Page 67 - IFSO-History-Book-Digital-File

09 - Jan Willem Greve 2005-2006 Netherlands
Professor Greve trained in general surgery at Maastricht
University Hospital and completed a PhD there in 1990 on the
prevention of complications in obstructive jaundice, becoming
professor of surgery at Maastricht University in 1994. He
co-founded the Benelux Association of Bariatric Surgeons (BABS)
and served as its president from 2000-2004, and was a member,
then chair, of the Dutch Guideline on Obesity Surgery Committee.
He co-organized the third and tenth IFSO World Congresses and
served as IFSO’s Executive Director from 2006- 2009. During his
IFSO presidency, the organization changed its name to the
International Federation for Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic
Disorders. Together with Harry Frydenberg, Greve established
the IFSO website and secured the ifso.com domain. He
negotiated the publishing agreement with Springer for the
Obesity Surgery journal, in addition to opening IFSO’s first
professional office. He was later named an Officer in the Order of
Oranje-Nassau for his national and international work in MBS.
Currently, Greve chairs the IFSO Board of Trustees.

10 - Ioannis (John) Melissas 2006-2007 Greece

Professor Melissas founded the Greek Society for Bariatric Surgery
in 1998 and served as its first president. During his IFSO
presidency, he brought the Greek society formally into IFSO and
organized the sixth IFSO World Congress in Chania, Crete. He
represented IFSO before a meeting of European Union health
ministers that classified severe obesity as a chronic disease
meriting surgical treatment under national health systems, a
milestone for insurance coverage across Europe. His research
demonstrated accelerated gastric emptying and altered
gut-hormone secretion after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy,
helping to clarify the procedure’s mechanism of action. As
president, Melissas authored the definitive IFSO Guidelines for
Safety, Quality, and Excellence, and established the organization's
first Accreditation Committee, facilitating IFSO’s evaluation of
MBS surgeons and clinics. Melissas chaired IFSO’s committee on
MBS Centers of Excellence for several years and continues to
serve on the Scientific Board of the European Accreditation
Council for Bariatric Surgery (EAC-BS).

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