Officers of the Executive Committee

President

Dr Arnaldo Valedon

Arnaldo Valedon, MD is an anesthesiologist practicing day surgery and perioperative management for eighteen years. He received his education in the Unites States, (U.S.) starting with a bachelors degree in science at Cornell University in 1987 and followed by a doctorate degree in medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in 1991. He continued his training in anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, with sub-specialty training in pediatric anesthesia at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.After finishing his training, Dr. Valedon has provided outpatient anesthesia services almost exclusively. He has served as medical director of two outpatient surgery centers, and as President of Summit Anesthesia and Perioperative Management since 1998. This practice was merged into First Colonies Anesthesia Associates in 2004, for which he serves as a managing partner and chief of the ambulatory surgery division.

He is a board member of the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) and the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Healthcare (AAAHC) representing ASCA. He is also a board member of AAAHC-International (Acreditas Global), and a member of the General Assembly and Executive Committee for the International Association for Ambulatory Surgery (IAAS).Dr. Valedon has been involved with the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) as part of the ambulatory surgery committee, as well as the Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia (SAMBA) as a board member, chair of the Latin-American relations committee, and co-chair of the committee on office-based anesthesia. He has been an invited speaker at multiple conferences nationally and abroad.
Dr. Valedon is the president and CEO of Knightstone Consulting Group and has been actively consulting on day surgery and perioperative management in the U.S., Central and South America, India, and the United Kingdom since 2000. 

Immediate Past President

Dr Carlos Magalhães

I am currently the President of the Portuguese Ambulatory Association (Associação Portuguesa de Cirurgia Ambulatória – APCA) since 2010 and my general work in surgery is related with Ambulatory Surgery, since 2005.I worked from 2005 to 2010 as General Surgeon, in the Ambulatory Surgery Unit of Hospital Geral de Santo António – Porto.Since 2011 I was invited to be the Director of the Unit of General Ambulatory Surgery of Centro Integrado de Cirurgia de Ambulatório (CICA), located in Centro Hospitalar do Porto.
CICA is one of the biggest ASU in Portugal, totally autonomous, were we perform all the ambulatory surgical acivity of Centro Hospitalar do Porto. In 2014 it were made about 15.000 surgical interventions with a medium of 300/week with general anaesthesia.

I am the responsible for the Unit of General Ambulatory Surgery, that has 5 Surgeons working mainly in the field of Ambulatory Surgery. We perform about 80 interventions/week with general and local anaesthesia, including neck sugery, abdominal wall (including Laparoscopic aproach), laparoscopic cholecystectomy and antireflux laparoscopic surgery.I participated, since 2010, in several activities of IAAS including International Congress, Meetings and General Assembly.

Past President

Professor Douglas McWhinnie

Doug McWhinnie graduated from Glasgow University Medical School in 1977 and was appointed Clinical Lecturer in Surgery and Surgical Tutor at Oxford University in 1983. While completing his research MD with Honours in the immunology of Renal Transplant rejection, he developed an interest in day surgery  through day case laparoscopic cholecystectomy and laparoscopic inguinal hernia rapair. He was appointed Consultant general and Vascular Surgeon in Milton Keynes in 1993 and in 1997 opened the first dedicated 23 hour unit in the UK to complement an expanding day unit.  Doug was an executive member of the commissioning group which , in 2005,opened the Milton Keynes Ambulatory Treatment Centre successfully co-locating preassessment, day surgery and 23 hour surgery in the same building.

In 1998, he became a council member of the British Association of Day Surgery, and having held a number of executive positions, was appointed President of the Association in 2008. After joining the General Assembly of IAAS in 2010, he was appointed Surgical Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Ambulatory Surgery the following year and to the Executive Council in 2013. Doug has lectured widely and  published extensively on ambulatory surgery. He co-authored the Oxford Handbook of Day Case Surgery,  and has contributed to several standard surgical textbooks on day surgery. His main interest relates to patient safety and the design of ambulatory pathways.In addition to his work in ambulatory surgery, Doug is Professor and  Director of Clinical Studies for the new independent University of Buckingham Medical School, with the first intake of students in January 2015. 

Professor Marc Coppens

Dr. Coppens is Professor in Anaesthesia at Ghent University Hospital and is the Head of the Ambulatory Surgery Unit of the University Hospital Ghent, and President of the BAAS, Belgian Association of Ambulatory Surgery. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

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Dr. Naresh Row 

Naresh Row is a General Surgeon who founded the Indian Association of Day Surgery in 2003 and he is currently their President. He is the Director of The One Day Surgery Centre in Mumbai which is one of the first multi-specialty day surgery centres in India. He has published widely on Ambulatory Surgery including 2 books and has spoken at many National and International meetings around the world.

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Dr. Xavier Falieres

Xavier Falieres was born in France. He studied general medicine and emergency medicine in France, anesthesiology in Belgium. He lives since 1993 in The Netherlands where he is working as peri-operative anesthesiologist since 2002 at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital, a major teaching Hospital near Rotterdam. He is now medical director of the ambulatory care in his hospital and president of the Dutch Society for Ambulatory Care. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

He is for 10 years regularly present in Myanmar to teach and to give workshops. He is lecturer at the University of Medicine 1 in Yangon.His major interests in anesthesiology are opioid free anesthesia, loco-regional anesthesia, thorax surgery, obstetrics, anesthesia in geriatric patient, Orthopedic surgery, day case surgery.

Dr. Girish Joshi

Girish P. Joshi, MBBS, MD, FFARCSI is a Professor of Anesthesiology and Pain Management at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas. He is an attending anesthesiologist at the Parkland Health and Hospital System, Dallas, Texas. Dr. Joshi received his medical degree (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, M.B.B.S.) and Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) in anesthesiology from B.J. Medical College at the University of Pune, India.He received his fellowship in anesthesiology (F.F.A.R.C.S.I.) from the College of Anaesthetists, Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland, and then received a M.D. degree from the University College Dublin, Ireland.

He is a diplomate of the American Board of Anesthesiology.
Dr. Joshi has published numerous original articles, review articles and editorial in several high impact journals. He has been an invited speaker at many National and International conferences. He is an Executive Section Editor for Anesthesia & Analgesia and a Section Editor for UpToDate. He is the Past President of Society For Ambulatory Anesthesia (SAMBA), Society of Anesthesia and Sleep Medicine (SASM), and the Texas Society of Anesthesiologists (TSA). He serves on the Board of Directors of Acreditas Global. He is a member of the Procedure Specific Pain Management (PROSPECT) Group, an international collaboration of anesthesiologists and surgeons that formulates evidence-based procedure specific pain management recommendations. In addition, the Prospect group is the Think Tank contributing to European Society of Anesthesiologists vision on perioperative medicine. 

Fábio Alves Soares, MD, MSc, TSBC, TFBG

Dr. Soares is a distinguished surgeon, fully specialized in Coloproctology and Gastroenterology, based in Brasília, Brazil. He is a founding member and Immediate Past President of the Brazilian Society of Ambulatory Surgery (SOBRACAM), the first national Latin American ambulatory surgery association to be admitted as a full member of the International Association for Ambulatory Surgery (IAAS). Since 2021, Dr. Soares has been a member of the IAAS General Assembly, and in 2024, he was elected to the IAAS Management Body for the 2024-2026 term. He serves as the Supervisor of the Medical Residency Program in Coloproctology at the Hospital de Base do Distrito Federal (HBDF), the largest hospital in the Central-West region of Brazil.

In private practice, he is also the Medical Director of an Ambulatory Surgery Unit in Brasília.

President Elect

Dr. Luis Hidalgo Grau

MD in the University of Barcelona in 1980. PhD in the Autonomous University of Barcelona in 1993. General and Digestive Surgery Specialist. Residence in the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau. Autonomous University of Barcelona (Barcelona, Spain).
Master in Hospital Management in 2001 (University of Barcelona). Member of the Department of General and Digestive Surgery in Hospital de Mataró (Barcelona, Spain). Colorectal Surgery Unit Coordinator. DSU Coordinator of Hospital de Mataró (Barcelona, Spain).
President of ASECMA (Spanish Society for Ambulatory Surgery). Member of the General Assembly of the IAAS. Member of the Executive Committee of the Catalan Society of Surgery.

Dr. Mads Moxness

Mads Henrik Strand Moxness is the current President of the Norwegian Association of Daysurgery (NORDAF) and is a double board certified ENT and facial plastic surgeon. He attended the Norwegian military medical academy in 1988-89 and finished his medical degree in Oslo in 1996. He started out in general surgery and orthopedics and later went on to ENT and Head & Neck Surgery in 1999. He has worked as an ENT surgeon at St Olavs Hospital in Trondheim and later did his board exams in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery in London, UK. He has been a consultant surgeon at Bodø Hospital, OMNIA, Trondheim Specialist Hospital as well as Aleris Hospital in Trondheim, Tromsø and Stavanger and served as an affiliated consultant for the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra. He is currently serving as a consultant at Aleris Hospital in Trondheim.

He has also an extensive career in medical research, and holds a Phd in biomechanics of the upper airways from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). In 2017 he was elected a board member of NORDAF and has now served as President since 2021. In 2024 NORDAF arranged the 15th International Congress on Ambulatory Surgery in Oslo, and he was at that time elected as an officer of the executive committee.

Marie-Louise Ulsoe

Self-employed adviser, presenter, teacher and clinic owner. Have been working in Ambulatory Surgery since 1995 and helped started Ambulatory Surgery at two hospitals in Denmark and have developed the perioperative section in two hospitals. A section which has been developed after inspiration from the Ambulatory Surgery. Has been a manager for 23 years and the last 15 years as a manager at strategic level. From 2000 until 2023.
President for the Danish Association of Ambulatory Surgery (DSDK) since 2021, have been member since 2009 and Vice President from 2016 until 2021. Member of IAAS since 2016.
Educations: EMBA Executive Master of Business Administration in Business Psychology, Pathfinder program for leaders, Pathfinder A/S Diploma in Management, Merconom education in management, Nurse education, Reflexology therapist, Board education..Teaches on the Perioperative Education in the Central Denmark Region.

Professor Zhenzhong ZHANG

Honorary Director-General, China National Health Development Research Center, NHFPC, China Vice Chair，Secretary-General, China Health Economics Association President, China Ambulatory Surgery Alliance Consultant for Public Health, Ministry of Civil Affairs, China. In recent years, Prof. Zhang Zhenzhong has been committed to China’s health development strategy, research on health policy and health management, national health resources allocation, medical insurance system, and medical and health services. Professor Zhang was the top designer and principle technical adviser of the first MFA project in China, namely, the Medical Financial Assistance for the Extremely Poor People in the Health Ⅷ Project funded by the World Bank.

And he was also the principle investigator of the “Standardization of National Fee Schedule for Medical Procedures and Services, 2001 and 2012 version. He was also the team leader of “Regulation on pricing and payment of C-DRG”. He have created and led the team of China Ambulatory Surgery Alliance, specializing in technology research, management research, health policy research, academic communication and related training in the field of day surgery. He have made great efforts in promoting the rapid development of China day surgery from the spontaneous stage to a organized, targeted, and standardized development stage, which providing the policy reference for Chinese government to develop day surgery. In 2015, it was officially included in the key parts of national medical reform. In recent years, professor Zhang has been working as the country coordinator in several cross-country research projects on health development and health care reform funded by international agencies, such as EU commission, the World Bank, DFID, WHO, etc, involving leading health research institutions and experts from other countries. He was also the top designer and consultant for many poverty relief projects in China. He was invited to write the health-related part in the “2005 China Human Development Report” which was co-launched by the Chinese MOH and UNDP. He wrote a chapter on “Healthcare for the China in the Ten Years after Asian Economic Crisis” funded by the China Development Foundation. He also wrote a chapter on “Healthcare Reforms after China’s Opening Up and Reform” and “ Welfare Society in China”.

Webmaster (ex officio)

Dr. Ian Jackson

Dr Jackson qualified from Aberdeen Medical School in 1981. He spent a period in Obstetrics and Paediatrics prior to pursuing a career in Anaesthesia. During his General Professional Training he developed a keen interest in the management of postoperative pain and in the use of regional anaesthesia in particular. He is a life member of the European Society of Regional Anaesthesia. Dr Jackson became responsible for the development of Day Surgery in York in 1991. He led the redesign of short stay surgery in York creating a 6 theatre day unit that includes an overnight stay area. He then moved into a management role as a Chief Clinical Information Officer supporting the development of safer patient care through the use of technology. He was elected to the Council of the British Association of Day Surgery in 1994 and has served as the Honorary Treasurer, Editor of the Journal and the President. He introduced and ran the BADS website for several years. Since joining the General Assembly of the International Association for Ambulatory Surgery he has redeveloped the website (www.iaas-med.com) and helped establish the journal Ambulatory Surgery as a free access online resource (www.ambulatorysurgery.org).

His varied publications include articles on acute pain, anaesthetic equipment and safety and an anaesthetic textbook Companion to Clinical Anaesthesia Exams. In 1997 Bailliere Tindall published a textbook Day Surgery Principles & Nursing Practice that he co-authoured with his colleague Heather Cahill. He is co-editor of a textbook Day Case Surgery published on 2012 by Oxford Medical Publications and has authored many chapters on day surgery including in the latest edition of Bailey & Love’s Short Practice of Surgery.

Editor in Chief (ex officio)

Dr. Mark Skues

Mark graduated from Nottingham University Medical School in 1980, and after house jobs in Stoke-on-Trent, Nottingham and training in cardiorespiratory medicine in Mansfield, embarked on a career in Anaesthesia, with posts in Nottingham, Bristol, Hamilton New Zealand, and Sheffield. He was appointed Consultant in Anaesthesia and Intensive Therapy in 1992 in Chester. A subsequent competitive interview in 1999 saw him appointed as Director of Day Surgery in the same trust that coincided with the development of a new stand-alone five theatre Day Surgery Centre that opened in 2001. He was appointed to Council of the British Association of Day Surgery in 2009, was the Editor of the Journal of One Day Surgery from 2009 to 2011, President Elect from 2010 to 2012, and President of the Association between 2012 and 2014. Mark was appointed a member and subsequently Chair of the Scientific Subcommittee for Ambulatory Anaesthesia with the European Society of Anaesthesiology from 2014 to 2018. He was appointed as an Editor of the Journal ‘Ambulatory Surgery’ in 2015.

Dr Skues is an author of over 100 peer reviewed papers, including three book chapters on Ambulatory Surgery, and has lectured nationally and internationally on a variety of topics.