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The First IFSO International Congress: Prague, Czech Republic (1996)
Martin Fried

A Gathering of Global Pioneers: The Path to Prague

Following the historic founding of the IFSO organization in 1995 in Stockholm, the newly elected
IFSO Executive Board voted unanimously for the 1st IFSO Congress to be held in September 1996
in Prague, Czech Republic. The congress was scheduled to run in close continuity with the 10th
International Symposium on Obesity Surgery, under the Congress Presidency of Dr. Martin Fried
[Fig. 2].

Throughout 1996, as preparations for the Prague congress intensified, Prof. Scopinaro provided
invaluable personal assistance to the local organizing committee. Working in tandem with Congress
President Martin Fried, Scopinaro constructed the scientific program and gathered a spectacular
roster of international speakers and attendees. Despite a very compressed timeline to organize an
international meeting of this scale, the 1st IFSO Congress took place and was an unqualified
success, attracting more than 250 dedicated participants representing every continent.

The Congress drew the world's MBS leaders and prominent non-surgical counterparts to deliver
lectures. Among the active participants who shaped the scientific discourse were: G. Adami, Luigi
Angrisani, Aniceto Baltasar, Mitiku Belachew, Robert Brolin, Cynthia Buffington, Luca Busetto, G-B
Cadiere, G. Camerini, J. Capella, George Cowan, Jr., Jerome Dargent, Mervyn Deitel, Maurizio De
Luca, C. Doherty, Franco Favretti, P. Forestieri, P. Forsell, R. Fox, Vincent Frering, D. Friedman, Jan
Willem Greve, V. Hainer, Emanuel Hell, G. Hellers, Jacques Himpens, Andrew Jamieson, Isao
Kawamura, I. Kuzmak, M. Lucchese, Lloyd MacLean, John Melissas, Karl Miller, I. Näslund, M. Peskova,
Walter Pories, Nicola Scopinaro, Yuri Yashkov, and many others.
The 1st IFSO Congress in Prague represented the initial formal gathering of surgeons, clinical
researchers, and integrated health professionals under the official IFSO banner. In addition to
surgeons, the local Organizing Committee was composed of at least one-third non-surgeons,
including Dr. Vojtech Hainer, who would later serve as a President of the European Association for
the Study of Obesity (EASO). The local and national importance of the congress was underscored by
being conducted under the auspices of several prominent Prague academicians, the Rector of
Charles University, the Dean of the 1st Medical Faculty of Charles University, and the Director of the
General Faculty Hospital in Prague.
The scientific program of the inaugural 1996 IFSO World Congress in Prague ran across three days
(September 27–29) and featured 64 presentations organized into topic sessions, including Vertical
Banded Gastroplasty, Biliopancreatic Diversion, Physiology of Obesity Surgery, Jejunoileal Bypass
and Gastric Bypass, Integrated Approaches in Obesity Surgery, New Techniques in Obesity Surgery,
and Gastric Banding. Presenters came from more than a dozen countries, reflecting the young field’s
international breadth even at its first meeting.

Core Achievements and Legacy

The primary objectives of the inaugural meeting were fully realized, cementing several pillars of the
MBS specialty: establishing IFSO's role as an international scientific and educational body for
obesity and other metabolic therapies, creating an open forum for sharing cutting-edge knowledge
on emerging surgical techniques and long-term clinical outcomes, promoting global standards of
excellence and safety for MBS procedures, and fostering cross-border, multidisciplinary
collaboration and research networks. The inclusive operating framework of the 1st IFSO World
Congress united surgeons, physicians, and integrated health professionals in a collaborative mission
to develop, research, standardize, and advocate for holistic metabolic patient care.

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