UGIRA - Upper GI International Robotic Association

During the OESO congress in Geneva in September 2017, the idea was born to form an international association for robotic esophageal and gastric surgery. On the 8th of November 2017 during the the European Society for Diseases of the Esophagus (ESDE) on the 8th of November 2017 in Utrecht, the UGIRA was founded by Philip Chiu, Richard van Hillegersberg, Asif Chaudry, James Luketich, and Peter Grimminger. The primary aim of UGIRA is to facilitate the effective implementation and advancement of robotic esophageal and gastric surgery worldwide. The current key focuses of UGIRA are: 1. To form effective training programs that involve proctoring by experienced surgeons. 2. To perform international studies by establishing a web-based registry. 3. To establish standardized guidelines for robotic esophageal and gastric surgical procedures.