Dear Sir/Madam,

I am very pleased to invite you to the Fifth International Pancreatic Days that will be held on 12–14 June 2014 in Zakopane. For the first time we met in Ustroń in 2004 on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of forming the Department and Clinic of Digestive Tract Surgery in Katowice. During the fifth meeting, we will celebrate 40 years of our Clinic. Within 10 years so much has changed in the treatment of acute pancreatitis: the diagnostic and therapeutic methods of pancreatic cancer, neuroendocrine tumours and other rare pathologies of this organ have improved. New tools such as laparoscopy, robot and nanoknife allow us to have an optimistic outlook on the treatment, procedures and palliative activities which improve our patients’ lives considerably.

Many specialists from various fields in the diagnostics and treatment of pancreatic diseases such as gastroenterologists, radiologists and intensive care doctors will attend the Fifth International Pancreatic Days. I hope that the group of speakers we invited from numerous leading international and domestic centres and the quality of papers, presentations and workshops will satisfy the most demanding ones. During the conference, we will show the most recent technologies of the medical equipment and present offers of well-known pharmaceutical companies. I hope that our conference will meet your expectations in both the scientific and social parts.

Prof. dr hab. n. med. Paweł Lampe