The International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO) is a federation composed of national associations of bariatric surgeons. Currently, 72 nations are officially members of IFSO. There are also individual members from countries that thus far have not formed a national association.
IFSO has mainly been a scientific organization, bringing together surgeons and allied health professionals, such as nurse practitioners, dieticians, nutritionists, psychologists, internists and anesthesiologists, involved in the treatment of morbidly obese patients, but in the upcoming years, IFSO will maintain and extend its role in the challenge of bariatric surgery.
IFSO is growing into a professional organization, with the goal to support its members in aspectsdirectly related to their profession. IFSO's main activity is currently the organization of the yearly World Congress, which provides a forum to exchange knowledge on surgical treatment of severely obese patients, to present new techniques, research and concepts, and to meet the experts in the field.
IFSO has also produced a number of guidelines, such as selection criteria for bariatric patients, minimal requirements for bariatric surgeons, and Statements on morbid obesity, its treatment, and innovation and is committed to assist the creation of a system for accreditation of individual surgeons and bariatric centres around the globe. The main goal of IFSO is optimization of the treatment of severely obese patients and those with various metabolic disorders.
IFSO is controlled by the General Council which is composed by two members from each national society. The General council appoints an executive board and elects the officers of the Federation. The General Council also appoints the Chairman and the Members of the different Committees of the Federation such as the Credentialing Committee, which will endorse Centres of Excellence programs worldwide and assist as appropriate, IFSO Societies and Regional Chapters (European Chapter including Africa and Middle East, North America's, Latin America's and Asia-Pacific Chapter) to improve the overall quality of management for patients undergoing bariatric and metabolic surgery.
More information : www.ifso.com