Joji Kotani, Japan
President IASMEN

President's Message

 

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

I hope this message finds you all in good health and high spirits. It is my distinct honor and privilege to address you as the President of IASMEN through this ISS/ SIC Newsletter.

In the evolving landscape of modern surgery, our research must continuously address the clinical milestones that define patient recovery. Among these, Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) has fundamentally transformed surgical care. By minimizing surgical trauma and reducing the systemic inflammatory response, MIS plays a pivotal role in preserving the patient's metabolic balance and accelerating physiological recovery. Concurrently, the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) programs have revolutionized perioperative management through a multimodal, evidence-based approach. The importance of ERAS lies not only in its clinical efficacy but also in its global expansion, particularly in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), where its implementation offers a highly cost-effective strategy to optimize resource utilization, reduce complications, and standardize high-quality care world-wide.

My own professional journey began as a gastrointestinal surgeon, but in the latter half of my career, my focus shifted toward Acute Care Surgery, which naturally led me to specialize deeply in emergency medicine and intensive care. Through this clinical experience, I have come to a firm realization: the future of surgical metabolism and nutrition no longer belongs to surgeons alone. It is critical that we actively engage and collaborate with other vital specialists involved in critical care, such as intensivists and emergency physicians. In this interconnected ecosystem, Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS) has emerged as a crucial area that demands our urgent attention. Going forward, I am eager to promote PICS as a key, pioneering research theme within IASMEN. Crucially, optimal nutritional therapy combined with early, intensive rehabilitation has proven to be highly effective in mitigating PICS, breaking the cycle of physical, cognitive, and psychological decline after critical illness.

This vision was vibrantly reflected at our recent ISW 2026 in Mexico City last month. Regrettably, due to a sudden family bereavement immediately upon my arrival in Mexico, I had to return to Japan urgently and was unable to attend the scientific congress in person. However, I am immensely proud and thrilled to report that, thanks to the dedication of our leadership and members, the IASMEN sessions were an outstanding success. Attached to this newsletter, you will find a photograph of our Executive Committee (ExCom) members who represented our society so brilliantly in my absence.

A major highlight of our program in Mexico was the successful organization of numerous joint sessions with prominent sister and regional societies, including ASSMN, ISBI, IATSIC, FELAC, and ISDS. The discussions were incredibly vibrant and fruitful. Seeing such active engagement reinforced my conviction that IASMEN’s research in metabolism and nutrition serves as a fundamental cornerstone for research across a wide spectrum of surgical disciplines. Furthermore, alongside our deeply engaging discussions on the advancements of MIS and the global expansion of ERAS, our newly highlighted sessions focusing on the intensive care arena - including PICS - were met with immense enthusiasm and high attendance.

Looking ahead, we are committed to nurturing this multi-disciplinary momentum. We will continue to expand our educational resources, support collaborative research, and provide travel grants  to encourage the next generation of surgeons and specialists worldwide to join our mission.

Finally, looking even further into the future, I am already greatly looking forward to our next grand gathering at ISW 2028 in Cape Town, South Africa. I am confident that it will be another historic mile- stone for our society.

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the executive committee and all our members for their exceptional support and for making ISW 2026 a memorable success. Let us continue to work together to expand the horizons of IASMEN.

Warmest regards,
Joji Kotani, 
President
IASMEN International Association for Surgical Metabolism and Nutrition