Welcome Message from Japan and Hungary

Dear Colleagues, Dear Friends,

It is a great pleasure and honour to welcome you to the 6th Triangle Symposium of the Japan-Hungary-Poland Surgical Society, to be held in Wrocław on May 26–28, 2027.

The Triangle Symposium represents something rather unique in international surgery. What began more than two decades ago as scientific cooperation between Japanese and Hungarian surgeons, and was later enriched by the participation of our Polish colleagues, has developed into a lasting professional community built not only on science, but also on friendship, mutual respect and personal relationships.

Our meeting in Nagoya in 2025 marked an important new beginning after several difficult years. Wrocław now gives us the opportunity to continue this renewed momentum and to look towards the future.

Surgery is changing at an extraordinary pace. Minimally invasive and robotic techniques, precision surgery, artificial intelligence and new concepts of perioperative care are transforming our everyday practice. International scientific cooperation is therefore more important than ever. By sharing our experience and sometimes also our different approaches, we can learn from each other and ultimately provide better care for our patients.

However, I believe that the most important mission of our Society reaches beyond the exchange of scientific results. We must create opportunities for the next generation of surgeons. For young colleagues, meetings such as the Triangle Symposium provide a unique environment in which they can present their work, meet colleagues from other countries and establish professional relationships that may accompany them throughout their careers. My own experience as a young surgeon participating in the Japanese–Hungarian meetings taught me how valuable such encounters can become.

Our predecessors – among them Professor József Sándor and the late Professor Masaki Kitajima – created this collaboration with remarkable vision and dedication. It is now our responsibility not only to preserve their legacy, but to develop it further and pass it on to the next generation.

On behalf of the Hungarian surgical community, I warmly invite our Japanese, Polish and Hungarian colleagues – and especially our young surgeons – to join us in Wrocław.

I am convinced that the 6th Triangle Symposium will provide excellent science, inspiring discussions and, just as importantly, new friendships.

I look forward to meeting you all in Wrocław in May 2027.

Triangle Symposium of the Poland-Hungary-Japan Surgical Society—We are the only ones who truly know what is most fascinating about a life devoted to academic surgery.

The Triangle Symposium of the Poland-Hungary-Japan Surgical Society is built on the image of a triangle lying flat on a plane, with neither top nor bottom. In this arrangement, each country is directly connected to the other two. There is no calculation, and no ambition is required. When we speak together about the advancement of surgery, robotics, artificial intelligence, surgical traditions, our patients, the struggles of surgery, and surgical culture, friendship as surgeons naturally begins to grow. Before long, I realize that the kind of international interaction I dreamed of as a child exists within this triangle.

Why these three countries? The answer becomes clear when we approach the question in reverse. No other combination of countries can create such a well-balanced triangle with such distinct and complementary colors.

Over my 39 years as a surgeon, I have experienced many forms of international interaction. Yet no combination has ever been as harmonious and well-proportioned as that of Poland, Hungary, and Japan. It is in this kind of international interaction that I find a truly unique value within a life of surgical research. My sincere hope is that many young surgeons will have the opportunity to experience this genuine form of international interaction.

The Triangle Symposium of the Poland-Hungary-Japan Surgical Society was originally established as the Hungary-Japan Surgical Society by Professor Jozsef Sandor of Hungary and the late Professor Masaki Kitajima of Japan, and its first scientific meeting was held in Budapest, Hungary, in 2001. In 2014, under the leadership of Professor Grzegorz Wallner of Poland, it became the Triangle Symposium of the Poland-Hungary-Japan Surgical Society, and the first meeting in this new form was held in Tokyo, Japan. After the passing of Professor Kitajima in 2019, the society went through a difficult period. However, under the continued guidance of Professor Sandor and Professor Wallner, Professor Wojciech Kielan of Poland, Professor Attila Szijarto of Hungary, and I became the new presidents, and the fifth scientific meeting was held in Nagoya, Japan, in 2025.

I sincerely hope that academic interaction among many surgeons will continue to flourish within this newly advancing triangle. I look forward very much to seeing you all in Wroclaw, Poland.