Amsterdam, November 12, 2016
On Saturday morning, November 12th, 2016, in a cold and foggy Amsterdam, the FIGIJ Session on Pediatric and Adolescent Ginecology took place at the 24th International Congress “Controversies in Obstetrics, Gynecology and Infertility”, organized by Prof. Zion Ben Rafael from Israel. The session was housed in an austere room of the Old Stock Exchange and it was co-chaired by Prof Creatsas from Athens, (Honorary President of FIGIJ) and Gabriele Tridenti (Vice President of FIGIJ); its main topics were HPV infection , fertility preservation and adolescent pregnancy, with quite a numerous audience attending the meeting.
The Belgian Mireille Merckx (FIGIJ Board Member) showed updated data on the prevalence of HPV among young women and young girls all around the world. She stressed this infection may give rise to gynecologic and non-gynecologic malignancies and it may also be contracted in cases of sexual abuse.
She disclosed the next marketing of Gardasil 9, recent evolution of the old vaccine, which is effective against nine different viral strains, and she proposed the routine vaccination of all sexually abused children.
The Dutch Evelien Roos (FIGIJ Board Member) made a speech about currently available techniques of fertility preservation, experimental ones included.
She focused on the healing rates of cancer in children, still too different between Western countries and developing ones.
Gabriele Tridenti reported on teenage pregnancy in the world, mainly stressing its peculiar clinical patterns and care needs. The simultaneous presence of two still growing living organisms (the adolescent mother and her fetus) gives rise to a competition for nutrients enhancing the incidence of low fetal growth. Furthermore, the incomplete development of teenage genital organs increases the rates of preterm labor.
The FIGIJ session was followed by a session on Adolescent Gynecology organized by the COGI Congress itself, with the participation of Prof. Alessandra Graziottin from Milan, who spoke about hormonal contraceptives as a reliable treatment of chronic pelvic pain.