In 1996, he established the Department of Minimal Access Surgery at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, the first of its kind in the Asian subcontinent. Today, this department is recognized and acknowledged as a Global Centre of Excellence in the field of Endosurgery. The department attracts visiting surgeons from all over the world and has already introduced & trained more than 2000 surgeons to the art of Laparoscopic Surgery

Post Doctoral Fellowship in Minimal Access Surgery

The National Board of Examinations has nominated Dr. Chowbey as the Convenor for conferring a Post Doctoral Fellowship in Minimal Access Surgery from 2001. Dr. Chowbey has been designated as a teaching faculty – expert panel at number of prestigious national and national institutions for the live surgical workshops and world congresses and has addressed erudite surgical audiences in world over. Continuing with his passion to educate and train increasing number of young doctors in the art of Minimal Access Surgery. He has conducted over 250 workshops all over the country and abroad to popularize the concept of minimal access surgery.

Responsible Leadership through Safety & Better patient care:

The first step in this direction:

"Minimal Access Surgery - The Development of Guidelines & Recommendations"

Minimal Access Surgery introduced a sweeping revolution in surgical practice ever since its dramatic entry more than a decade ago. India was no exception and it was not long before several committed, enthusiastic surgeons ensured that the technique spread to all corners of the country. There are numerous patients who benefited from the new and patient friendly surgery. Thus it became possible to perform Minimal Access Surgery (also known as Minimally Invasive Surgery / Laparoscopic Surgery / Key Hole Surgery) on the Gall Bladder, Hernia of all types, Appendix, Intestines, Stomach and many other organs in the body like Spleen, Liver, Kidney, Adrenal, etc. An unbridled enthusiasm without adequate training and exposure may lead to several avoidable complications.

ACADIMA 2000 was a landmark conference organized by Indian Medical Association (IMA) in conjunction with National Board of Examinations (NBE), Medical Council of India (MCI), Ministry of Health and Indian Council of Medical research (ICMR). This mega conference encompassed several specialities and Minimal Access Surgery was one of them. The national workshop of live laparoscopic surgery was conducted in Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and was webcast on the Internet (First historical webcast of live surgery in India).

It was during ACADIMA 2000 that an opinion crystallized that there was a dire need for an expert committee that would issue guidelines and recommendations on the complex issues pertaining to Minimal Access Surgery. This thought was also endorsed by the Indian Association of Gastrointestinal Endo-Surgeons (IAGES) with great enthusiasm.

A core group comprising of pioneers and experts on Minimal Access Surgery, drawn from all parts of the country was thus, constituted under the Chairmanship of Dr. Pradeep K Chowbey. Several brainstorming sessions were held through the year to crystallize thought for safe practices in minimal access surgery. Evidence based surgical approaches were reviewed in great detail keeping in mind Indian patients, surgeons, hospital and industry. The commoner surgical procedures by minimal access were debated at length and researched to arrive at guidelines and recommendations on these commonly performed surgical procedures.

It was envisaged that these guidelines would provide a framework for Indian surgeons, hospitals, nursing homes and allied medical industry. The guidelines, though of a recommendatory nature, have proved extremely useful to all concerned. With these guidelines in place, which would of course, need regular updates, a major step forward was taken to ensure that minimal access surgery takes firm and stable roots throughout the country without compromising the safety of our patients. The resulting treatise on "Minimal Access Surgery - Guidelines and Recommendations" and an Education set of CD-ROMs (15 CDs) on "Basic and Advanced Laparoscopic Surgeries" was released by the Hon'ble President of India at Rashtrapati Bhavan in July 2002.

Text book on "Endoscopic Repair of Abdominal Wall Hernias" Continuing with his passion to educate and train increasing number of young doctors in the art of Minimal Access Surgery, Dr. Chowbey has edited a book "Endoscopic Repair of Abdominal Wall Hernias" that crystallizes the enormous experience of a team of minimal access surgeons who are leaders in the field of laparoscopic hernia repair. The next logical steps: Safety - An Ongoing Crusade

Organization of the first of its kind International Congress & Workshop on Minimal Access Surgery focusing exclusively on Safety called Endosurgery’05

The Congress was the first of its kind in the World in over a decade of history of Minimal Access Surgery, exclusively focused on "Safety Measures". The theme of the congress was "Mechanism of mishaps and risk reduction strategies". The practice of Minimal access surgery has grown exponentially over the years. Indeed, surgical practice has been revolutionized like never before. Unbridled enthusiasm ensured its application for diverse surgical procedures in many surgical disciplines. Attempts were made to standardize surgical procedures performed by minimal access with the publication of guidelines and protocols by reputed surgical associations. Unfortunately, failures, complications and mishaps are inherent in any surgical intervention and minimal access surgery is no exception. In fact this technology and approach has resulted in a different set of problems and mishaps unique to it.

The curtain raiser to Endosurgery 05 was a two day Hands-on Workshop on Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery on 25 & 26 February, wherein 24 surgeons from 5 countries participated. The main Congress of Endosurgery 05 was a video based conference in which never seen before videos of rare complications acquired from around the world were screened for delegates with view to share, assimilate and learn from collective experience. A unique feature of Endosurgery 05 was the introduction of "Rapid fire" and "Video Story" segments in the Conference. These essentially comprised brain

storming interactive sessions of the Faculty with delegates after viewing rare recordings of problems / mishaps to arrive at a consensus regarding management. Retrospectively, these segments proved to be the most popular for the visual impact and practical tips derived therefrom.

Masters of Minimal Access Surgery from across the globe congregated to deliberate on Safety measures & advances made in the field of Minimal Access Surgery and to showcase meticulous and rigorous time tested surgical audits, as proven and efficacious methods of reducing complications and improving clinical outcome of patients. They shared their immense experience spanning more than a decade since this modality of surgery was started in the World. More than 800 delegates participated in this event.

On the concluding day of the Congress a live surgical workshop was held at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital wherein a leading International faculty alongside Consultants from department of Minimal Access Surgery presented 12 live operations to an audience of 600 committed delegates.

During the Congress, a Monograph titled "Mechanism of mishaps and risk reduction strategies" exclusively focused on "Safety Measures", authored / edited by Dr. Pradeep Chowbey & team was released by the Hon’ble Health Minister Dr. A Ramodass. The feedback after the conference and workshop at Sir Ganga Ram hospital has been positive. Many World leaders in laparoscopy returned home with uniform effusive praise both for Endosurgery 05 and operative facilities in the department which compare with the best in the world today.

Obesity – an emerging menace:

The "Asia Pacific Obesity Conclave" under the aegis of Asia Pacific Bariatric Surgery Society (APBSS) in conjunction with Indian Association of Gastrointestinal Surgeons (IAGES) and All India Association for Advancing Research in Obesity (AIAARO) was held at Hotel Taj Palace, New Delhi from 1 – 4 March 2006. The Conclave was organized by the Department of Minimal Access Surgery and Bariatric Surgery Centre, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi (India), under Chairmanship of Dr. Pradeep Chowbey (Secretary General of Asia Pacific Obesity Society).

According to estimates there are close to 2.1 billion overweight people in the world and over 1 billion obese people reside in the developing countries. Childhood obesity is another major concern area. According to estimates, 30% of obesity begins in childhood and 50-80% of obese children grow to become obese adults. The conclave was a conglomeration of clinicians from various medical and surgical specialities all sharing a common interest of managing obesity. Lectures on the underlying causes of obesity drew special insight into the disease etiology.

A fertile environment in the form of genetic predisposition coupled with food abundance, an unbalanced diet and lack of exercise emerged as the most frequent scenario for gaining weight. An interesting hypothesis was on "an infective origin of obesity". Infection by adenoviruses especially avian adeno viruses was described as a possible trigger resulting in weight gain. If this hypothesis is proved, it is possible that a vaccine to prevent obesity may be developed in the future. Management of obesity was discussed in a holistic approach with inputs from physicians, endocrinologists, nutritionists and yoga experts. Life style modifications proposed were a balanced, nutritious diet, increase in physical mobility and a positive frame of mind. It was also stressed that dispersing knowledge about obesity, its origin, manifestation and deleterious effects especially, diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease, sleep apnoea and cancers worked as a powerful tool to help reduce and maintain weight loss. Obesity in reference to obstetrics and menopause was also discussed. Bariatric surgery or surgery for obesity was accepted as the treatment of choice for managing patients of morbid obesity.

Various bariatric procedures such as gastric bypass, adjustable gastric banding, sleeve gastrectomy and biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch were discussed in detail. The highlight of the conference was the live workshop of various bariatric procedures performed on patients with morbid obesity. All procedures were performed laparoscopically and included adjustable gastric banding, sleeve gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. These patients have since lost between 12-20 kgs. Management of patients following bariatric surgery included need for close follow up, nutritional supplementation and cosmetic surgery for body contouring. The heavy scientific content of the conference was well balanced by light entertainment at sunset. The highlight of this session was a satirical discourse by renowned poet Surender Sharma who had the delegates in splits for an hour followed by dance and dinner. The conference concluded with all experts expressing satisfaction at the growing collaboration between various medical fields in a multidisciplinary approach to manage obesity.

An epoch event to crystallize world view on Hernia

The Second Congress of Asia Pacific Hernia Society - "ASIA PACIFIC HERNIA CONGRESS & LIVE WORKSHOP 2006" was organized by the Minimal Access and Bariatric Surgery Centre, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital from 6 - 8th October at Hotel Taj Palace, New Delhi. This international mega event was organized under the aegis of Indian association of gastrointestinal endosurgeons (IAGES) and Association of surgeons of India (ASI).

The theme of this congress was "an epoch event to crystallize world view on Hernia". The congress provided a platform to herniologists from the world over to share and exchange views and experiences on different surgical approaches to treat a variety of hernias. The highlights of the congress were the high quality of scientific presentations and an impressive international presence as faculty and delegates from 19 countries across the globe.

The scientific sessions on hernia included sessions on Evolution, surgical techniques, resolving controversies, newer concepts and literature update. Faculty Share-Ware and Video Masterclass were platforms for experienced faculty to share their experiences. A Panel Discussion on "Groin hernia repair - what is going on?" encapsulated current practice in groin hernia.

The live workshop was conducted at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and telecast to the conference venue at Hotel Taj Palace. This comprised surgical repairs for hernias, both conventional and laparoscopic for groin, ventral and incisional hernias. Fourteen surgical repairs were performed with live transmission and interaction with the audience at the conference venue.

The scientific content and proceedings of the conference were presented in a special edition of the Journal of Minimal Access Surgery (JMAS), the official publication of the Indian Association of Gastro Intestinal Endosurgeons (IAGES). The abstracts were published in a special edition of Hernia Journal, the official organ of AHS, EHS and APHS.

Metabolic & Obesity Summit

Metabolic & Obesity Summit held on 15 & 16 November 2008 in Hotel Hyatt Regency, New Delhi. The theme of the Summit was "Consensus in Diagnosis and Management of Obesity & Metabolic Syndrome". The Summit was organized by Minimal Access, Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery Centre, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in association with Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India; Obesity & Metabolic Surgery Society of India (OSSI), All India Association for Advancing Research in Obesity (AIAARO) and Diabetes Foundation of India (DFI).

Further the Summit, aims to create a forum for the medical community to work and prepare the consensus recommendation and guidelines in relation to overweight, obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and risk associated with these conditions for Indians. We aim to provide a "treatise" of consensus in the form of reference book.

IV MEETING OF INTERNATIONAL ENDOHERNIA SOCIETY

The Fourth Annual Meeting of International Endohernia Society (IEHS) in conjunction with Asia Pacific Hernia Society and Hernia Society of India (National Chapter of APHS) was held between 19 - 21 February 2009 at Hotel Intercontinetal Eros, New Delhi. The Conference was organized by Minimal Access, Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery Centre, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, India.

The theme of the Meeting was "Consensus Conference for the development of technical guidelines in Endohernia Surgery". The International Endohernia Society is a group of like minded hernia enthusiasts, comprising internationally renowned surgeons and herniologists in the World today, propagating hernia repair by minimal access surgery. Thirty leading global experts in herniology participated and present to share their views and experience at the Congress.

The highlight of this meeting was the Pre-Congress deliberations in the form of a closed group meeting of thirty leading researchers, scientist and surgeons in the field of hernia repair. Different aspects of endohernia repair were presented by each of the faculty, highlighting currently available evidence in literature today that would constitute best practice in hernia repair today. Brainstorming amongst the experts lead to a further refinement of the best available practice in hernia repair.

The concluding session of the meeting was a presentation of these best practice guidelines in front of the general assembly. A documentary monograph that outlines these best available practice guidelines in Endohernia groin surgery shall be produced after the meeting which is likely to be a landmark event.

The scientific sessions on hernia included sessions on Evolution, surgical techniques, resolving controversies, newer concepts and literature update. Faculty Share-Ware and Video Masterclass were platforms for experienced faculty to share their experiences.

The live workshop was conducted at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on 21st February 2009. This comprised surgical repairs for all types of hernias, laparoscopic for groin, ventral and incisional hernias. The International faculty demonstrated their art of hernia repair during the live workshop. Ten surgical repairs were performed with live transmission and interaction with the audience.