The most prestigious distinction of the National Academy of Surgery awarded to Professor Jacques Marescaux during the Academy’s formal sitting

The “Ambroise Paré Medal” was awarded to Professor Jacques Marescaux by Professor Daniel JAECK, President of the National Academy of Surgery, during the Academy of Surgery’s formal sitting, which was held on Wednesday, January 21, at the René Descartes University in Paris.

 This great distinction is awarded every year by the National Academy of Surgery to an academician with considerable influence on medicine and health.

A tribute was paid to Professor Jacques Marescaux for his work with the IRCAD in the field of minimally invasive surgery assisted by medical imaging and robotics. New surgical techniques have been created and taught to approximately 4,300 surgeons every year in Strasbourg. This has greatly contributed to the improvement of patient care in France and all over the world.

During his speech, the President of the National Academy of Surgery insisted on the major role that Strasbourg has played has an ambassador of French excellence in surgery. Thanks to its presence in Strasbourg, Taiwan, and Brazil, the Institute has become a worldwide reference in minimally invasive surgery. Each year, the 3 institutes train over 7,500 surgeons. The President of the Academy also insisted on the determining role the IRCAD has played in the creation of the only University Hospital Institute dedicated to image-guided surgery.

The ceremony took place in the prestigious René Descartes University auditorium, which was built by Louis XV in 1731 to accommodate the Royal College of Surgery.

350 people took part in this ceremony, including Jean-Yves Gall, President of the National Academy of Medicine, Jean-François Mattei, former Minister of Health, as well as numerous representatives of foreign scientific societies, from Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Laos, Vietnam, among others.

The Ambroise Paré medal was created by the National Academy of Surgery in 2010 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the birth of the father of modern surgery.

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COVID19: IRCAD sanitary measures & health pass

Please note that the IRCAD administrative board and staff are closely monitoring the evolving COVID-19 situation, in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations in France. The health, safety, and well-being of our participants, experts and staff are our top priority!
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We would like to draw your attention that the « Vaccine Pass » is now mandatory in France since end of January 2022 and replaces the former « Health Pass » to access places that are open to the public, such as cinemas, museums, cafés and restaurants, hotels as well as the IRCAD Institute which welcomes participants in the framework of its courses and seminars. Thus, a PCR test without vaccination is no longer sufficient to take part in our courses.

The vaccine pass includes a proof of the following (one of the 3 items is sufficient):

  • The vaccination certificate, proving that persons have a complete vaccination (as of January 15, 2022, all persons aged 18 and over must receive a booster dose no more than 7 months after their last injection or Covid infection to receive a valid vaccination pass. As of February 15, 2022, the time limits for keeping the pass will be reduced, you will have to do your booster dose 4 months and no longer 7 months after your 2nd dose to have a complete vaccine schedule and maintain a valid vaccine pass)
  • The result of a positive RT-PCR or antigenic test attesting to the recovery of Covid, more than 11 days and less than 4 months
  • The certificate of contraindication to vaccination

Further information about the new vaccine pass can be found at :

We very much hope to be able to count on your kind understanding of those rules which have been set by the French Government and which our Institute is required to apply