Inauguration and first years
“One of the most enjoyable and memorable events held in conjunction with the BAPS Meeting in Birmingham in 1986 was the meeting of the International Society for the History of Paediatric Surgery (ISHPS) on the day before the Scientific Program began. Under the Chairmanship of Professor Jan Molenaar, the meeting was attended by some 50 pediatric surgeons form various countries, all of whom had a particular interest in the historical, cultural and social aspects of the specialty of Pediatric Surgery. The program was as varied as its audience and covered such subjects as the depiction of children in European paintings and various other works of art, and a most interesting account of the life, family and work of Ramstedt, and his lasting contribution, serendipitously devised, to the treatment of pyloric stenosis”.
The program of this first meeting was as follows:
- Why Paediatric Surgical History? J. C. Molenaar
- The Contribution of Surgeons to Childcare through the Centuries. Mrs. A. M. C. Ribbink–Goslinga
- Dr Conrad Ramstedt, Paediatric Surgical Pioneer. G. Borgwardt
- Children, Diseases and Doctors in Historical Pictures. P. J. Kuijjer
- Paediatric Surgery in Birmingham and environs. P. Gornall
Mr. Peter Jones continues:
“Although it is perhaps invidious to select from among the excellent presentations, and the careful preparations demonstrated by every one of the speakers, Dr Görtz Borgwardt’s tenacious search for Ramstedt’s birthplace and the discovery of many of his relics, will be of particular interest and should, if feasible, be published in one of the pediatric surgical journals. Those who were unable to attend the meeting of the ISHPS will be delighted to know that Dr Borgwardt obtained a superb copy of the bust of Ramstedt sculpted by his obviously very talented daughter Tessa. The copy of the bust was later presented to the BAPS by Dr Borgwardt, to become one of the Society’s permanent memorabilia. There can be no doubt that the ISPH should go from strength to strength and win a place as an adjunct to all BAPS meetings. It is very fitting that we should be better informed of those who have contributed to the ethos, the ethics, the philosophy and the expertise of our specialty. All of us are in a very real sense pygmies, advancing on the shoulders of surgical giants of the past. The more we know of their lives, times and innovations, the better we are able to appreciate their contributions, and the foundations of the specialty of Pediatric Surgery.”
As an interesting note, Dr Borgwardt had serious difficulties in obtaining permission to leave his country, the DDR, and could do so only by special invitation of the History Club.
Also in 1986, two interesting publications appeared:
- Vol. 20 of “Progress in Pediatric Surgery” was entirely devoted to “Historical Aspects of Pediatric Surgery” (Springer Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, 1986).
- “Child Care through the Centuries”.
Earlier that year the logo of our society was coined into a beautiful bronze medal, financed by the Foundation University Fund Rotterdam. It was taken from the book “Primae Linea Anatomes” (Vienna, 1775) by J. J. Plenck and drafted by the artist Johann Ernst Mansfeld.
At the close of the BAPS meeting, this medal was presented for the first time by the President of BAPS to Drs Çenk Büyükünal and N. Sari from Istanbul, Turkey for their prize-winning presentation: Sabuncuoglu Serafedding (XVth Century), an outstanding personality in the Turkish history of Pediatric Surgery. The History Club has proceeded from then on with scientific meetings every two years prior to and in conjunction with the international meetings of BAPS, in close collaboration with Miss Dorothy Grant, staff secretary of BAPS, who has always been of great help from the very beginning. A very special meeting was held in Istanbul on Tuesday morning July 22, 1997, in the historical setting of the Topkapi Palace.
It was here that chairmanship of the History Club changed hands. As the History Club newsletter of June 1997 puts it:
“This newsletter, we’re afraid, is the last one to be sent from the Sophia Children’s Hospital in Rotterdam. As already alluded to earlier, Jan C. Molenaar has now retired from his office, and wishes to hand over the chairmanship of our society as well. Excellent candidates, in his view, would be Prof. Cenk Büyükünal from Istanbul, and Mr Robert Carachi from Glasgow.”
In conclusion, a new tradition within the BAPS organization has been established. Not all the aims formulated at the start of the International Society for the History of Paediatric Surgery were accomplished, but the final aim, the publication of a comprehensive book on the history of Pediatric Surgery, has now been instigated.
Board Meetings
| 1983 | 22-Jul | London |
| 1984 | 27-Jul | Liverpool |
| 1985 | 28-Jul | Vienna |
Scientific meetings with BAPS
| 1986 | Birmingham |
| 1988 | Athens |
| 1990 | Glasgow |
| 1992 | Leeds |
| 1994 | Rotterdam |
| 1996 | Jersey |
| 1997 | Istanbul |
| 1998 | Bristol |
| 2000 | Sorento |
| 2002 | Cambridge |
| 2004 | Oxford |
| 2006 | Stockholm |
| 2008 | Salamanca |
| 2010 | Aberdeen |
| 2012 | Rome |
| 2014 | Edinburgh |
| 2016 | Amsterdam |
Scientific meetings with EUPSA
| 2016 | Milano |
| 2017 | Limassol |
| 2018 | Paris |
| 2019 | Belgrade |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to Covid Pandemic |
| 2021 | Athens |
| 2022 | Tel Aviv |
| 2023 | Izmir |