Ultrasound for Surgeons or better Surgical Ultrasonography is modifying the surgical practice both in emergency and in elective surgery.

Operative decision making, and patient care are significantly improved by using the ultrasound. This evidence makes necessary to provide a wide and qualified educational offer for surgeons who are interested in getting deeper in the use of ultrasound in their daily practice. For this purpose the European School of Surgical Ultrasonography (E.S.S.U.) has been thought and established: targets of ESSU are providing a main course, which could introduce surgeons to the various aspects of surgical ultrasonography, but also offering other courses dedicated to focus on specific use of ultrasound such as the intraoperative use, the use in emergency, the use for guiding interventional procedures, and the endocavitary use. For that, ESSU is the place where surgeons may focus on physical principles of ultrasound use in clinical practice, could find details on ultrasound equipment, may learn on diagnostic and interventional ultrasound-guided procedures, and could be introduced to the intraoperative use of ultrasound.

All this will be done with lectures, live demonstrations and skill sessions involving an outstanding international faculty of specialists in the various fields of ultrasound clinical applications. Better understanding of ultrasound and moreover acquisition of the bases to start their own practice with it is the mission of ESSU, which should allow present and next generation of surgeons to feel the way ultrasound is changing their surgical practice, and to perform safer and more effective surgical procedures.

Guido Torzilli, MD, PhD
Marco Montorsi, MD