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10TH
ARMENIAN MEDICAL WORLD CONGRESS IN NEW YORK: July 1-4, 2009 WEBSITE: www.aahpo.org
Þ Þ Þ Þ Þ No3 No3 No3
No3 Ü Ü Ü Ü Ü
March
2009
THE AMIC NEWSLETTER
I-
The
Latest News from the Organizing Committee of the New York Congress
The
two previous issues of the Info-Flash were dedicated to the forthcoming
10th AMIC World Medical Congress to be held in New York from July 1
to July 4, 2009; the second one announced that the deadline for the special rates
-hotel rooms and Congress registration- was extended to March1. Please be
advised that the deadline has been extended to April 15. Let me explain why and how this excellent news becomes
possible.
When
AMIC held its Annual General Meeting in New Jersey last May, the Organizing
Committee had already made its first contacts with Hilton Hotel. The Hotel
wanted to ensure a certain amount of room reservations before January 1, 2009,
in order to offer other special services at discounted rates. That is what we
first told our readers. When the January 1 deadline was successful, the Hotel
agreed to extend the deadline to March 1. As this second deadline was also
successful, thanks to you all who reserved your rooms meanwhile, the possibility
was offered to the Organizing Committee (OC) of again extending the deadline to
April 15. The OC accepted with enthusiasm because as its President, Dr.
Lawrence Najarian says: "Already, we have record registration for the
Congress and it promises to be a superb event. Our pre-eminent concern for the
deadline extension is to give everyone around the world enough time to respond.
We want to offer the fairest opportunity for all health professionals to
contribute health care solutions for Armenians and the Armenian Diaspora.
Together, we can achieve so much more."
A tremendous and continuing process of
updating our database is going on in AMIC’s office, the results of which are immediately
communicated to the OC, which in turn mails its pamphlets to the "new-comers."
This
is however, most probably the last extension. So take advantage of it quickly
and make your hotel and Congress reservations and registrations. You can find
all the necessary information on the Congress website http://aahpo.org/amwco9 or by calling 201-
546-6166.
Please
be aware that the registration for the Congress is not final, until payment has
been received by the OC.
BE WITH US FROM JULY 1 TO JULY 4, 2009! NEW YORK AND
THE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE ARE WAITING FOR YOU!
2- MUHC
Surgeon Performs First-of-Its Kind Procedure in Quebec
The
above title was made public by the McGill University General Information Office
on December 16, 2008, with a long communiqué which was published in all the
major Montreal newspapers. We are reproducing it below with pride, as it is emblematic of the emergence in
the city, of a new generation of Armenian health care professionals.
"Patient
with metastatic melanoma receives minimally invasive high-dose regional
chemotherapy"
Surgeons
at the McGill University Health Centre have successfully carried out the first
Isolated Limb Infusion (ILI) procedure ever performed in Quebec. Performed by
Dr. Ari Meguerditchian, MUHC surgical oncologist, on a patient with recurrent
metastatic melanoma confined to his right leg, the ground-breaking procedure
was a total success. Today, the patient is completely cancer free.
ILI
is suited to patients with recurrent melanoma confined to a limb that cannot be
treated by traditional surgery. It avoids the need for amputation or lengthy
surgical procedures and allows large doses of anti-cancer drugs to be delivered
to the limb without affecting the rest of the body. The ILI procedure offers a
reasonable chance of long-term tumour control and even cure, and complications
are rare.
"When
you have a cancer that spreads regionally instead of going systemically, this
gives you a chance to intervene before it travels to other parts of the
body," says Dr. Meguerditchian. "The isolated limb infusion is a
minimally invasive technique that allows you to deliver high-dose chemotherapy
in patients that have regional occurrence of disease. It is repeatable; there
are fewer side effects, less risks and equal benefits to the patient.
Additionally, it is less resource intensive for the institution than the
traditional alternatives."
Declared
cancer free just days ago, the patient considers how lucky he is to have been
offered this innovative procedure. "Although I have experienced some
side-effects, I would happily take them over the alternative! The whole
procedure happened in one half hour. That is pretty amazing when you think of
the number of sessions of chemotherapy many other patients have to go
through."
A
highly-targeted procedure
ILI
involves "isolation" of the affected arm or leg from the rest of the
body using a tourniquet, which blocks off the normal blood supply to the limb
and keeps the anti-cancer drugs confined to that area. Next, small calibre
arterial and venous catheters (tubes) are inserted through the skin from the
opposite groin and positioned right at the level of the tumour. Later that day,
in the operating theatre, the actual infusion of anti-cancer drugs is performed
(normally after a full general anaesthetic has been given).
Before
the anti-cancer drugs are injected into the limb, a tourniquet is placed around
the upper part of the limb to prevent leakage into the general circulation of
the body. During the ILI procedure, the blood circulating through the limb is
warmed by passing it through a heating coil, because the effectiveness of the
anti-cancer drugs is increased at raised temperatures. The period during which
the limb is exposed to the anti-cancer drugs is normally 30 minutes. The total
procedure in the operating theatre usually takes less than an hour.
Continuing
to improve cancer treatment
According
to Dr. Meguerditchian, ILI is only one of the varieties of regional therapeutic
tools that can be applied to cancer. "At the MUHC we are interested in
developing and improving these new treatment modalities and further
contributing to scientific knowledge," he says.
Dr.
Meguerditchian is also quick to mention that this first success was made
possible by the high degree of coordination achieved between a number of
hospital services, including: pharmacy, radiology, perfusionists, nursing and
surgery. "This was a team effort and it is only thanks to everyone’s
dedication and professionalism that we made it work. This collaborative spirit
will be the key as we venture to explore new treatment modalities."
3- An
Announcement from the Armenian Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (AAPRAS).
For any additional information, please
contact Dr. Gevorg Yaghjyan (micro@netsys.am)
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4-
The CME credits in Las Vegas for the
Armenian American Medical Society of California members.
In it’s December, 2008, issue Info-Flash
(No4) published a report by Dr. Varoosh Alaverdian (President of AAMSC, the
Armenian American Medical Society of California), in which he was referring to
the "monthly CME programs and the annual offsite CME lectures in Las Vegas
organized by the CME committee (which) are successfully providing essential and
imperative medical education to the members of AAMSC."
Info-Flash
intrigued and interested by these "special sessions" of the CME
committee for the AAMSC members, asked for more information and details,
especially for its readers living outside of California and of the USA in
particular. We include below the message sent by Mrs. Zarmine Naccashian, the
treasurer of the AAMSC. Info-Flash would also like to draw
its readers’ attention to an article on the same topic, written by Dr. Jerry
Manoukian, in the latest issue of the Armenian Medical Review, (No 4), just
recently published. This latest issue will be on sale during the New York
Congress.
"AAMSC is accredited to provide CME to its members. Each month a sponsor is found which is usually a drug company, a grant is submitted and when approved, a CME evening is organized, usually on the 4th Wednesday of each month. All AAMSC members, spouses, guests who will become potential members are invited to attend. All AAMSC members are granted 1 CME units.
There was a rule in the beginning
of 2000, which said that all physicians who renew their licenses needed to
present 15 continuing education hours on pain management. They needed to find a CME provider and attend
to comply with this request.
Dr. Cherik, who was the president
in 2004, suggested putting a 15 hour conference focused on pain
management. To bring spice to this
educational activity the board decided to host this event in Vegas. It was a whole day Saturday and 1/2 day
Sunday and the speakers were multi-specialty and multi-disciplinary (nursing
and pharmacy). This activity was free
for all members.
Since then every year in October
AAMSC hosts a one day (only whole day Saturday) CME activity. This activity is exclusively for its members. However,
any Armenian health care provider who is not a member joins to become a member
($150 (all), $75 (nurses and dieticians) at the door, are invited to attend.
1) This activity is exclusively
for Armenian health care professionals who are members of AAMSC.
2) It is part of the membership
benefit.
3) The speakers are multi
specialty and multi disciplinary.
4) It is to promote knowledge and
get CME units that could be used towards the renewal of their licenses.
5) No other minorities are
involved.
Usually there is a social event
planned Saturday night which is optional.
Members arrive Friday night, the conference
is on Saturday, complimentary breakfast and lunch are served, with a social
event on Saturday night (optional, not hosted), and departure is on Sunday.
We get some funds from
pharmaceutical companies to provide complimentary breakfast and buffet lunch in
a hotel.
On another note there is an
organization called NEPO (Network of Ethnic Physicians Organization) that AAMSC
is a member of. However, a delegate from
AAMSC attends their annual meeting.
Personally I am very much interested in closer collaboration with them
as they have funds and are interested in studying health disparities in ethnic
groups which is my research interest.
Zarmine Naccashian,
January 1, 2009
5-
What is AMIC?
The Armenian Medical International Committee (AMIC)
was created 19 years ago. It is an umbrella organization that unites and
promotes Armenian medical associations throughout the Diaspora, creating thus a
large network through which information and data are exchanged.
AMIC
organizes Armenian Medical Congresses. So far nine have been held in different
cities of the Diaspora. In 2007, the "Second International Medical Congress
of Armenia" organized by Armenia, was held in Yerevan (June 28 to June
30).
The
10th AMIC Medical World Congress will take place in New York, in
2009, from July 1 to July 4.
Since 1998 AMIC has published an online newsletter
which is sent free of charge to all Armenian Health Care Professionals. If you
are a health care professional and are interested in receiving Info-Flash,
please send us your email address (aida@amic.ca).
To all those who already receive the Info, please do not forget to send us your
new e-mail address when you change it. Info-Flash is posted on GROONG, but with a different format,
and often with less data and graphics, due to GROONG’s rules. To receive it individually in full size and
content, please contact AMIC office (aida@amic.ca).
For further information, visit our website: www.amic.ca
As of 2005, AMIC in collaboration with Regimedia,
publishes a scientific journal, the “Armenian
Medical Review”. The fourth issue is just out. To subscribe please
contact aida@amic.ca
Useful information to remember: You can send free of charge from wherever you are
located, medical equipment/medicine through the services of the United Armenian
Fund: Contact: U.A.F. President
Mr. Harout Sassounian (sassoun@pacbell.net)