A Short History of the European Society of Paediatric Endoscopic Surgeons (ESPES)

During the late 1960s, well before their counterparts in adult surgery, Stephen Gans and George Berci anticipated the future of endoscopic surgery (minimal invasive surgery (MIS)) in infants and children would be promising. However, progress in the evolvement of this subspecialty remained slow, partly due to the minimal levels of political and commercial interest this type of surgery attracts in a small speciality like paediatrics. Furthermore, surgery in children encompasses a wide variety of conditions in a wide range of patients of differing age groups and sizes.