Professor Thomas Schmitz-Rixen is the new general secretary of the surgical umbrella organization
03.11.2022 09:43
Professor Dr. med. Thomas Schmitz-Rixen is the new Secretary General of the German Society of Surgery (DGCH). He follows Professor Dr. med. Dr. hc Hans-Joachim Meyer, who has held the office in recent years alongside his presidency of the Professional Association of German Surgeons (BDC). Professor Schmitz-Rixen was director of the Clinic for Vascular and Endovascular Surgery at the University Hospital Frankfurt am Main and was already President of the DGCH in 2020.
During this term of office, he placed particular emphasis on the topics of digitalization and artificial intelligence. As Secretary General, he would also like to devote himself to topics such as cross-disciplinary research, health services research, sustainable patient care and the restructuring of hospitals.
“We are currently facing special social challenges. A lot also has to change in health policy and the healthcare system in order to be able to provide safe care for patients in the future,” explains the new DGCH General Secretary Professor Dr. med. Thomas Schmitz Rixen. The surgeon sees the DGCH as having central responsibility here. The organization is one of the oldest and most active medical-scientific professional societies in Germany. This year it celebrates its 150th anniversary. “Surgeons have accompanied and promoted incredible changes and advances in medicine since the DGCH was founded,” says Schmitz-Rixen. “It is now all the more important to master and help shape the leap into a new era.”
Last but not least, the corona pandemic has shown that a changed hospital landscape must be created. “Hospitals are facing ever greater economic challenges: outpatient care on the one hand and the specialization of complex services on the other are central to this. The DGCH must actively shape and accompany this change process in the interests of all surgical disciplines,” said Schmitz-Rixen. The surgical workplace is being put to the test. For all of these tasks, a constructive dialogue with politicians and representatives of the health care system is essential. Schmitz-Rixen would like to highlight the activities of his predecessor, Professor Dr. med. Dr. hc Hans-Joachim Meyer and bring in the DGCH as an experienced partner.
The new president of the DGCH is Professor Dr. med. Andreas Seekamp. The orthopedist and trauma surgeon heads the clinic for orthopedics and trauma surgery at the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel Campus. The 140th German Surgery Congress (DCK), which he is organizing in 2023, has the motto “151 years of DGCH – departure into coming decades”. Parts will initially take place digitally from April 18th to 20th, 2023, then in person in Munich from April 26th to 28th. For Seekamp, it is important that under the umbrella of the congress, the commonalities within overall surgery are the focus of all specializations in interdisciplinary meetings. For him, this also includes strengthening international exchange. The guest country will be Sweden.
In addition, there are further changes in the DGCH Executive Board: The previous President Professor Dr. med. Helge Lang becomes first vice president, Professor Dr. med. Christiane Bruns will be second vice president and therefore president of the DGCH in 2023/2024. The general meeting elected Professor Dr. med. Udo Rolle, senior pediatric surgeon at the University Hospital in Frankfurt/Main. The office of treasurer remains with Professor Dr. med. Jens Werner from Munich.