President's Welcome

President’s Welcome

Ari Leppäniemi, Finland

Dear Colleagues,

It is my great honor and pleasure to take over the presidency of ISS‑SIC for the next two years. I am humbled by the confidence bestowed on me by the membership and it is with great humility that I resume the responsibilities of your president.

I want to thank the previous president, now immediate past president Cheng‑Har Yip, for not just showing exceptional leadership qualities during her term, but also for organizing one of the most successful congresses of this organization in Kuala Lumpur this past August. John Hunter, as president before Dr. Yip, paved the way for this organization to open up to other medical professionals and we will continue his work in that area. Ken Boffard as Secretary‑General has guided the society with great skill, maintaining our integrity and mission in clear view without sacrificing economic realities, with great help from our treasurer Jerry Doherty in facing the current global economic situation.

The ISS‑SIC office led by Mike Iliopoulos has kept the society going, and I am also very grateful for the warm welcome received from the office staff when taking over my responsibilities as the new president. I want to express my special good wishes to Chris Storz, who is leaving the office after many years to a well-deserved retirement. Chris and I go back many years—I remember his incredible routine and diplomatic skills when preparing the scientific content of the International Surgical Week in Helsinki in 2013. Even before that, when I was president of IATSIC, Chris and then-administrator Viktor Bertschi were always available when things got difficult. Moreover, when the administration of the Definitive Surgery for Trauma Course (DSTC) of IATSIC expanded, Chris took it over and was instrumental in professionalizing our organization, whether in following animal ethics rules or other administrative matters. Thank you, Chris!

ISS‑SIC is facing many challenges in the coming years. The loss of two integrated societies, IAES and ASAP, will inevitably affect our future profile. However, it is my sincere hope that we can continue to work with IAES in the future as a participating society—bringing in a program highlighting endocrine surgical challenges of the global south to our next meeting. Similarly, I hope that our anesthesiologist colleagues continue their invaluable support, especially in promoting surgical, anesthesiologic, obstetric, and emergency care in resource‑challenged environments.

I heartily welcome our newest integrated society, IASSS—the representative of medical students and other young professionals interested in surgery—to ISS‑SIC. I look forward to working with IASSS to make surgery an attractive career in medicine. I am especially proud that so many IASSS members come from developing countries, and my door is always open to support their goals.

I also want to congratulate Sherry Wren on her appointment as Editor‑in‑Chief of our journal, the World Journal of Surgery. With her commitment, expertise, and strong work ethic—alongside our associate editors, the editorial office, and Wiley—I am convinced WJS will reach new heights as the journal for surgeons worldwide.

A president cannot achieve much in two years if working alone. With the help of the Executive Committee and Council of ISS‑SIC, the ISS‑SIC office, national delegates and chapters, integrated and participating societies, and our members, we can make a difference. In today’s world—with unjust wars, political imprisonments, climate crises, economic inequality, and burdens on the global south—ISS‑SIC must partner with organizations such as the WHO, G4 Alliance, ICRC, Greenpeace, Amnesty International, the IPCC, and others sharing our values. As surgeons, we have authority and goodwill among populations worldwide—let us use that. A dream is the first step to a plan, and no dream is too big when facing existential challenges. Please join me in making our planet safer, more just, and healthier for future generations.

Ari K. Leppäniemi
President ISS‑SIC
President, International Surgical Week ISW 2026

Profile: Dr. Ari Leppäniemi

Dr. Ari Leppäniemi, MD, PhD, FACS (Hon.), FISS, DMCC, Professor h.c., retired Chief of Emergency Surgery and Surgical Critical Care at Helsinki University Hospital Meilahti in Helsinki, Finland. President, International Society of Surgery (ISS‑SIC).

Ari Leppäniemi served as Chief of Emergency Surgery and Surgical Critical Care from 1981 onwards, with breaks for residency training and humanitarian missions. He is also Adjunct Professor of Surgery at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, USA.

His background training includes General and Gastroenterological Surgery, Prehospital Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Disaster Medicine, and International Health Care. He has worked as a Field Surgeon for the International Red Cross in Cambodia, Sudan, and Afghanistan; Volunteer Surgeon for UNDP in Tuvalu; Senior House Officer in Zaria, Nigeria; and led Finnish Medical Evacuation Teams for the Asian tsunami, the Málaga bus disaster, and Cairo Arab Spring unrest.

Ari Leppäniemi is Past‑President of multiple societies (e.g., Finnish Society of Surgery, IATSIC, ESTES), Vice‑President of WSES, and President of ISS‑SIC. He is an Honorary Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, American Surgical Association, European Society for Trauma and Emergency Surgery, and others. He has given keynote lectures worldwide and received numerous national and international awards.

He has won several medals and awards including the Finnish Lion Knight Medal 1st Class, Finnish Red Cross Award, Ben Eiseman Professorship in Surgery Award, Commendable Service Medal from the Uniformed Services University, NASA Johnson Space Center Group Achievement Award, 24th Michael E. DeBakey International Military Surgeons Award, and more. In 2014 he was appointed Surgeon of the Year by the Finnish Surgical Society.

He has served as Editor‑in‑Chief of the Scandinavian Journal of Surgery, Editor of the European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery, and Associate Editor of the World Journal of Surgery, World Journal of Emergency Surgery, and the Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation & Emergency Medicine, and sits on the editorial board of 15 other journals. He has published over 300 original articles, over 350 reviews and chapters, and delivered about 850 presentations and abstracts in 60 countries.

His research interests include abdominal trauma, peritonitis, pancreatitis, abdominal compartment syndrome, open abdomen, and complex abdominal wall surgery.

His hobbies include fishing, badminton, political and historical literature, movies, and jazz.