Two-day high level meeting to give direction to hepatology

With more and more people being affected by liver and digestive tract-related diseases, the two- day 5th International Conference of the South

Asian Association for the Study of the Liver will be held on July 21 and 22 at the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel in Colombo.

‘ Giving direction to hepatology’ is the theme of these Joint Academic Sessions being held with the Sri Lanka Society of Gastroenterology (SLSG).

The Dr. Nihal Markus Oration on ‘Liver transplantation in a developing country’ will be delivered by Prof. Mohamed Rela, Professor of Liver Surgery, King’s College Hospital, London, United Kingdom and Director and Head, Institute of Liver Disease and Transplantation, Global Hospitals, Chennai, India.

In view of the increasing burden of liver and digestive tract diseases not only to the public but also to the health sector in Sri Lanka, the SLSG will conduct a training workshop on live endoscopy on July 20 at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka.

Some of the symposia during the joint academic sessions will cover non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, liver disease in children, advances in hepatology and viral hepatitis.

Meanwhile, the SLSG launched its official website on May 20 at a function held in the auditorium of the Sri Lanka Medical Association.

The aim of the website is to provide the public with information at their fingertips and thus increase awareness on these diseases emphasizing the need to seek early treatment.

The importance of early identification, early treatment and thus prevention of complications were stressed by all the speakers at the event.