Colleagues, dear friends,

Welcome to the Third Congress of SAES.

On June 7, 2016, the Association of Endoscopic Surgeons of Serbia was founded.

SAES is conceived as a professional association that aims to support members of the Association and help them directly in the area in which the Association operates. The mission of the SAES is to improve the quality of patient treatment in the Republic of Serbia through joint work and exchange of experiences, education, monitoring of contemporary trends, and leadership in the field of endoscopic surgery.

Back in 2017, the first SAES Congress was held. More than 30 honorable guests, invited speakers, and eminent experts in the field of minimally invasive surgery participated in the Congress. Over two Congress days attended more than 1200 health workers from Serbia and the region. The first SAES Congress changed the paradigm of the minimally invasive surgery in the Republic of Serbia.

The second Congress, held in 2019, was conceived as a cross-section of the current situation in minimally invasive surgery in the Republic of Serbia, but also throughout the region. Regional cooperation will always be a key to further development, not only in minimally invasive surgery but surgery in general. And again, more than 1100 delegates, participated in the Congress activities.

The general topic of the third congress, Minimally Invasive Surgery – where laparoscopy meets robotics, emphasizes once again the major role undertaken by SAES, which refers to developing a valuable surgical education.

I am pleased that the activities of the Association and this Congress are of considerable interest. Participation in Congress is not the privilege of the selected ones but the privilege of those who deal with minimally invasive surgery.

We invite all smart and capable people ready to invest work and energy in achieving the goals of the Association to join us and help us in our work. The Association welcomes surgeons of other specialists, but not only surgeons; medical technicians, scrub nurses, internists, anesthesiologists and transfusiologists, dietitians and nutritionists, and all others who can integrate their work and engagement into the goals of the SAES are more than welcome.

The key is that we love what we do and do it together. SAES should be experienced as a family that welcomes and embrace all of you.

Last, but not least, I would like to thank all the sponsors, who enabled the work of the association, especially the organization of this Congress, and I hope for further successful cooperation.

Once again, welcome and thank you for supporting the third SAES Congress with your presence.

Prof. dr Miloš Bjelović
President of Serbian Association of Endoscopic Surgeons