site.btaBulgarian Medicine, Surgery Are at World-Class Level, Visiting Prof. Ho-Seong Han of South Korea Says

Science, medicine, and surgery in Bulgaria are of a very high, world-class standard, as evidenced by the participants in the conference, said Prof. Ho-Seong Han of South Korea in a BTA interview. He participated in the 20th International Conference of the Bulgarian Association of Surgeons, Gastroenterologists and Oncologists, held under the motto "Hot Topics in Surgical Oncology and Gastroenterology". The event at the National Palace of Culture (NDK) congress centre in Sofia began on May 8 and concludes Saturday, May 10.

Prof. Ho-Seong Han is a distinguished South Korean surgeon, internationally renowned for his pioneering work in hepatobiliary and pancreatic (HBP) surgery, as well as minimally invasive surgical techniques. He is a professor at Seoul National University College of Medicine and practices at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital.

"At the conference, I presented innovations in liver and pancreatic surgery, particularly the challenges of operating on difficult-to-access anatomical locations," Prof. Han said.

Asked whether robotic surgery could replace surgeons in the future, he responded by pointing out how medicine has evolved: "In the beginning, doctors had only a stethoscope to diagnose. But that changed with the advent of ultrasound, CT scans, and MRI – all tools that improved diagnostics."
"I believe artificial intelligence can be another such tool in diagnostics," he said. "Robot-assisted surgery will become increasingly widespread, but the surgeon must remain in control. AI is just an instrument," the South Korean surgeon emphasized.  

Prof. Han also shared that this is his second visit to Bulgaria, having previously visited Varna about 9 or 10 years ago. "I have many close friends here. Sofia is a beautiful city, with wonderful architecture, and the people are lovely," he said.

"I hope for closer cooperation with my Bulgarian colleagues, so that we can fight cancer together," he concluded.