Early bird registration is available through August 14.

By Tonya Johnson

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) will hold its 89th Annual Plastic Surgery The Meeting (PSTM) virtually, from Friday, October 16 to Sunday, October 18. The event had been scheduled to take place in San Francisco, Calif, through Monday, October 19. In conjunction with ‘Virtual Plastic Surgery The Meeting’, the 11th Annual World Society of Simulation Surgery (WSSS) Meeting will also take place online, October 19. Visit the web page for further details.

In a letter signed by ASPS president Lynn Jeffers, MD, MBA, FACS, and fellow board members from The Plastic Surgery Foundation, American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons, American Society of Plastic Surgery Professionals (ASPSP), and The Rhinoplasty Society, the group stated: “While we are disappointed that we can’t be together in person, ASPS and our partner societies are excited to come together virtually to provide this premier program with both live-online and on-demand components (Friday, October 9 through Monday, November 30), including CME [continuing medical education] accreditation.”

REGISTRANT INFORMATION AND PROGRAM SCHEDULE

Registrants for the in-person meeting in San Francisco may receive 100% refund with no cancelation fee by contacting ASPS Member Services at (800) 766-4955. A new registration process for Virtual Plastic Surgery The Meeting will be available mid-July. If you made travel plans to attend Plastic Surgery The Meeting 2020 in San Francisco, the organization advises members to cancel those arrangements to avoid penalties. And according to the PSTM 2020 Hotel and Travel web page, hotel reservations, made through the official annual meeting housing bureau, Event Sphere, will be automatically cancelled without penalty. You will receive a cancellation acknowledgement with a cancellation number for your records.

The society is currently planning a full schedule of events for the virtual meeting. Early bird registration for the event is available through August 14.

“We are looking forward to our first ever virtual meeting this fall. You can expect access to many outstanding expert speakers and evocative conversations accompanied with meaningful involvement. As this is our maiden virtual voyage, we will all play an important role in our success,” ASPSP president Joanne Dennison states. “There has never been a more important time to connect and discuss current business challenges and future projections than now. We are all in this together and together we can strategize present day challenges while setting solutions in place. This isn’t just about earning coveted CMEs, it’s also about facing the future with knowledge and certainty.”

ASPS has been looking forward to hosting PSTM 2020 in San Francisco for some time but says that protecting the health and safety of its members, staff and guests is a top priority. “It is a great disappointment that ASPS is unable to host PSTM as a physical meeting this year,” stated the board members. “We hope, however, to turn this into an opportunity to deliver an innovative experience without walls.”

Tonya Johnson is associate editor of Plastic Surgery Practice.