Expertise and Excellence, the 2012 ASGBI conference was held at Liverpool's BT Convention Centre, 9-11 May. Clare McNaught reports

More than 1600 delegates attended the conference, which ran in tandem with the meetings of the Association of Trauma and Military Surgeons and the UK Medical Students Association.

The opening session “Pushing the boundaries of surgical technique” discussed major technological advances in SILS, Robotic and Interventional Vascular Surgery, but few will forget the heart-wrenching presentation on conjoint twins, delivered by Mr Edward Kiely from Great Ormond Street.

In April, the Faculty was invited to take part in a careers event for final year dental students and recently graduated dentists at the Royal Society of Medicine in London

 Held on Saturday 21 April, there were almost 90 attendees at the RSM’s dental careers event, with the programme consisting of short presentations in the morning and an open session with trade stands from a wide range of organisations in the afternoon.

The event brought together Deans and Vice Deans from the three Dental Faculties of the Royal Colleges of England and Edinburgh, the Postgraduate Dental Dean for London, the Project Director for Workforce Intelligence at the English Department of Health, the Dental Defence Union and the General Dental Council.

Further investment in research studies and stronger ties with other disciplines were key themes from opinion leaders at the 27th Annual EAU Congress, held in Paris, 24 to 28 February

 Experts who lectured and spoke on optimal treatment strategies during the congress were united in saying that significant gains made in medical and surgical management in recent years can only lead to better healthcare if innovative studies and the crucial role of closely working with other specialists are consistently pursued.