The 29th biannual congress of the Société Internationale de Chirurgie (ICS) was held Sept 13 to 17, 1981, in Montreux, Switzerland. The meeting was scheduled originally for Warsaw, but potential visa difficulties prompted a change of venue. Montreux proved to be a popular substitute. The town lies at the opposite end of Lac Lêman from Geneva, one hour by train or five hours by excursion boat. In its magnificent mountain setting, Montreux commands the classic Roman road to France from Italy via Great St Bernard.
For attendees with other interests, the locale is in the wine-growing area of Switzerland and is only three hours from Zermatt and the Matterhorn. A few notable surgeons were disappointed that early snows had closed that mountain to even technical climbing.
More than 1,000 surgeons from nearly 50 countries attended clinical sessions of the congress. Generally, members of the ICS represent the senior academic and