History of the World Federation of Societies for Laser Medicine and Surgery (WFSLMS) and its Non-Profit Organization (NPO-WFSLMS): Part 2: 2(nd) WFSLMS Meeting (2009) to the present.

Abstract

The first part of this historical overview, (see Laser Therapy, 2014; 23: 89-95), took the reader from the conception of the WFSLMS to its inception at the inaugural meeting in Tokyo, 2005 and events up to the 2009 2(nd) WFSLMS in Tokyo when the author was the congress president. The previous article also dealt with the necessity for founding a non-profit organization, NPO-WFSLMS, to handle the commercial and social responsibilities of the WFSLMS. For details, please refer to that previous article. Meetings: The 2(nd) WFSLMS congress was successfully held in 2009 in Japan, under the presidency of Professor Krishna Rau. The third WFSLMS meeting was planned for Paris in 2013 together with the 20(th) ISLSM congress under the Meeting Presidency of Dr Jean Abitbol, while the 19(th) ISLSM was to be held in Korea in 2011 under the Meeting Presidency of Prof. Jin-Wang Kim. Unforseen problems beyond the control of the organizers forced the cancellation of both the 19(th) and 20(th) meetings of the ISLSM, the latter also being the location of the planned third WFSLMS congress in Paris, but with the cooperation of the organizers of the 5(th) congress of the International Phototherapy Association (IPTA) the 3(rd) WFSLMS meeting was held in Lithuania, again under the presidency of Prof Rau concurrently with the 20(th) ISLSM, at which much was debated regarding the future course of NPO-WFSLMS and WFSLMS. The venue of the 2015 21(st) ISLSM Congress was set as Indore, India, and the 4(th) WFSLMS meeting was allocated to Florence, Italy, in tandem with the 22(nd) ISLSM congress. In the interim, NPO-WFSLMS effectively managed laser education programs in Japan for developing country doctors, and also handled the donation of laser systems to Vietnam and Thailand, the latter being under the auspices of the Greek Medical Laser Association, together with associated education programs. The laser-based Blood Saving Campaign (BSaC) has been actively promoted in Asian countries up to the present, designed to minimize the need for transfusions and prevent intraoperative blood loss through the hemostatic properties of surgical lasers, bloodless minimally-invasive treatment with photodynamic therapy (PDT) and noninvasive LLLT. The WFSLMS will make more active overtures to solidify the inter-society cooperation among as many of the major laser societies as possible, both national and international. There are problems to be faced and overcome, but in a mood of cautious optimism, NPO-WFSLMS will work with WFSLMS and ISLSM towards this very worthwhile goal.