ms Helen Jowett Pelvic Bleeding - When IR Fails — Dr Martin Jarmin
16:30 – 16:45 Q&A (15 min) Q&A (15 min)
17:00 – 18:00 COMPLEX ABDOMINAL WALL CLOSURE SYMPOSIUM with Canapés, sponsored by Optimed Technologies "Fascial Traction Techniques"
Time Grand Ballroom 1 Grand Ballroom 2
08:00 – 09:15 Plenary 2 – "Natural Disasters, Are they Different?" - CHAIR: Dr JOHN CROZIER
08:00 – 08:12 The American College of Surgeons Disaster Management and Emergency Preparedness Course in Australasia — Dr John Armstrong
08:12 – 08:24 Chiang Mai Earthquake Lessons — Dr Narain Chotirosniramit
08:24 – 08:36 How to evacuate national victims from disasters abroad - experiences from Asian tsunami and other disasters — Prof Ari Leppaniemi
08:36 – 08:48 Mass Casualty and Earthquake Response — Dr Andre Campbell
08:48 – 09:00 Secondary Trauma and Pyscho Social impacts of Mass Casualty - Dr Rochelle Dicker
09:00 – 09:15 Plenary Q&A (15 min)
09:15-09:45 Keynote — Lessons Learnt: Austere Environments — Prof Ari Leppaniemi
09:45-10:15 Morning Tea / Exhibits
Concurrent Sessions
10:15 – 11:30 Critical Care Controversies & Frontiers - CHAIR: Prof MICHAEL READE Acute Care Surgery Hard Talk - CHAIR: Dr PAUL LAMBRAKIS
10:15 –10:27 When Trauma Saves Lives: The Impact of Organ Donation — Dr Ram Lakshmanan Bringing the Gap - Challenges in Emergency Surgery & Trauma in Regional & Remote Australia — Dr Martin Jarmin
10:27 – 10:39 Cold Platelets: A Game Changer for Trauma Resuscitation — Dr Elissa Milford Reflecting on surgical decisions for complicated diverticulitis — Dr Assad Zahid
10:39 – 10:51 Rescue ECMO for the Polytrauma Patient: Pushing the Boundaries of Survival — Dr Peter McCanny Damage Control in Colorectal Surgery — Dr David Read
10:51 – 11:03 Multimodal Pain Management — Dr Patrick Liston After the inferno: Managing complications of severe pancreatitis — Dr Yasser Farooque
11:03 – 11:15 Whole Blood in Trauma - Dr Rochelle Dicker Meshing around- Infected Mesh Management — Dr Andre Campbell
11:15 – 11:30 Q&A (15 min) Q&A (15 min)
11:30 – 12:45 Lunch / Posters / Exhibits
Concurrent Sessions
12:45 – 14:00 Vulnerable Communities in Trauma - CHAIR: Ms Melissa Murphy Challenging Dogma - CHAIR: Assoc Prof DAVID READ
12:45 – 12:57 Protecting our Elders, Recognising and stopping abuse — Assoc Prof Lai Heng Foong Fast-Track Rib Fixation — Dr Bhavik Patel
12:57 – 13:09 Breaking Cycles - Effective Violence Intervention and Community Outcomes — Dr Rochelle Dicker Pigtail Vs ICC - Dr Lilly Jenkins
13:09 – 13:21 Safeguarding Seniors: Tailored Care with Advanced Care Planning, Bone Protection and Frailty Scores — A/Prof Danielle Ni Chroinin It's Time to Retire These Skills - Dr John Armstrong
13:21 – 13:33 When Trauma is Not Equal: Children at Risk and Non-Accidental Trauma — Ms Helen Jowett Should you believe the TEG/ROTEM, or just give whole blood - Prof Michael Reade
13:35 – 14:00 Q&A (15 min) Q&A (15 min)
14:00 – 14:45 Complex Case Scenario & International Panel CHAIR: Dr Mary Langcake Panelists: Ari Leppaniemi, Narain Chotirosniramit, Oliver Ellis, Ailene Fitzgerald, Rachel Watkins, Peter McCanny, Helen Jowett
14:45 – 15:15 Afternoon Tea / Exhibits
15:15 – 15:45 Keynote 2 — The Future of Trauma Surgery — Dr Andre Campbell
15:45 – 16:30 The Great Debate — “Major trauma teams must be surgeon-led” — Pro: Dr Mary Langcake, Con: Dr Alan Giles
16:30 – 16:45 Awards & Official Closing — Dr Scott D’Amours, Dr Paul Lambrakis, Dr Aditya Benjamin
16:45 Conference Close

“For me, I am driven by two main philosophies: know more today about the world than I knew yesterday and lessen the suffering of others. You’d be surprised how far that gets you.”

—Neil deGrasse Tyson

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