Physicians from St. Luke’s University Health Network and Lehigh Valley Health Network recently held a medical summit that could enhance health care in the region and across the United States.

The educational symposium, “Prevention and Management of MIGS (Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery) Complications,” was sponsored by St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) and Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) and open to all attending physicians, medical residents and fellows from both institutions.

The regional health care providers delivered the learning opportunity for the purpose of creating better doctors and ultimately better patient outcomes, according to Israel Zighelboim, MD, FACOG, FACS, one of the program organizers and the newly named chair of the SLUHN’s department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

The Feb. 27 program was led by a team of physicians from both institutions, including Vincent Lucente MD, MBA, and Michael Patriarco, DO, co-directors of St. Luke’s Fellowship in Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery, and Martin A. Martino, MD, Gynecologic Oncologist and medical director of LVHN’s Minimally-Invasive Robotic Surgery program.

The program’s keynote speaker, Jon Ivar Einarsson, MD, PhD, MPH, is director of the Division of Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Einarsson said he was drawn to the Bethlehem-based program in part for the chance to catch up with his old pal and mentor, Dr. Zighelboim, but stressed that it was only part of the attraction. “This kind of exchange of ideas is so important,” Einarsson said. “I go to conferences all over the world where we learn from each other and get different ideas on how to do things. I am very impressed with the quality of the presentations today. I am very happy to be a part of it.”

Einarsson kicked off the program with “How to Avoid and Manage Complications of Laparoscopic Surgery.” Dr. Lucente continued with the “Prevention and Management of Mesh Complications,” and Dr. Patriarco, discussed the “Prevention and Management of Morcellation Complications.”

Lucente concluded his presentation with advice for his young colleagues on the medical-legal considerations of their actions with an anonymous quote that captured the essence of the lesson he was trying to impart: “The complication is not the sin, the failure to recognize it is.”

Martino followed Patriarco’s session with a talk on the “Prevention and Management of Robotic Complications,” and Zighelboim rounded out the lecture portion of the symposium with a presentation on “Laparoscopic Anatomy.”

The afternoon session, led by Einarsson, Lucente, Martino, Patriarco and Zighelboim explored “Pelvic Floor, Laparoscopic Anatomy and Extraction Techniques.”

As Gynecologic Oncology surgeons, Zighelboim and Martino are often called upon for their expertise on the management of complex gynecologic conditions by their colleagues. They have previously collaborated to provide joint training initiatives for their respective institutions, and both said that they would participate in the educational program again.

“This program demonstrates how patients can benefit as a result of teamwork and collaboration between LVHN and SLUHN,” Martino said. “It is our hope that these future physicians will deliver outstanding care for our patients, our family members and the communities they serve.”

Zighelboim expects that the collaboration between the OB-GYN departments at St. Luke’s and Lehigh Valley Health Network will continue to benefit young physicians that the health networks train and the patients they serve. They have already started to plan next year’s event.