Dear Collegues and friends,

On behalf of the European Chapter of the International Federation for the Surgery for Obesity and metabolic diseases, and in the name of the Swiss Morbid Obesity Study Group, it is my pleasure to invite you in Lausanne to participate in the 4th congress of the European Chapter of the IFSO.

In the rapidly expanding and changing world of bariatric surgery, and more recently of metabolic surgery, our challenges are numerous and include providing the best possible treatment for a lifelong disease and meet the ever increasing demand with a world obesity epidemic. The program will include plenary sessions (face to face, debates, round tables), sessions on new technology, new knowledge, video and poster sessions.

Easy to reach by train or air, Lausanne faces Lake Geneva with a stunning view over the Alps. Home to the Olympic Museum, Lausanne can be the starting point for many excursions in Switzerland. This welcoming country provides several tourist options, from mountains to water, from sports to culture, from medieval or large cities to calm countryside. An interesting social program will be offered for accompanying persons.

Come to Switzerland to share and improve your knowledge, to meet with friends, and to enjoy the magnificient country.

PD Dr Michel Suter, President of the organizing committee, 4th IFSO-EC congress

Dear friends and collegues,

It is my honor and pleasure to invite you to the 4th congress of the IFSO European Chapter, organized this time by Michel Suter in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 2010. The different chapters were created to make it easier for everyone to attend every year at least one important international meeting on bariatric and metabolic surgery. After the great successes of the meetings in Prague, Lyon and Capri, Lausanne will be the place to be for the next meeting.

The meetings of the European Chapter are very important, not only because of their scientific value, but also to meet with collegues from the different European countries. We can exchange strategies to have better acceptance and reimbursement. Europe was also the cradle of IFSO, with the founding meeting in Prague, and the first International Symposium on Obesity Surgery in Sestri/Levante, already more than 25 years ago. Of course, the highest number of bariatric procedures are performed in the US, but some European countries have the highest number of these operations per capita. We have the knowledge and perseverance to perform the best bariatric and metabolic surgery. Thanks to these meetings, we can help starting countries to develop faster.

Some collegues believe they know everything by now, because we have currently a few very well defined procedures at hand. But even the so-called "gold standard" procedures have side effects and sometimes can lead to weight regain. Therefore, the question of which procedure for which particular patient remains open. What is the role of the upcoming endoluminal and single-incision procedures? What is the best metabolic procedure? As you see, there are so many question marks that make these meetings so important.

The European Center of excellence program is finalized. We will try to have centers of excellence for bariatric and metabolic surgery in many European country. We are also working on an international registry for bariatric and metabolic surgery. The idea is to have this registry in each country, owned by the national society, but with links between the different countries under the auspices of the IFSO European Chapter. This would create the largest international registry in the world. Michel Suter and the Swiss organizing committee are preparing a very interesting program. All these factors make Lausanne the place to be in 2010, and I am really looking forward to seeing you all at this meeting.

Dr Luc Lemmens, President of the IFSO European Chapter 2008-2010