Welcome Letter
On behalf of the Council of Anesthesia, Critical Care Medicine and Pain Management, Ministry of Health, Kuwait, I am honored to invite you to Kuwait’s 11th Anesthesia Conference, taking place from February 14-16.
Our scientific committee is excited to present a program that promises to be stimulating, engaging, and relevant, showcasing the latest advancements in anesthesiology. This conference is designed for both young and experienced delegates, ensuring a valuable experience for all attendees.
Every year features new scientific developments, innovative technologies, and challenging cases in the field of anesthesiology. Given the increasing complexity of patients and the rising number of surgical procedures, this event is more timely than ever.
We are pleased to feature a diverse array of well-respected international speakers, offering a comprehensive program over three full days. The focus will be on updated practices across various areas of anesthesiology. The program will include thought-provoking lectures aimed at pushing the boundaries and improving the current practice. To enrich the learning experience, we will include live demonstrations of neuraxial anesthesia and regional procedures. Additionally, topics such as leadership and quality improvement will be integral to our scientific program, further enhancing patient safety in anesthesia practice.
The pre-conference workshops present an exceptional opportunity for both residents and experienced staff to gain hands-on experience with leading experts in the field. Participants can enroll in workshops covering regional anesthesia, point-of-care ultrasound, airway management, simulation, and quality improvement.
This conference also serves as a valuable platform for anesthesiologists and healthcare providers from various medical backgrounds to network with high-caliber international speakers. Our all-star lineup of keynote speakers is dedicated to sharing the most up-to-date, evidence-based practices.
We encourage you to register for the conference and take advantage of these excellent educational opportunities while expanding your professional network.
We look forward to welcoming you!
Hasan Behbehani
MD, FRCPC (Anesthesia and Pain Medicine)
Conference Chairperson
Worksops
Select & Register (13/02/2025)
Morning
(9:00-12:30)
Afternoon
(2:00-5:30)
Morning
(9:00-12:30)
Afternoon
(2:00-5:30)
Morning
(9:00-11:30)
Afternoon
(1:30-4:00)
(9:00-1:00)
Venue
Waldorf Astoria Hotel Kuwait
Agenda
Speakers
Dr. Henrik Kehlet
Bio
Dr. Nuala Lucas
Bio
Dr Nuala Lucas MBBS, FRCA, MBE
Dr Nuala Lucas is a Consultant Anaesthetist at London North West University Healthcare Trust. Her major interest is obstetric anaesthesia. She is the President of the Obstetric Anaesthetists’ Association and chairs the Education Subcommittee. Nuala is the anaesthetic co-lead for the UK Confidential Maternal Death Enquiries (MBRRACE-UK). She is a senior editor for the International Journal of Obstetric Anesthesia. Her research interests include airway management in obstetric anaesthesia and complications of obstetric anaesthesia. She has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals, focusing on topics ranging from perioperative management in preeclampsia to the safety and efficacy of anaesthesia techniques during childbirth. She is committed to advancing the field of obstetric anaesthesia through collaborative research efforts and advocacy initiatives. In 2020 she was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to anaesthesia. In 2021 she was awarded the Featherstone Professorship by the Association of Anaesthetists.
Dr. TJ Gan
Bio
Dr. TJ Gan is the Mildred M. Oppenheimer Distinguished Endowed Chair and Head, Division of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, UT Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.
Dr. Gan serves as the Perioperative Medicine Section Editor of Anesthesia and Analgesia and is on the Editorial Board of Perioperative Medicine. Dr. Gan is the Founding President of the American Society for Enhanced Recovery (ASER), Immediate Past President of the Perioperative Quality Initiative (POQI), a Past President of the Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia (SAMBA) and the International Society for Anesthetic Pharmacology (ISAP).
He has published over 350 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals and numerous books and book chapters. Dr. Gan has served as principal investigator or co-investigator for over 100 clinical trials, focusing on enhanced recovery and topics related to perioperative medicine, including postoperative nausea and vomiting, pain, fluid and hemodynamic management, and anesthetic pharmacology.
Dr. Ki Jinn Chin
Bio
Ki Jinn Chin is a Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at the University of Toronto, and the Regional Anesthesia Program Director at Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto, Canada. He obtained his medical degree from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, United Kingdom, completed anesthesiology training in Singapore, and has dual-fellowship certifications in Neuroanesthesia (University of Western Ontario) and Regional Anesthesia (Toronto Western Hospital) in Canada. He is passionate about all things to do with ultrasound-guided nerve blocks, but his particular academic and clinical interests include (1) ultrasound-guided fascial plane blocks, (2) spinal anesthesia, and (3) education in the clinical and technical skills required for regional anesthesia using both traditional and online formats (primarily YouTube).
Dr. Stephan Thilen
Bio
Stephan Thilen, MD, MS
Dr. Stephan Thilen [“steffen” “thigh-len”] is visiting from University of Washington in Seattle where he is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine. He has a medical degree from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. He did his residency in Anesthesiology at Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, NY. He has done a fellowship in Critical Care Medicine and earned a Master’s degree in Population Health, both at University of Wisconsin in Madison. He has been at University of Washington since 2008.
He has conducted multiple research projects on perioperative management of neuromuscular blockade. His original research reports have been published in the leading anesthesiology journals, including Anesthesiology, the British Journal of Anaesthesia, the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia, and Anesthesia & Analgesia. He was a co-chair of the ASA Task Force on Neuromuscular Blockade that developed the 2023 American Society of Anesthesiologists Practice Guidelines for Monitoring and Antagonism of Neuromuscular Blockade.
Dr. Carolyn Johnston
Bio
Qualifications: FRCA BM BCh MA (Oxon), PGCert Med Ed, PGCert H’care Mgmt
Carolyn trained in West Midlands and St George’s schools of anaesthesia. She was a London Deanery Clinical Leadership ‘Darzi’ Fellow, leading range of improvement projects, and was an Improvement Faculty fellow of the NHS Institute of Innovation. She teaches regularly on local, regional and national courses. She is in the founding cohort of the Health Foundation/ NHS England Q community, connecting people skilled in improvement across the UK. She is the editor of the 4th edition of ‘Raising the Standards, The RCoA QI compendium’, and written the improvement chapter of Lee’s synopsis of Anaesthesia, as well as a number of peer reviewed papers in quality improvement and emergency surgery care.
She is the clinical lead for St Georges’ prehabilitation before surgery- Get Set 4 Surgery and lead for ACSA- Anaesthetic Clinical Services Accreditation- in St Georges.
She is also a trustee of Birthrights- a charity protecting human rights in childbirth.
Dr. Michel Struys
Bio
Dr. Basem Abdelmalak
Bio
Dr. Abdelmalak is a professor of anesthesiology at Cleveland Clinic. He leads NORA Services for Bronchoscopy and is the Quality Improvement Officer and Director of the anesthesiology oversight for procedural sedation. He also performs the Therapeutic Whole Lung Lavage procedure.
His clinical interests include anesthesia for ENT and difficult airway management. As well as NORA (especially Bronchoscopy). He recently served as a member of the ASA task force on the 2022 ASA Practice Guidelines for the management of the difficult airway. He is the chair of the ASA task force on NORA and Procedural Sedation, and recently co-chaired the ASA task force on Preoperative Fasting that issued the 2023 NPO guidelines Modular updates, and the Guidance on GLP-1
His research interest is focused on perioperative diabetes and hyperglycemia management.
He served as the past president of the Society for Head and Neck Anesthesia (SHANA), the Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia (SAMBA), and the Ohio Society of Anesthesiologists and is currently a member of the ASA board of directors.
He has received numerous awards, including Safety Champion by the Cleveland Clinic Quality Institute, and co-edited two textbooks titled Anesthesia for Otolaryngologic Surgery and Clinical Airway Management
A frequently invited speaker at national, and international conferences, and visiting professorship, He has been appointed to chair the ASA annual meeting 2027 in Boston, MA
Dr. Indu Singh
Bio
Dr. Indu Singh completed medical school as well as Anesthesia residency at Memorial University in Newfoundland. She then did a fellowship in obstetric and regional anesthesia at Western University. Since joining the department after her fellowship, she has been involved in a number of roles, including Resident Research Coordinator, Academic Affairs Committee member, Quality Improvement Committee member, Obstetric Anesthesia Subspecialty Resident Coordinator, Obstetric Anesthesia Fellowship Supervisor, and is presently the Director of the Obstetric Anesthesia program.
Dr. Nick Fletcher
Bio
Prof Nick Fletcher MBBS FRCA FFICM
Institute Chair for Anaesthesia and Critical Care at the Cleveland Clinic London since 2019 and Academic Professor of Anesthesiology at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Institute of Medicine. He was previously a Consultant and lecturer in anaesthesia and critical care in St Georges University hospital in London for 19 years. He is a Past President of the Association for Cardiothoracic Anaesthesia and Critical Care in the UK and a previous editor of the British Journal of Anaesthesia Education and Echocardiography Research and Practice. He led the Royal College of Anaesthesia ‘Guidelines for Providers of Cardiothoracic Anaesthesia’ for a few years with an interest in quality and the external review process. He is an author of the two international cardiac ERAS guidelines, first published in JAMA and a founder member of the cardiac ERAS advisory group. He was a current member of the EACTAIC and ESICM echo sub-committees and has helped in the successful establishment of the ESICM EDEC echocardiography accreditation. Nick has published over 100 peer reviewed articles and chapters and has been invited to lecture at ACTACC, EACTAIC, ESAIC, SCA, ESICM, IACTA conferences amongst others. He is recognised for his national and international leadership in cardiothoracic anaesthesia and critical care, cardiac ERAS, haemodynamics, clinical quality, echocardiography, research and education.
Dr. Brigid Brown
Bio
Dr Brigid Brown is a senior specialist anaesthetist from Adelaide Australia. She works in both public and private practice with a special interest in regional anaesthesia. She has completed fellowships in the United Kingdom and her home country of Canada.
She is a senior clinical lecturer at Flinders University and the Head of Regional Anaesthesia at Flinders Medical Centre. She has a strong interest in low and middle income country medical capacity building and teaching, having delivered care in Nambia, Mongolia, Myanmar with the Australian Society of Anaesthetists as well as in Afghanistan and Gaza through Medecins Sans Frontieres
Her research interests include regional anaesthesia and quality improvement in healthcare.
Dr. Eric You-Ten
Bio
Dr Eric You-Ten, MD PhD FRCPC, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He completed medical school and anesthesia residency at the University of Toronto, as well as a PhD in Immunology from McGill University. Dr You-Ten is currently the Program Director of the Anesthesia Residency at the University of Toronto, the largest anesthesia residency program in Canada. He is also the Program Director of the Advanced Airway Fellowship at Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto. He is actively involved in medical education and was a Royal College Anesthesia Examiner. His research has focused predominantly on airway management, ultrasound, and education. He has published in various high impact anesthesia journals including Anesthesiology, Canadian Journal of Anesthesia, Anaesthesia, Anesthesia & Analgesia and have received numerous research grants.
Dr. Abdulrahman Alboog
Bio
Dr. Abdulrahman Alboog is an assistant professor at the University of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He is double board-certified in Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Dr. Alboog also holds a Master’s degree in Public Health, with a focus on Health Leadership and Management, from Johns Hopkins University and has earned a postgraduate diploma in Patient Safety and Quality Improvement.
Dr. Ahmed Hegazy
Bio
Dr Ahmed Hegazy is the current Head of Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit (CSICU-Adult) at Madinah Cardiac Centre, Madinah, KSA. He is also a Critical Care Consultant and Cardiac Anesthesiologist at London Health Sciences Centre (Canada) and an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Western Ontario, Canada.
He established the first Perioperative Ultrasound resident rotation in Canada and co-authored the Canadian Basic Perioperative Ultrasound Competencies consensus statement. He also previously served as the Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit Education Director, Competence Based Medical Education Lead and was the inaugural Chair of the Competence Committee for the Division of Critical Care Medicine at London Health Sciences Centre, London, Canada. He is a clinician teacher and an active researcher in the fields of Cardiac Critical Care, Cardiac Anesthesiology, Point-of-Care Ultrasound, Perioperative Transesophageal Echocardiography, and Resuscitation Science. He holds a Masters in Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health, Advanced Perioperative TEE certification from the National Board of Echocardiography, and is dual Royal College certified in both anesthesia and critical care.
He relocated to Saudi Arabia two years ago, initially to King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre, Riyadh and now to Madinah Cardiac Centre. He is the current Head of Intensive Care at the Madinah Cardiac Centre, and he maintains a part-time anesthesiology/critical care position with London Health Sciences Centre, Canada. He has authored multiple research articles and book chapters in the fields of point-of-care ultrasound, cardiac critical care, and resuscitation science.
Dr. Danyela Lee
Bio
Dr. Danyela Lee obtained her medical degree from Queen’s University in 2013. She successfully completed residency in Anesthesiology at the University of Saskatchewan, and subsequently, in Pain Medicine at the University of Toronto. Her pain interests include acute and chronic pain, pelvic pain, and interventional pain management. She held a position as lecturer, anesthesiologist, and pain specialist at the University of Toronto. She presently works at Surrey Memorial Hospital as a consultant anesthesiologist and chronic pain specialist, and is a clinical instructor with the University of British Columbia.
Dr. Niveditha Karuppiah
Bio
Dr Niveditha Karuppiah is an anesthesiologist currently practicing at McMaster Children’s Hospital in Hamilton, with subspecialty interests in pediatric anesthesia, pain management, and regional anesthesia. Dr. Karuppiah graduated with a medical degree in India and completed a fellowship in regional anesthesiology at Ganga Hospital in Coimbatore, one of India’s premier institutes for regional anesthesia training. She furthered her training with two fellowships in Canada: one in regional anesthesia at Western University and another in pediatric anesthesia at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, one of the leading pediatric hospitals globally. Dr. Karuppiah serves as the principal investigator for research projects on pediatric pain, pediatric regional anesthesia, and various quality improvement initiatives, which have received multiple grants. In addition to her work in anesthesiology, she is highly passionate about health economics and policy.
Dr. Michael Dinsmore
Bio
Michael Dinsmore completed a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Saskatchewan and post-doctoral research and development on medical diagnostic biosensors using nanotechnology in Vancouver and San Diego before returning home to Saskatchewan to complete his medical degree. He completed his residency training in Anesthesia at the University of Toronto and a fellowship in Neuroanesthesia at the Toronto Western Hospital. His research interests are in advancing and developing new technologies in Anesthesia. Specific research includes the development of novel Anesthetic equipment as well as 3D-printed models for ultrasound education. In addition, he is interested in the use of virtual reality to reduce anxiety during awake neurosurgical procedures.
Dr. Sylvie Aucoin
Bio
Dr. Sylvie Aucoin is an anesthesiologist at The Ottawa Hospital and Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa. She completed anesthesiology residency at Dalhousie University and a Perioperative Medicine fellowship at University of College London Hospital (UCLH) with an accompanying MSc in Perioperative Medicine in 2018-2019. Her areas of interest are perioperative frailty, virtual post-surgical care and healthcare leadership. She was the Chief for the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Civic Campus from 2019-2023 and currently serves as the Chair of the Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society Hospital Chiefs of Anesthesia Section.
Dr. Howard Meng
Bio
Dr. Meng practices as a staff anesthesiologist and pain physician at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, a tertiary care centre fully affiliated with the University of Toronto. At Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, he is the Medical Director of the Acute Pain Service and Director of Pain for the Department of Anesthesia. He is the pain lead for the Trauma Pain Clinic and also serves as the Medical Director for the Integrated Pain Program. He practices chronic pain at Women’s College Hospital as part of the Toronto Academic Pain Medicine Institute. His clinical and research interests are in trauma pain and peripheral nerve pain.
Dr. Mohamed Eissa
Bio
Dr Eissa is an Assistant Professor of Anesthesia at the University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He is also the Obstetrics Anesthesia fellowship lead at the Civic Campus, The Ottawa Hospital. With his wide expertise in point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS), Echocardiography, Sleep medicine and Obstetrical anesthesia, his main research interest is focusing on enhancing the use of PoCUS and transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in obstetrical anesthesia which would provide a unique skillset in caring for high-risk cardiac obstetrical patients as well as the improving the quality of care for parturients with sleep apnea. He is one of the few fellowship-trained obstetrical anesthesiologists with formal TEE certification and training in Canada. Currently, he is leading foundation projects that his program will be built upon, focused on inter-rater reliability and feasibility of specific PoCUS techniques in the high-risk obstetrical population.
Dr. Roy Khalaf
Bio
Roy Khalaf is a Royal College certified Canadian Anesthesiologist currently practicing in Kelowna, British Columbia. He completed his medical school and residency training at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine in London, Ontario. He is fellowship trained in Simulation Based Medical Education through KidSIM at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine. In his current role, he uses knowledge gained from running interdisciplinary simulations with recovery room nurses to improve teamwork and drive quality improvement initiatives. Roy has a passion for medical education, and coordinates the Thoracic Anesthesia Resident rotation at his hospital, medical student simulation sessions, and is involved in various mentorship roles for learners.
Dr. Shalini Dhir
Bio
Dr. Shalini Dhir, MD, MSc, FRCPC is the director of regional anesthesia at the Schulich School of Medicine, Western University, London, Ontario. She did fellowship in obstetric anesthesia and regional anesthesia and subsequently assumed a faculty position in the department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, at the Western University in 2006. She obtained further anesthesia degree in Canada and master’s degree in clinical management of Pain at the Edinburgh University, UK.
At present, Dr. Dhir is a professor of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine. She has a keen interest in teaching. Apart from teaching at the university level to the undergraduate and post graduate medical and anesthesia students, she is keenly involved in the fellowship training programs. She has done voluntary teaching assignments in Guyana, Ethiopia and Rwanda as part of the Canadian Anesthesia Society International Education Foundation and in South Sudan and Afghanistan as part of Doctors Without Borders.
Her research interests include obstetric anesthesia, regional anesthesia and pain management.
Dr. Howard Meng
Bio
Dr. Meng practices as a staff anesthesiologist and pain physician at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, a tertiary care centre fully affiliated with the University of Toronto. At Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, he is the Medical Director of the Acute Pain Service and Director of Pain for the Department of Anesthesia. He is the pain lead for the Trauma Pain Clinic and also serves as the Medical Director for the Integrated Pain Program. He practices chronic pain at Women’s College Hospital as part of the Toronto Academic Pain Medicine Institute. His clinical and research interests are in trauma pain and peripheral nerve pain.
Dr. Mohamed Eissa
Bio
Dr Eissa is an Assistant Professor of Anesthesia at the University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He is also the Obstetrics Anesthesia fellowship lead at the Civic Campus, The Ottawa Hospital. With his wide expertise in point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS), Echocardiography, Sleep medicine and Obstetrical anesthesia, his main research interest is focusing on enhancing the use of PoCUS and transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in obstetrical anesthesia which would provide a unique skillset in caring for high-risk cardiac obstetrical patients as well as the improving the quality of care for parturients with sleep apnea. He is one of the few fellowship-trained obstetrical anesthesiologists with formal TEE certification and training in Canada. Currently, he is leading foundation projects that his program will be built upon, focused on inter-rater reliability and feasibility of specific PoCUS techniques in the high-risk obstetrical population.