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You are here: Home / Publications / Guidelines Search

Guidelines Search

SAGES has been at the forefront of best practices in laparoscopic and endoscopic surgery by researching, developing and disseminating the guidelines and training for standards of practice in surgical procedures. Guidelines are developed under the auspices of the organization and its various committees, and approved by the Board of Governors. Each clinical practice guideline has been systematically researched, reviewed and revised by the Guidelines Committee and also evaluated by an appropriate multidisciplinary team. Guidelines are scheduled for periodic review to allow incorporation of pertinent new developments in medical research knowledge, and practice.

Our guidelines search engine is below. You may also browse the list of published guidelines.

PROPOSED: Guidelines for Fluorescence Image-guided Surgery Using Indocyanine Green in Gastrointestinal Procedures

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Dissemination of Surgical Clinical Practice Guidelines - Evaluating SAGES’ Strategies for Distribution

Authors Elisa Calabrese1,2,3,6, Bethany J. Slater4, Wendy Babidge 2,3 Patricia Sylla5, Guy Maddern2,3 ABSTRACT Background: The Society of Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) has been a leader in the development of surgical clinical practice guidelines; however, the dissemination and implementation of these remains a challenge. We aim to analyze the user interaction with the SAGES website …


2024 Update to SAGES Guidelines for the Use of Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy (POEM) in the Treatment of Achalasia

Authors Elisa C. Calabrese1,2,3, Tammy Kindel4, Bethany J. Slater5, Jeffrey Marks6, Lee Swanstrom7,8, Payal Saxena9, Salvatore Docimo10, Dimitrios I. Athanasiadis11, Nader M. Hanna12, Dimitrios Stefanidis13, Ceciel Rooker14, Guy Maddern2,3, Geoffrey P. Kohn15,16 ABSTRACT Background: Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy (POEM) is a safe treatment for esophageal achalasia with comparable safety to Heller myotomy (HM) plus fundoplication and …


Guidelines for the Management of Comorbidities Relevant to Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery

AUTHORS Sunjay S. Kumar1, Claire Wunker2, Amelia Collings3, Varun Bansal4, Theofano Zoumpou5, Julietta Chang6, Noe Rodriguez7, Andrew Sabour8, Lisa Renee Hilton9, Omar M. Ghanem10, Bradley S. Kushner11, Lindsey Jean Loss12, Essa M. Aleassa7, Ivy N. Haskins13, Subhashini Ayloo14, Adam Reid15, David Wayne Overby16, Peter Hallowell17, Tammy Lyn Kindel18, Bethany J. Slater19, Francesco Palazzo1 ABSTRACT Background: …


Guidelines Update to Laparoscopy in the Era of COVID-19

Authors Sunjay S. Kumar1, Elisa C. Calabrese2,3,4, Bethany J. Slater5, Chelsea Lin6, Julie Hong7, Jonathan Dort18, Robert Lim9, Shawn Tsuda10, Ziad Awad11, Wendy Babidge3,4, Guy Maddern3,4, Pramod Nepal12, R. Wesley Vosburg13, Romeo Ignacio11, Devi Bavishi15, Ali Kchaou16, Subhashini Ayloo17, Nader M. Hanna18,19, Geoffrey P. Kohn6 Abstract Background: Patients requiring cholecystectomy or appendectomy may present with …


SAGES Guidelines Development: Patient Engagement Update to Standard Operating Procedure

Authors Nisha Narula1, Bethany J. Slater2, Patricia Sylla3, Sunjay S. Kumar4, Elisa Calabrese5,6, Joe Nadglowski7, Deborah S. Keller8 Abstract Introduction: The Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) Guidelines Committee develops evidence-based surgical guidelines. Involvement of patient partners is important to ensure patient concerns and values are adequately addressed and incorporated. This standard operating …


Bariatric Surgery and Relevant Comorbidities: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Authors Claire Wunker1, Sunjay Kumar2, Peter Hallowell3, Amelia Collings4, Lindsey Loss5, Varun Bansal6, Bradley Kushner7, Theofano Zoumpou8, Tammy Lyn Kindel9, D. Wayne Overby10, Julietta Chang11, Subhashini Ayloo12, Andrew F. Sabour13, Omar M. Ghanem14, Essa Aleassa15, Adam Reid16, Noe Rodriguez15, Ivy N. Haskins17, L. Renee Hilton18, Bethany J. Slater19, Francesco Palazzo20 ABSTRACT Background: Obesity is a growing …


SAGES Guidelines Development: Clinical Practice Guideline Update Standard Operating Procedure

Authors Elisa C. Calabrese1,2,3, Sunjay S. Kumar4, Geoffrey P. Kohn5, Guy Maddern2,3, Wendy Babidge2,3, Bethany J. Slater6, Tammy L. Kindel7 ABSTRACT Introduction: The SAGES Guidelines Committee creates evidence-based clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). Updates which incorporate new evidence to the guidelines are necessary to maintain relevance for clinical use. A description of our standard operating procedure …


EAES/SAGES Evidence-Based Recommendations and Expert Consensus on Optimization of Perioperative Care in Older Adults

Authors Deborah S. Keller1, Nathan Curtis2,Holly Ann Burt3, Carlo Alberto Ammirati4, Amelia T Collings5, Francisco Maria Carrano6, Stavros A. Antoniou7, Nader Hanna8, Laure-Meline Piotet9, Sarah Hill10, Anne C. M. Cuijpers11, Patricia Tejedor12, Marco Milone13, Eleni Andriopoulou14, Christos Kontovounisios15, Ira L. Leeds16, Ziad T. Awad17, Meghan Wandtke Barber10, Mazen Al-Mansour18, George Nassif19, Malcolm A. West20,26,27, Aurora D. …


Guidelines for the Surgical Treatment of Hiatal Hernias

AUTHORS Shaun Daly1, Sunjay S. Kumar2, Amelia T. Collings3, Nader M. Hanna4, Yagnik K. Pandya5, James Kurtz6, Keshav Kooragayala7, Meghan W. Barber8, Mykola Paranyak9, Marina Kurian10, Jeffrey Chiu11, Mohammed T Ansari12, Bethany J. Slater13, Geoff Kohn14 ABSTRACT Background: Hiatal hernia (HH) is an extremely common condition. A multidisciplinary expert panel was convened to develop evidence-based …


Management of Symptomatic, Asymptomatic, and Recurrent Hiatal Hernia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Authors Nader M. Hanna*1, Sunjay S. Kumar2, Amelia T. Collings3, Yagnik K. Pandya4, James Kurtz5, Keshav Kooragayala6, Meghan W. Barber7, Mykola Paranyak8, Marina Kurian9, Jeffrey Chiu10, Ahmed Abou-Setta11, Mohammed T Ansari12, Bethany J. Slater13, Geoff Kohn14, 15, Shaun Daly16 *Corresponding Author ABSTRACT Background: The surgical management of hiatal hernia remains controversial. We aimed to compare …


Guideline for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Appendicitis

AUTHORS Sunjay S. Kumar1, Amelia T. Collings2, Ryan Lamm, MD1, Ivy N Haskins3, Stefan Scholz4, Pramod Nepal5, Arianne T Train6, Dimitrios I Athanasiadis7, Philip H Pucher8, Joel F Bradley III9, Nader M Hanna10, Francisco Quinteros11, Nisha Narula12, Bethany J Slater13 Correspondence Bethany J. Slater, MD, MBA, University of Chicago Medicine, Chicago, IL ABSTRACT Background: Appendicitis is …


SAGES Guidelines Development: Health Equity Update to Standard Operating Procedure

Authors Sunjay S. Kumar1, Amelia T. Collings2, Courtney Collins3, Jennifer Colvin4, Patricia Sylla5, Bethany J. Slater6,7 Abstract Introduction: The SAGES Guidelines Committee creates evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. Due to existing health disparities, recommendations made in these guidelines may have different impacts on different populations. The updates to our standard operating procedure described herein will allow …


Guidelines for the Use of Laparoscopy During Pregnancy

AUTHORS: Sunjay S. Kumar1, Amelia T. Collings2, Claire Wunker3, Dimitrios I. Athanasiadis4, Colin G. DeLong5, Julie Hong6, Mohammed T. Ansari7, Ahmed Abou-Setta8, Emily Oliver9, Vincenzo Berghella10, Vamsi Alli5, Imran Hassan11, Celeste Hollands12, Patricia Sylla13, Bethany J. Slater14, Francesco Palazzo1,15 ABSTRACT Background: When pregnant patients present with nonobstetric pathology, the physicians caring for them may be …


Peritoneal Dialysis Access Guideline Update 2023

AUTHORS: Stephen P. Haggerty1, Sunjay S. Kumar2, Amelia T. Collings3, Vamsi V. Alli4, Emily Miraflor5, Nader M. Hanna6, Dimitrios I. Athanasiadis7, David J. Morrell8, Mohammed T. Ansari9, Ahmed Abou-Setta10, Danielle Walsh11, Dimitrios Stefanidis7, Bethany J. Slater12 ABSTRACT Background: Minimally invasive surgery has been used for both de novo insertion and salvage of peritoneal dialysis (PD) …


Diagnosis and Treatment of Appendicitis: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

AUTHORS Ryan Lamm MD1, Sunjay S. Kumar MD1*, Amelia T. Collings MD2,Ivy N. Haskins MD DABOM3, Ahmed Abou-Setta MD PhD4, Nisha Narula MD5, Pramod Nepal MD PhD6, Nader M. Hanna MBBS MSc7, Dimitrios I. Athanasiadis MD8, Stefan Scholz MD9, Joel F. Bradley 3rd MD10, Arianne T. Train DO MPH11, Philip H Pucher MD PhD12, Francisco …


SAGES/AHPBA Guidelines for the Use of Microwave and Radiofrequency Liver Ablation for the Surgical Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma or Colorectal Liver Metastases less than 5 cm

Authors: Eugene P. Ceppa1, Amelia T. Collings2, Moustafa Abdalla3, Edwin Onkendi4, Daniel W. Nelson5, Ahmad Ozair6, Emily Miraflor7, Faique Rahman8, Jake Whiteside1, Mihir M. Shah9, Subhashini Ayloo10, Rebecca Dirks1, Sunjay S. Kumar 11, Mohammed T. Ansari12, Iswanto Sucandy13, Kchaou Ali14, Sam Douglas15, Patricio M. Polanco16, Timothy J. Vreeland17, Joseph Buell18, Ahmed M. Abou-Setta19, Ziad Awad20, Choon Hyuck Kwon21, John B. Martinie22, Fabio Sbrana23, Aurora Pryor24, Bethany J. Slater25, William Richardson26, Rohan Jeyarajah27, …


Process for Quality Assessment Review of Societal Guidelines: An editorial to accompany “Multi‑Society Consensus Conference and Guideline on the Treatment of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)”

Authors Geoffrey P. Kohn1,2, Ziad T. Awad3, Mazen R. Al‑Mansour4, Jennifer Salluzzo5, Emily Miraflor6, Uretz Oliphant7, Bethany J. Slater8 1 Department of Surgery, Monash University Eastern Health Clinical School, Melbourne, Australia 2 Melbourne Upper GI Surgical Group, Cabrini Hospital, Malvern, Australia 3 Department of Surgery, University of Florida College of Medicine-Jacksonville, Jacksonville, FL, USA 4 …


ASCRS/SAGES Clinical Practice Guidelines for Enhanced Recovery After Colon and Rectal Surgery

This consensus document was created to lead international efforts in defining quality care for conditions related to the colon, rectum, and anus and develop clinical practice guidelines based on the best available evidence. Although not proscriptive, these guidelines provide information based on which decisions can be made and do not dictate a specific form of treatment and offer 25 recommendations. These guidelines are intended for use by all practitioners, health care workers, and patients who desire information on the management of the conditions addressed by the topics covered in these guidelines


Surgical approach to microwave and radiofrequency liver ablation or hepatocellular carcinoma and colorectal liver metastases less than 5 cm: a systematic review and meta-analysis

AUTHORS Moustafa Abdalla1, Amelia T. Collings2, Rebecca Dirks2, Edwin Onkendi3, Daniel Nelson4, Ahmad Ozair7, Emily Miraflor5, Faique Rahman6, Jake Whiteside2, Mihir M Shah8, Subhashini Ayloo9, Ahmed Abou-Setta10, Iswanto Sucandy11, Ali Kchaou12, Samuel Douglas13, Patricio Polanco14, Timothy Vreeland15, Joseph Buell16, Mohammed T. Ansari17, Aurora D. Pryor18, Bethany J. Slater19, Ziad Awad20, William Richardson21, Adnan Alseidi22, D. …


Multi-Society Consensus Conference and Guideline on the Treatment of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)

AUTHORS: Bethany J. Slater1, Amelia Collings2, Rebecca Dirks2, Jon C. Gould3, Alia P. Qureshi4, Ryan Juza5, María Rita Rodríguez-Luna6, Claire Wunker7, Geoffrey P. Kohn8, Shanu Kothari9, Elizabeth Carslon10, Stephanie Worrell11, Ahmed M. Abou-Setta12, Mohammed T. Ansari13, Dimitrios I. Athanasiadis2, Shaun Daly14, Francesca Dimou15, Ivy N. Haskins16, Julie Hong17, Kumar Krishnan18, Anne Lidor5, Virginia Litle19, Donald Low10, …


SAGES/AHPBA Guidelines for the Use of Minimally Invasive Surgery for the Surgical Treatment of Colorectal Liver Metastases (CRLM)

Authors: Timothy J. Vreeland1*, Amelia T. Collings2*, Ahmad Ozair3 , Alexandra M. Adams1, Rebecca Dirks2, Bradley S. Kushner4, Iswanto Sucandy5, David Morrell6, Jake Whiteside2, Mohammed T. Ansari 7, Jordan Cloyd8, Sean P. Cleary9, Eugene Ceppa2, Ahmed M. Abou-Setta10, Adnan Alseidi11, Ziad Awad12, Subhashini Ayloo13, Joseph Buell14, Georgios Orthopoulos15, William Richardson16, Samer Sbayi17, Go Wakabayashi18, Horacio Asbun19, Bethany J. …


Minimally Invasive versus Open Hepatectomy for the Resection of Colorectal Liver Metastases: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Authors: Ahmad Ozair1*, Amelia Collings2*, Alexandra M. Adams3, Rebecca Dirks2, Bradley S. Kushner,4, Iswanto Sucandy5, David Morrell6, Ahmed M. Abou-Setta7, Timothy Vreeland3, Jake Whiteside2, Jordan M. Cloyd8, Mohammed T. Ansari9, Sean P. Cleary10, Eugene Ceppa2, William Richardson11, Adnan Alseidi12, Ziad Awad13, Subhashini Ayloo14, Joseph F. Buell15, Georgios Orthoupolus16, Samer Sbayi17, Go Wakabayashi18, Bethany J. Slater19, …


2022 Guidance Statement Regarding the Use of Laparoscopy in the Era of COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2 has changed global healthcare since the pandemic began in 2020. The threat of the transmission of this virus to healthcare staff, specifically operating room personnel, is still being actively studied. The safety of minimally invasive surgery utilizing insufflation has not been looked at from the standpoint of safety to the operating room personnel. The aims of this guideline are to examine the existing evidence in order to provide guidance regarding minimally invasive surgery for the patient with, or suspecting of having, the SARS-CoV-2 as well as the healthcare team involved.


Guidelines for the Performance of Minimally Invasive Splenectomy

2024 Update An updated literature search was performed after 3 years from publication of “Guidelines for the performance of minimally invasive splenectomy,” after confirming the relevance of the six prior key questions (KQ) using the prior published search terms [1]. Of the original six key questions, only KQ6 was found to have relevant new literature. …


Guidelines for the Surgical Treatment of Gastroesophageal Reflux (GERD)

AUTHORS: Bethany J. Slater, MD, MBA1, Rebecca C. Dirks, MD, MS2, Sophia K. McKinley, MD3, Mohammed T. Ansari, MD, MMedSC, MPhil 4, Geoffrey P. Kohn, MBBS5,6, Nirav Thosani, MD7, Bashar Qumseya, MD, MPH8, Sarah Billmeier, MD9, Shaun Daly, MD10, Catherine Crawford, MD11, Anne P. Ehlers, MD, MPH12, Celeste Hollands, MD13, Francesco Palazzo, MD14, Noe Rodriguez, MD15, …


SAGES Guidelines Development: Standard Operating Procedure

Authors Amelia T. Rogers, MD1, Rebecca Dirks, MD, MS1, Holly Ann Burt, MLIS2, Stephen Haggerty3, Geoffrey P. Kohn, MBBS, MSurg4,5, Bethany J. Slater MD, MBA6, Danielle Walsh, MD7, Dimitrios Stefanidis, MD, PhD1, Aurora Pryor, MD, MBA8 1Department of Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, USA 2Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), Los …


Surgical Treatment of GERD: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Authors: Sophia K. McKinley1, Rebecca C. Dirks2, Danielle Walsh3, Celeste Hollands4, Lauren E. Arthur3, Noe Rodriguez5, Joyce Jhang6, Ahmed Abou-Setta7, Aurora Pryor8, Dimitrios Stefanidis2, Bethany J. Slater9 Affiliations: 1 – Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA 2 – Department of Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA 3 – Department …


Guidelines for the Use of Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy (POEM) for the Treatment of Achalasia

Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy (POEM) is increasingly used as primary treatment for esophageal achalasia, in place of the options such as Heller myotomy (HM) and Pneumatic Dilatation (PD) These evidence-based guidelines from the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) intend to support clinicians, patients and others in decisions about the use of POEM for treatment of achalasia.


Is Per-oral Endoscopic Myotomy (POEM) More Effective than Pneumatic Dilation and Heller myotomy? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Authors Rebecca C. Dirks1, MD, MS; Geoffrey P. Kohn2, MBBS, MSurg; Bethany Slater3, MD, MBA; Jake Whiteside1, BS; Noe A. Rodriguez4, MD; Salvatore Docimo5, DO, MS; Aurora Pryor5, MD, MBA; Dimitrios Stefanidis1, MD, PhD; On behalf of the SAGES guidelines committee Affiliations: Department of Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA Department of …


Safe Cholecystectomy Multi-Society Practice Guideline and State of the Art Consensus Conference on Prevention of Bile Duct Injury during Cholecystectomy

Bile duct injury (BDI) is the most common serious complication of laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Evidence-based recommendations from a multi-society consensus conference on prevention of BDI are presented that have the potential to reduce this complication and positively impact patient outcomes.


Clinical Spotlight Review: Management of Choledocholithiasis

Choledocholithiasis is a common presentation of symptomatic cholelithiasis that can result in biliary obstruction, cholangitis, and pancreatitis. A systematic English literature search was conducted in PubMed to determine the appropriate management strategies for choledocholithiasis.The following clinical spotlight review is meant to critically review the available evidence and provide recommendations for the work-up, investigations as well as the endoscopic, surgical and percutaneous techniques in the management of choledocholithiasis.


EAES and SAGES 2018 Consensus Conference on Acute Diverticulitis Management: Evidence‑based Recommendations for Clinical Practice

Nader K. Francis · Patricia Sylla · Maria Abou‑Khalil · Simone Arolfo · David Berler · Nathan J. Curtis · Scott C. Dolejs · Richard Garfinkle · Marguerite Gorter‑Stam · Daniel A. Hashimoto · Taryn E. Hassinger · Charlotte J. L. Molenaar10 · Philip H. Pucher · Valérie Schuermans · Alberto Arezzo · Ferdinando Agresta …


Top Down or Bottom Up? Longitudinal assessment of the influence of professional practice gaps in gastrointestinal and endoscopic surgery on program content for the Annual Meeting of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) 2011-2016: A report from the SAGES Continuing Education Committee (CEC)

The SAGES Continuing Education Committee has developed an effective means for identifying gaps in learners’ knowledge, competency, and performance through direct survey of Annual Meeting attendees. These reports have revealed consistent patterns related to perceived gaps and topics of interest among Annual Meeting attendees, including learners’ consistent identification of four common topics as foci of interest: bariatric surgery, colon and rectal diseases, surgery of the foregut, and hernia repair


Statement on Continuous Certification

The Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) would like to add its voice to the other surgical organizations who support the concept of continuous certification for surgeons and strongly argues against movements to initiate legislation prohibiting MOC/CC.


Updated Panel Report: Best Practices for the Surgical Treatment of Obesity

During the 2004 annual meeting of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), a panel of experts convened to provide updated information on best practices in bariatric surgery. The rapid evolution of endoluminal technologies, surgical indications, and training in bariatric surgery since 2004 has led to new questions and concerns about optimal treatment algorithms, patient selection, and the preparation of our current and future bariatric workforce.


Clinical Spotlight Review: Laparoscopic Common Bile Duct Exploration

The following clinical spotlight review regarding the laparoscopic treatment of common bile duct stones is intended for physicians who manage and treat gallbladder disease and choledocholithiasis. It is meant to critically review these techniques and the available evidence regarding their safety and efficacy. Provided recommendations for clinical practice are linked to the level of available evidence, and where evidence is lacking expert opinion is offered.


Educational Implications for Surgical Telementoring: a Current Review with Recommendations for Future Practice, Policy, and Research

M. Augestad • H. Han • J. Paige • T. Ponsky • C. M. Schlachta • Dunkin • J. Mellinger Received: 6 June 2017 / Accepted: 20 June 2017 / Published online: 27 June 2017 Abstract Background: Surgical telementoring (ST) was introduced in the sixties, promoting videoconferencing to enhance surgical education across large distances. Widespread …


Clinical Spotlight Review: TransAnal Minimally Invasive Surgery (TAMIS)

Transanal minimally invasive surgery (TAMIS) is a technique that was originally devised as a hybrid between Transanal Endoscopic Microsurgery (TEM) and single-site laparoscopy for resection of rectal lesions. It was developed out of the need for a practical alternative to TEM that was both affordable and technically feasible without specialized equipment.


Guidelines for the Use of Laparoscopy during Pregnancy

This document provides specific recommendations and guidelines to assist physicians in the diagnostic work-up and treatment of surgical problems in pregnant patients, focusing on the use of laparoscopy. Surgical interventions during pregnancy should minimize fetal risk without comprising the safety of the mother.


VTE Prophylaxis for Laparoscopic Surgery Guidelines: An Update

Since the publication of the SAGES guidelines for venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis during laparoscopic surgery in 2007 (1), the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) has published their comprehensive guidelines that address VTE prophylaxis for non-orthopedic surgery patients (2). After careful review, the SAGES guidelines committee has approved the endorsement of the ACCP guidelines rather than update our previous VTE guidelines.


Clinical Spotlight Review: Intraoperative Cholangiography

This clinical spotlight review regarding the intraoperative cholangiogram is intended for physicians who manage and treat gallbladder/biliary pathology and perform laparoscopic cholecystectomy. It is meant to critically review the technique of intraoperative cholangiography, alternatives for intraoperative biliary imaging, and the available evidence supporting their safety and efficacy


Framework for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Courses for Practicing Surgeons: The New SAGES Course Endorsement System

The Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) recognizes that the discipline of surgery is dynamic and continues to evolve. Modifications of standard surgical procedures and completely new procedures are usually introduced gradually into clinical practice, a process that may require special training or privileges. Additional training will often be required to integrate techniques or procedures that are new to the individual surgeon. The same is also true for procedures that represent a substantial change in existing methods or practices or that require familiarity with new technology. The purpose of this document is to provide guidelines for course directors who plan to design educational activities for continuing professional development (CPD) of practicing surgeons. Additionally, it provides guidance regarding requirements for SAGES endorsement of such courses.


Guidelines for Privileging and Credentialing Physicians in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

These guidelines are intended to assist and provide practical guidance to hospital, ambulatory facility or other credentialing committees in their task of granting privileges for flexible gastrointestinal endoscopy. Privileging in flexible gastrointestinal endoscopy should be based on demonstration of competency in these techniques.


Guidelines for Laparoscopic Ventral Hernia Repair

The goals of ventral hernia repair are relief of patient symptoms and/or cure of the hernia with minimization of recurrence rates. While laparoscopic ventral hernia repair (LVHR) has gained popularity in recent years, there is still significant controversy about the optimal approach to ventral hernia repair. This document has been written to assist surgeons utilizing a laparoscopic approach to ventral hernia repair in terms of patient selection, operative technique, and postoperative care. It is not intended to debate the merits of prosthetic use or specific types of prosthetics.


Joint Task Force Recommendations for Credentialing of Bariatric Surgeons

The field of bariatric surgery continues to grow, attracting surgeons with expertise in laparoscopic, gastrointestinal, and bariatric surgery. With the implicit goal of ensuring that surgeons have met minimum criteria to safely perform bariatric surgery, 3 national surgery associations — American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), American College of Surgeons (ACS), and the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) — independently created credentialing guidelines to guide hospitals and institutions in the credentialing process for bariatric surgery. The guidelines were thoughtfully written to assist local credentialing committees in the evaluation of an applicant’s qualifications and were not developed to become a standard of care.


Ethical Considerations Regarding the Implementation of New Technologies and Techniques in Surgery

Ethical considerations relevant to the implementation of new surgical technologies and techniques include the following: (1) How is the safety of a new technology or technique ensured?; (2) What are the timing and process by which a new technology or technique is implemented at a hospital?; (3) How are patients informed before undergoing a new technology or technique?; (4) How are surgeons trained and credentialed in a new technology or technique?; (5) How are the outcomes of a new technology or technique tracked and evaluated?; and (6) How are the responsibilities to individual patients and society at large balanced? The following discussion is presented with the intent of encouraging thought and dialogue about ethical considerations relevant to the implementation of new technologies and new techniques in surgery.


Guidelines for the Introduction of New Technology and Techniques

These guidelines for the surgical introduction of new technologies and techniques are systematically developed statements designed to assist surgeons when making decisions about the appropriate adoption of modified or new devices and procedures in their practice.


Guidelines for Laparoscopic Peritoneal Dialysis Access Surgery

The use of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) as a primary mode of renal replacement therapy has been increasing around the world. The surgeon’s role in caring for these patients is to provide access to the peritoneal cavity via a peritoneal dialysis (PD) catheter and to diagnose and treat catheter complications. Since the early 1990s laparoscopy has been applied by many adult and pediatric surgeons for insertion of PD catheters as well as for salvage of malfunctioning catheters. This document is an evidence based guideline based on a review of current literature and the opinions of experts in the field. It provides specific recommendations to assist surgeons who take care of adult and pediatric peritoneal dialysis patients.


Multisociety Role of Endoscopy in the Bariatric Surgery Patient

This document was developed by the ASGE Standards of Practice Committee and reviewed and approved by the governing boards of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, and the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons. This is one of a series of statements discussing the use of …


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