IUGA and ASCRS Webinar - The Many Shades of Obstructed Defecation Syndrome (ODS)

Dr. Anders Mellgren is Professor and Chief of Colon & Rectal Surgery at University of Illinois in Chicago. Dr Mellgren has a strong interest in pelvic floor disorders and he has been an investigator in several studies on new treatment options for fecal incontinence. Dr. Mellgren is internationally recognized as an expert in colon & rectal diseases and he frequently presents at national and international meetings and he has an extensive list of original scientific articles and book chapters.

Originally from Boston, Dr. Thorsen completed her general surgery residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She attended the University of Minnesota for her colorectal surgery fellowship training, and has been part of the teaching faculty there since 2002. Dr. Thorsen became the director of the Pelvic Floor Center in Minneapolis in 2013. Although she enjoys all aspects of a typical colorectal surgery practice, her clinical focus is on improving quality of life in patients with pelvic organ prolapse and defecation disorders.

Catherine A. Matthews, MD, is Professor of Urology and Gynecology at Wake Forest Baptist Health and serves as the Fellowship Director of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery and Director of the Female Pelvic Health Center. She is the Course Director for the AUGS Clinical Course and is the immediate past Chair of Education for the International Urogynecology Association and the Foundation Chair of AUGS. Dr. Matthews is passionate about education and has delivered over 100 invited international and national lectures and workshops and has received numerous teaching awards. She has extensive experience in transvaginal and robotic surgery for pelvic organ prolapse repair and has been invited to perform live surgery in India, Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Portugal, and South Africa. Dr. Matthews has received multiple awards for her excellence in patient care and has been an annual recipient of “Top Doctors in America” for the past 15 years. She has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers in pelvic organ prolapse surgery, robotic-assisted sacrocolpopexy and fecal incontinence.

Bary Berghmans, PhD MSc RPT, associate professor of the Department of Epidemiology, Maastricht University, clinical epidemiologist, health scientist, pelvic physiotherapist. Head research Pelvic care Center Maastricht, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands. Invited professor department of surgery of University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil. Senior researcher at Maastricht University Medical Center. Former chairperson IUGA Special Interest Group Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation. Member of the EAU Guidelines Panel of Chronic Pelvic Pain and of FIGO committee functional urogynecology.

Ranee Thakar is a Subspecialist in Urogynaecology and Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Croydon University Hospital as well as a honorary senior lecturer at St George's University of London. She is the immediate Past President of the International Urogynaecological Association (IUGA) and the Senior Vice President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists . Ranee has experience across a wide range of areas including psychosexual medicine, female genital mutilation and the prevention and management of obstetric anal sphincter injury.

Dr. Liliana Bordeianou MD, MPH, is a Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. She is a surgeon at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, USA. There she leads as Chief of the Pelvic Floor Disorders Center. She also co-chairs the Mass General Brigham Colorectal Surgery Collaborative, which comprises a regional healthcare network of academic and private hospitals. Dr. Bordeianou performs research on topics related to patient reported outcomes, pelvic floor disorders, and preservation of dignity and quality of life after surgery.