Linda D. Bradley, MD
Director of Hysteroscopic Services, Section of General Gyencology,
Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio

Hello, I’m Linda Bradley; I’m vice chair of obstetrics and gynecology at the Cleveland Clinic and the director of hysteroscopic services and menstrual disorders in the fibroid center, also at the Cleveland Clinic. This year, I was just selected as the secretary-treasurer of the AAGL. I’m very happy to speak with you today. I’m very excited about this year’s 37^th annual program. This year’s program is going to be very exciting; first of all, we’d like to give honor and tribute to Jordan Phillips, the visionary, the icon, and the brilliant mind that really started the AAGL more than 37 years ago. It’s been under his leadership that we are able to have a program that’s dynamic and actually pertains to many innovative techniques. We’re very excited this year to have many discussions on laparoscopic surgery, robotic surgery, lots of updates on urinary prolapse and incontinence, and more importantly, issues as it relates to uterine fibroids—alternatives to hysterectomy, and issues as it relates to oncology. We have a very large group of physicians who are attending the program, as well as residents, an excellent program with new videos, abstracts and posters. We’re excited to bring the annual AAGL meeting to Las Vegas this year.

We have a very robust agenda—several hysteroscopy courses that are hands-on, cadaver courses, laparoscopic suturing, which is extremely popular, and also many posters, videos and abstracts. We think that this program has something for everyone, from novice to the most seasoned surgeons. This year, we will have 11 video sections and segments, several live telesurgeries being broadcast from around the country, and actually around the world. We have many, many live debates and pro and con sessions. We think that everyone will enjoy this year’s program and we thank the scientific community for working so diligently on bringing us a fabulous program. We think that the AAGL program is particularly suited for all physicians. It allows a large array of seasoned physicians from around the country. Our programs are large enough to hear most everything yet small enough and intimate, especially with our luncheon roundtables, to have the ability to speak with professors, experts from around the world. We’re very excited that this year’s program is extremely robust and, again, we thank our scientific community for such a wonderful program.

I always mark my calendar for the AAGL annual meeting. It’s so much fun to meet new friends and old ones, and more importantly, I’m very involved this year with a couple of very unique programs. One is the postgraduate course number 6, where we’re going to talk about new and innovative theories for uterine fibroids, ranging from uterine fibroid embolization to MRI-focused ultrasound to medical therapy. We’re also involved with evening dinner symposium on uterine fibroid embolization. Likewise a luncheon roundtable provides ample opportunity to talk with a very select group of physicians who are very interested in new technology and new techniques. So, again, we think the AAGL has something for everyone.

We think that this year’s program is really excellent, in that we have a lot of information on robotic surgery. Many physicians and hospitals are very excited to look at applications of robotics, ranging from hysterectomy to lymph node sampling to diagnostic procedures. In addition, much work in infertility and oncology will also be discussed at this year’s program.

The AAGL has always been at the forefront of medical and scientific inquiry and this year’s no different. It’s been very different, and sometimes tricky, to talk about cosmetic procedures in gynecology, but the AAGL has tackled this and will offer courses on cosmetic surgery in the office. I’m sure this will bring much interest and enthusiasm as physicians are looking for ways to expand opportunities for practicing cosmetic surgeries in their practice, so stay tuned.

Another topic of interest for AAGL members is pelvic floor reconstruction. There will be ample opportunity to discuss the role of mesh and different surgical procedures in order to treat pelvic prolapse. Lastly, there is a special session this year from Allied Health Professionals to attend and become updated in the gynecologist specialty.

This past year has been a labor of love for me and Dr Falcone. We embarked on writing a wonderful and comprehensive textbook on hysteroscopy. There are 22 chapters in this book and many AAGL members, who are excellent physicians and writers, contributed to this textbook. We’re excited to get to present it, in addition to the 22 chapters, there is also a 3 hour DVD that demonstrates many surgical procedures and principles, both in operative and office-based hysteroscopy. This textbook will be useful for residents in training, fellows, and also clinical physicians. We feel that the artwork, the videos, and the written material is very very helpful and we think our readers will enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed preparing it.