Meal and Learns
Everyone is welcome to attend Meal and Learns, but space is limited. Priority will be given to those who register in advance; any remaining seats will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. If you choose not to attend a Meal and Learn, you’ll be responsible for your own meal during that time.
Thank you to all our Meal and Learn sponsors!
Lunch and Learn
Thursday September 24
11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
Clinical Implications of Type 2 Inflammation in Patients With Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE)
Speakers: Dany Raad & Greg Sayuk
Problem Base Learning (PBL) Case - Adult Patient Case: A 32-Year-Old Man with Progressive Dysphagia
SPONSORED BY:
Dinner and Learn
Thursday, September 24
6:30 – 8:00 PM
Optimizing LINX™ patient selection: Diagnostic best practices and clinical pearls
Moderator: John Lipham, MD, FACS USC Keck School of Medicine
Guest Panelists: Caitlin Houghton, MD USC Keck School of Medicine; Gopal Grandhige, MD HCA Healthcare Florida; G. Kevin Gillian, MD Virginia Hospital Center; Woody Martin, MD OhioHealth Physician Group
Join us for an interactive dinner symposium at the 2026 AFS Annual Meeting to learn how the LINX™ Reflux Management System continues to redefine the surgical treatment of reflux disease.
Download flyer here.
SPONSORED BY:
Dinner and Learn
Thursday, September 24
6:30 – 8:00 PM
cTIF Enters a New Era: Evidence That’s Reshaping Reflux Care
Speaker: Dr. Barham Abu Dayyeh
Join us for dinner at AFS 2026 on Thursday, September 24, as Dr. Barham Abu Dayyeh presents findings from a multicenter, randomized, blinded study comparing cTIF with LNF. Bring your questions for an expert panel discussion.
SPONSORED BY:
Lunch and Learn
Friday, September 25
12:00 – 1:30 PM
Low-Risk on Histology. High-Risk in Reality: Johnny Walker's journey with Barrett's esophagus
Speakers: Mark Amorosino, MD, Gastro Health; David Forcione, MD, Baptist Health; Johnny Walker, Patient Ambassador
Come hear Johnny Walker share the story of his unexpected diagnosis of non-dysplastic Barrett's esophagus and how TissueCypher risk stratification helped his gastroenterologist, Dr. Mark Amorosino, identify hidden progression risk. This led to a referral to interventional gastroenterologist Dr. David Forcione, who discovered progression as ablative therapy was initiated. All three will be present for questions during this panel discussion.
Download PDF here.
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Lunch and Learn
Friday, September 25
12:00 – 1:30 PM
RefluxStop® Now FDA Approved: The Mechanism, the Data, and the Global Experience
Speakers: John Lipham (Moderator), Ahmed Ahmed, Tripp Buckley, Walter Chan, Christy Dunst, Moustafa Elshafei, Prakash Gyawali, Peter Kahrilas, Thorsten Lehmann, Felice Schnoll-Sussman, Sebastian Schoppmann, Jörg Zehetner
Join us for an expert panel discussion on the newly approved RefluxStop® device for GERD.
Who Should Attend?
This panel is designed for foregut surgeons, gastroenterologists, and referring physicians. It will offer a comprehensive look at integrating this innovation into clinical practice.
Attendees will gain valuable insights into FDA approved indications for use, Evidence-based strategies for patient selection, Treatment mechanism of action, 5+ years clinical data alongside global real-world experience, and much more!
Do not miss this opportunity to advance your understanding of the newest surgical solution for GERD and how to optimize patient outcomes. Get ahead of the conversation. RefluxStop® is not available for sale in all regions. Contact Implantica for availability in your region. Please see our data privacy statement
SPONSORED BY:
Lunch and Learn
Friday, September 25
12:00 – 1:30 PM
Strengthening the Hiatal Repair: Addressing Tension and Recurrence
Speakers: Rasa Zarnegar, MD, FACS and Caitlin Houghton, MD
SPONSORED BY:
Petite Lunch and Learn
Friday, September 25
12:00 – 1:30 PM
Predicting Surgical-Site Infections Early: Breakthrough Results from the Multicenter SPRED Study on Perioperative Immune Profiling
Speakers: Benjamin Choisy, MD, MSc, co-founder and Head of Medical Affairs, Surge
Surgical-site infections (SSIs) remain a major complication in up to 17.6% of patients undergoing elective abdominal surgery, despite modern prevention bundles. Traditional risk tools, such as the ACS-NSQIP risk score and postoperative C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, often fail to capture individual immune responses in time to make actionable clinical adjustments.
Join the Surge Team for this Product Theater session to explore data from the prospective SPRED study across five French tertiary hospitals. Discover PreCyte-SSI, a rapid, 7-marker perioperative immune-functional blood test that predicts 30-day SSI risk:
Preoperative Accuracy: On the day of surgery, PreCyte-SSI predicts SSI risk with an AUROC of 0.82, significantly outperforming the ACS-NSQIP surgical risk estimate (AUROC 0.58).
Early Postoperative Insight: On Postoperative Day 1 (POD1), PreCyte-SSI achieves an AUROC of 0.87, outperforming POD1 CRP (AUROC 0.62).
Accelerated Clinical Decision-Making: PreCyte-SSI delivers the sensitivity of a POD5 CRP test four days earlier in the postoperative period, with fewer false positives.
Impact on Recovery Pathways: Learn how early risk stratification provides an actionable foundation for targeted infection surveillance, personalized prevention, and potential reduction in hospital length of stay.
SPONSORED BY:
Petite Lunch and Learn
Saturday, September 26
12:00 – 1:30 PM
Title TBD
Speakers: TBD
Description coming soon.
SPONSORED BY:
