Laurence Chiche
Becoming a Liver Surgeon: Insights and Challenges of a “Super” Specialization
Thursday 29 October 2026
10:30 – 11:00hrs
Biography
Pr Laurence Chiche is a HPB and transplant surgeon, chairwoman of the Department of Surgery of Bordeaux University Hospital, first in France in term of HPB activity .
After a fellowship in Paul Brousse Hospital, with Henri Bismuth, who became her mentor, she specialized in liver surgery and transplantation, conducted research on HCC and xenotransplantation. She was promoted to Professor in 2003, becoming at that time the only woman in France to hold such an academic position. Head of Department in Caen, she was recruited by Bordeaux University in 2016 .
Her fields of expertise include HPB tumors notably adenomas (biomolecular classification) and liver metastases, for which she proposed in 2002 (French Guidelines) the classification of resectability, a system now adopted internationally. She contributed to multiple consensus conferences published more than 300 articles, surgical books and gave up to 150 national or international invited conferences.
She received in the high distinction of French “Legion d’honneur.” She is member of the Companions Hepato biliaires, Honoris member of the Surgical Society of Portugal, Honoris Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and Honoris Member of the American Surgical Association. In 2023 she was appointed President of the European Surgical Association.
Keith Lillemoe
Bile Duct Injuries: Prevention and Management Over 3 Decades
Friday 30 October 2026
10:30 – 11:00hrs
Biography
Keith D. Lillemoe received his MD from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and served his entire surgical training at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. He joined the faculty at Hopkins and rose to the rank of Professor of Surgery. In 2003, he was appointed the Jay L. Grosfeld Professor and Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the Indiana University School of Medicine. In 2011, Dr. Lillemoe was appointed to the position of Surgeon-in-Chief and Chief of the Department of Surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and the W. Gerald Austen Professor of Surgery at the Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Lillemoe has previously served as President of the Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, the Society of Clinical Surgery, the Society of University Surgeons, the Halsted Society, and the American Surgical Association. Dr. Lillemoe has also been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, the American College of Surgeons Academy of Master Surgeon Educators, was the recipient of the Society of University Surgeons Lifetime Achievement Award and named the Distinguished Alumnus from both the University of South Dakota School of Medicine and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Dr. Lillemoe’s bibliography lists over 560 journal articles and 145 book chapters. He has served as a visiting professor over 125 times and has spoken nationally and internationally on over 530 occasions. He is the Emeritus Editor-in-Chief of Annals of Surgery.
Sung-Gyu Lee
Living Donor Liver Transplantation: Lessons and Innovations from Asan Medical Center
Saturday 31 October 2026
10:30 – 11:00hrs
Biography
Professor Sung-Gyu Lee is a pioneering leader in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) and one of the most influential surgeons in the global transplantation field.
He achieved Korea’s first successful pediatric LDLT in 1994, establishing the foundation for modern liver transplantation in the country. Professor Lee went on to accomplish several world-first breakthroughs, including the successful modified right-lobe LDLT in 1999 and the first dual-graft LDLT in 2000, innovations that significantly expanded surgical indications and advanced the safety and feasibility of adult living donor transplantation. Under his leadership, Asan Medical Center became a major global training hub where liver transplant surgeons from around the world came to learn his techniques and gain hands-on experience.
Through the Asan in Asia project, he played a central role in establishing and stabilizing liver transplantation programs in countries such as Mongolia and Vietnam, profoundly impacting transplantation development across the region. Professor Lee currently serves as a Chair Professor at the University of Ulsan College of Medicine and continues to perform LDLT at Asan Medical Center.
His lifelong commitment to surgical innovation, education, and patient care has had a transformative influence on liver transplantation in Asia and worldwide.
