Welcome to the XXXVII Pan-American
Congress of Gastroenterology

Dear colleagues and friends in the world of Gastroenterology and related fields:

At the Pan American Gastroenterology Organization (OPGE) we have been monitoring the course of the pandemic as it ravages the world, with a particular focus on its impact on our continent. We have also proudly attended multiple virtual trainings, all of them excellent, conducted by the majority of the associations in OPGE.

Based on this follow-up and on the outlook for the coming months, we have rescheduled the Pan American Week of Digestive Diseases 2021, for a new date and under a new format, so as to honour our commitment while preserving the safety of all participants.

The Pan-American Congress of Gastroenterology will be held from July 14 to 16, and for the first time ever, it will be held virtually through a state-of-the-art platform, in line with the requirements of a top international meeting, i.e., a user-friendly and interactive platform that may accommodate to the needs of the audience, speakers and industry.

The virtual Congress will offer participants a comprehensive and up-to-date program, which - together with the outstanding faculty invited from all over the world - will ensure the accessibility and broad dissemination we believe warranted, turning the pandemic into an opportunity to remove all the barriers posed by in-person events.

We will be joined by the world's leading Gastroenterology organizations, including the WGO, UEG, ACG, AGA, SEPD, AEG, ALEH, PANCCO, GETECCU, the Rome Foundation, the Latin American Society of Neuro Gastroenterology, and all the associations in OPGE.

In the 3 days of the congress, we will discuss the most current topics in relation to digestive diseases, with the added seasoning of COVID 19:

• Functional digestive disorders. Impacts of the pandemic.
• Comprehensive management of gastroesophageal reflux disease.
• Microbiome, disease and therapy.
• Gluten, the new villain.
• Pancreatobiliary pathology. Multidisciplinary approaches from diagnosis to treatment.
• Inflammatory bowel diseases, current and future challenges.
• Genetics and digestive disease.
• Colorectal cancer: everyone's commitment - from screening to treatment.
• Helicobacter pylori in Latin America. Is every country a world in its own right?
• Liver diseases, from the general to the particular.
• Digestive endoscopy in the COV 2 SARS era. New techniques and devices.
• Nutrition and physical activity in the pandemic.

For all these reasons, we expect massive participation of Gastroenterologists, Endoscopists, Surgeons, Nutritionists, Internists, Nurses, and people of all the related disciplines.

As we aim to enhance engagement and interaction, we have invited the global COVID experts, and included games that will make the excellent scientific program more enjoyable still.

We look forward to sharing this event with all of you, side by side with OPGE, in an extraordinary congress!