16th Thoracic Meeting Mons - Endorsed by the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS)

The 16th Thoracic Meeting Mons will be held on 12–13 March 2026 at the Van der Valk Congress Hotel, Mons (Belgium).

The meeting is organised by CHU HELORA (sites Kennedy & Saint-Pierre) and HUB, and is endorsed by the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS), together with the Royal Belgian Society of Surgery (RBSS) and the Belgian Society of Thoracic Surgery.

Programme at a Glance

Thursday – Women and Thoracic Surgery

Moderators: G. Massard (Luxembourg), L. Desender (Belgium)

This full-day session is dedicated to gender-related perspectives in thoracic surgery and will address:

• Historical perspectives and leadership roles of women in surgery

• The role of men as allies in promoting equity in surgery (#HeForShe)

• Gender-specific insights from Swedish national registries

• The impact of surgeon gender on surgical outcomes

• Diversity and inclusion strategies in cardiothoracic surgery

• Gender-neutral mentorship and sponsorship models

Afternoon Session – Career Paths and Practice Models

The afternoon focuses on professional development and practice environments for women in thoracic surgery, including:

• Women in military thoracic surgery

• Private versus academic career pathways

• Lung cancer in women: past, present, and future perspectives

• Advancing the careers of female academic surgeons

• Results of a European survey on non-technical skills in robotic thoracic surgery

• The day concludes with a hands-on workshop (16:30–18:00).

Friday – Robotic Thoracic Surgery

Moderators: E. Prisciandaro (Belgium), E. Frechette (Canada)

The second day is dedicated to robotic thoracic surgery, highlighting both technical innovation and clinical outcomes.

Morning topics include:

• The evolution and key milestones leading to RATS

• Gender bias in cardiothoracic surgery across Europe

• Fourteen years of robotic experience: from simple lobectomy to complex resections

• Robotic surgery for lung cancer following induction therapy

• First rib robotic resection

• Team simulation and crisis management in robotic surgery

Afternoon Session

• Advanced and comparative robotic techniques will be discussed, including:

• Robotic segmentectomy: practical tips and tricks

• RATS versus VATS for thymic epithelial tumours (ESTS Database analysis)

• Bronchoscopic versus robotic lung volume reduction surgery

• United States experience with next-generation Da Vinci 5 systems

• Robotic esophagectomy

• “Out of the cage” concepts in robotic thoracic surgery

Please see the full programme here

Practical Information

Accreditation: Requested

Registration: Mandatory, via Mme Hirsch (RBSS)

Contact details (email, phone, fax) are provided in the official meeting materials

Language: Presentations and discussions in English or French

No simultaneous translation

Response deadline: Before 12 March 2025

Presentations: PowerPoint slides must be submitted in English

Organising Committee

• Dr Patrick Carlier

• Dr Ines Lardinois

• Dr Jean Lemaitre

• Dr Youri Sokolow

• Dr Alexis Therasse

• Prof Dimitri Leduc

Sponsors

The 16th Thoracic Meeting Mons is supported by the following industry partners:

• AstraZeneca

• AtriCure

• Baxter

• BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company)

• Bio Distribution

• Bristol Myers Squibb

• Corza Medical

• Distrimed

• Duomed

• Intuitive

• Johnson & Johnson MedTech

• Medicor

• Medtronic

• H. Nootens

• Olympus

• Pulmonx

• Stöpler Belgium

• KARL STORZ Endoskope

• SURGEON (a Patella company)

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