Nuacht

 University of Galway will host the 51st Sir Peter Freyer Memorial Lecture and Surgical Symposium on September 4th and 5th 2026.  The Symposium is recognised as Ireland’s largest Surgical Conference and is held in memory of Galway-born Surgeon Sir Peter Freyer, who performed the first successful operation to remove an enlarged prostate in 1900. It comprises research and education sessions across various surgical subspecialties, two keynote addresses and a discussion forum about emergency surgery in Ireland.  The keynote addresses at this year’s event will be delivered by two internationally recognised surgeons from the UK and Ireland. Professor Shafi Ahmed will deliver the Sir Peter Freyer Memorial Lecture - Intelligent: The Evolution of AI Transforming Healthcare, on Friday, September 4th; and Professor Helen Heneghan will deliver the State of the Art Lecture - The Changing Landscape of Obesity Treatment: Personalised Approaches to Optimise Surgery and Outcomes, on Saturday, September 5th.  Professor Shafi Ahmed is a surgeon, educator and healthcare innovator and known for pioneering the use of technology in medicine. He has helped shape the future of surgical training through his work in digital health, virtual reality and medical education and has delivered more than 350 keynote presentations in more than 70 countries. Professor Ahmed is a Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgeon specialising in colorectal cancer at The Royal London and St Bartholomew’s Hospitals. He is also Professor of Strategic Innovation at Bolton University, Honorary Professor of Practice at UCL Global Business School for Health and Visiting Professor at Imperial College London.  Professor Helen Heneghan is a Consultant Bariatric and General Surgeon at St Vincent’s University Hospital and Professor of Surgery at University College Dublin. A graduate of the University of Galway, she completed her basic surgical training at Galway University Hospital and was awarded a PhD by the University in 2012. She is the Surgical Lead for the National Clinical Programme for Obesity and President and co-founder of the Society for Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Ireland.   The 51st Sir Peter Freyer Memorial Lecture and Surgical Symposium will also host the first telesurgery training event for surgeons and surgical trainees.   Professor Ahmed will unveil for the first time a new global AI platform, designed to change how surgeons learn, develop and navigate their careers. Surgeon.AI is the first global surgical training platform being launched in Ireland and represents a significant milestone for the Irish Medtech and AI Surgical Innovation sectors. The platform brings surgical education, career development and personalised learning into a single AI-powered platform designed to support surgeons from medical school and training through to consultant or attending level. The platform includes a proprietary AI-driven algorithm designed to track how an individual’s surgical knowledge and capabilities develop over time by using artificial intelligence to make high-quality, personalised surgical education more accessible to surgeons around the world.    The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) will provide surgical trainees and surgeons in Galway with the opportunity to remotely operate the Sentire Surgical System located at its Robotic Surgery and Research Centre in Dublin. Supported by University of Galway and Cornerstone Robotics, the workshop will demonstrate the potential of telesurgery to expand access to robotic surgery education and training across Ireland.  Professor Michael Kerin, Professor of Surgery at University of Galway and President of RCSI, who is hosting the event with his colleague Professor Stewart Walsh, Chair of Surgery at University of Galway, said: “We are honoured to welcome Professor Ahmed and Professor Heneghan to the University of Galway. Professor Ahmed’s pioneering work in digital health, virtual reality and healthcare innovation will provide an important perspective on the transformative role of artificial intelligence in medicine. It is also a pleasure to welcome Professor Heneghan back to Galway. As a graduate of the University and a former trainee at Galway University Hospital, she has become a leading clinician in bariatric and metabolic surgery. Her lecture will address one of the most important challenges facing modern healthcare.  “We are particularly proud to host the pioneering telesurgery training workshop, in collaboration with RCSI and Cornerstone Robotics UK, which highlights how innovation and collaboration can expand access to advanced robotic surgery education and training across Ireland.  “Both lectures form the centrepiece of a large programme showcasing some of the finest surgical research this country has to offer. The Conference marks the start of the academic year and has long been a mainstay of the national academic surgical community, underpinned by the contributions of Consultants and Trainees from across every specialty in Irish surgery. We are also delighted to welcome the RCSI Council, who will hold their out-of-town meeting at University of Galway during the event.”   Ends