Dear Members and friends of EPSA.

I would like to welcome all visitors to the EPSA Web site. EPSA is considered one of the oldest scientific medical associations in modern Egypt (founded in 1980). The progress of the scientific and social activities of EPSA was slow at the beginning, and was linked primary to the Egyptian Society of Surgeons.

The last few years has witnessed a real revolution in the activities of EPSA. The previous name (Egyptian Association of Pediatric Surgeons, EAPS) and logo of the association has been replaced by an easier pronounced name (EPSA) and genuine Egyptian logo. The bylaws and directory of members have been established.

The Annual meeting of EPSA has been held regularly for the last 10 years. Before that the it was held as a part of the annual meeting of Egyptian Society of Surgeons. The annual meeting of EPSA was held in collaboration with other international pediatric surgical association such as Pan African Association Pediatric Surgical Association (PAPSA), Mediterranean Association of Pediatric Surgeons (MAPS) Turkish Association of pediatric Surgeons (TAPS), and Pan Arab Pediatric Surgical Association.

In addition to the annual meeting, there is now a regular clinical bimonthly meeting which, is held at a different institution each time to enhance the scientific and social relation of all members. One of the serious activities of EPSA is establishment of multicenteric studies. I am proud to let you know that the first study conducted by members of EPSA on transanal pull through for Hirschsprung's disease has been presented at the 34 th annual meeting of American Pediatric surgical Association (APSA) and has been recently published at march 2004 Issue of Journal of Pediatric Surgery. Another study on one stage primary repair of anorectal malformation is currently in progress.

Yours Sincerely,

Alaa F. Hamza, M.D.
Cairo, Egypt.