As we continue our preparation for the ISHRS 2026 World Congress in Rio de Janeiro, I want to share a brief update on our guiding vision and the work underway behind the scenes.
Our central theme this year is Integrity, the core principle that hair restoration surgery must be performed exclusively by qualified, properly trained medical doctors and surgeons, never delegated to unlicensed personnel. This Congress is designed to reinforce and elevate that standard globally.
In the scientific program, we are building dedicated sessions that address the real-world essentials of surgeon-performed care, including:
- Ergonomics for the hair surgeon – how to protect the surgeon’s body, maintain endurance, and reduce fatigue during long FUE and FUT cases.
- Optimizing OR workflow – efficient surgical flow, safe team coordination, and quality-control protocols within a properly maintained surgical clean environment, while ensuring that the surgeon remains the primary operator.
- Practical, surgeon-led techniques – the subtle refinements, pearls, and “tricks of the trade” that only hands-on surgeons can truly teach.
- Personalized patient care – showcasing how surgeon-delivered treatment improves outcomes, ethics, and patient trust.
- Comprehensive Education for Surgeons and Surgical Assistants
A major component of our program development this year is ensuring that we cover the most important topics relevant to modern hair restoration surgeons, including donor management strategies, advanced implantation techniques, regenerative therapies, complication prevention, and long-term patient planning.
At the same time, we recognize that exceptional outcomes depend on more than just the surgeon. A highly trained surgical assistant team is essential to deliver safe, efficient, surgeon-led care. To support this, the Rio Congress will feature a dedicated Surgical Assistant Educational Program, designed to strengthen skills, reinforce best practices, and enhance teamwork between surgeons and their clinical staff.
This dual approach reflects our commitment to elevating the standards of our profession through comprehensive, hands-on education for the entire surgical team.
Our goal is to empower every attendee with actionable strategies to build or enhance a practice based on high-quality, undiluted, surgeon-performed care – a standard the ISHRS community continues to defend and lead.
I welcome collaboration, ideas, and suggestions from my colleagues as we shape this Congress together. The strength of our event comes from the collective experience of our global society, and I am committed to making the Rio 2026 Congress a reflection of that shared expertise and integrity.
More updates will follow next month as program development continues.
Maxim Chumak, MD, FISHRS, ABHRS Diplomate
Program Chair