Arduous days in San Diego, California, USA – the 14th Congress of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery – October 18-22, 2006
The 14th Congress of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) was held on October 18-22, 2006 in San Diego, California, USA. This year a record number of participants, i.e. more than 600 doctors, assistants and managers specializing in hair restoration surgeries, arrived at the Del Coronado Hotel. The session was preceded by numerous workshop and organizational meetings. On Tuesday, October 17 a training on media contacts was held for a small group of doctors, including Dr Jerzy Kolasiński.
Another day started with the Global Convocation, i.e. the meeting of the representatives of the countries within ISHRS. Poland was represented by the president of the Polish Society of Hair Restoration Surgery, namely Małgorzata Kolenda, M.D. The participants exchanged their views on the latest advancements in this field of medicine in their countries. On the same day the ISHRS board meeting was held, in which Jerzy Kolasiński took part. During the session lasting many hours a wide spectrum of topics concerning society activities was discussed. The following days abounded in sessions and courses as well. Professor Maria Siemionow, the Director of the experimental team of plastic surgeons of the Cleveland Clinic, was a guest of honor of the Congress. She delivered a lecture on face and head skin transplantation. It generated huge interest among the session participants. Moreover, the luxury interiors of the del Coronado Hotel renown from the movie Some Like it Hot and the Pacific Ocean in the vicinity of the hotel made the atmosphere of the meeting even more exciting.
During the Gala Dinner, the fact that the team led by Jerzy Kolasiński was awarded a grant to conduct further research on assessing various techniques of the donor region supply in hair transplantation surgery appeared to be a nice surprise. Malgorzata Kolenda is also a member of this international group.
Finally, numerous discussions held at the Congress resulted in the decission to conduct the first European workshops of ISHRS in the Kolasinski Clinic in Spetmeber 2007.