ACOG Annual Meeting - San Diego

Hey guys. On the road again. Decided to go to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Annual Meeting in San Diego starting this weekend. Since my specialty area is in Maternal-Fetal Medicine, I don’t get to the ACOG Meeting much anymore. The usual hot topics for discussion, menopause, osteoporosis, and contraception (all very important) aren’t overly relevant in my area and besides the first and last of those put me out of business, although I don’t see that happening anytime soon. (Don’t take care of too many perimenopausal pregnant women much anymore since I left Minneapolis about 5 years ago, although I did have a consult with a 53 year old woman a few months back who is thinking of spending the BIG BUCKS to get pregnant but that post is for another day!).

Anyway, I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to spend a few days in San Diego this year. It has to be one of my favorite cities. Between the weather and the ocean and the people and the weather and the ocean....guess you get the picture. I am a 'back to the sea' sort of person and this is as close to an ideal place to live as I have ever been. I was at first disappointed by my hotel location. Being a little late to get in my application for the meeting, I was apparently placed at “the only convention hotel that still had rooms available,” the Hotel del Coronado. When I realized this (after we had already landed in San Diego this afternoon), having ignored the itinerary my secretary had handed me on Friday, my first thought was that I was going to miss all the downtown convention-related activities (the meeting is at the San Diego Convention Center and most attendees are staying at hotels in proximity to the convention venue). However, since the phamaceutical companies have been asked to reign in their spending so as not to unduly influence the weak of body, mind, and spirit, the obscene parties of past years have become fewer and more far between.

The Hotel del Coronado is on an island across the bay from the downtown area and is a wonderful Victorian style hotel that was first built in the late 1880’s. It has been host to the likes of Mary Pickford, Tallulah Bankhead, Charlie Chaplin, Greta Garbo,Mae West and of course Marilyn Monroe and their images can be found in various locations around the hotel. In fact, as I was walking to my room I spent a few moments worshipping at the gnarled century old tree that served as a backdrop for Some Like it Hot. And, you know what, after spending the afternoon waiting for my room to be ready, walking the property and the beach, watching the rolling waves, and basking in the sun and the steady ocean breeze, I had to admit that I would MUCH rather be here for my home base than downtown (in fact I would much rather be here than even take the shuttle to the meeting tomorrow, but I will try to behave myself).

Actually, I decided to come to the meeting to hear the ‘latest’ on several topics that are of interest to me, namely, recurrent pregnancy loss, cesarean section (elective and in relation to prevention of pelvic floor injury), and cervical cerclage. I have my own very strong opinions on those topics and like to know what the reputed ‘thought leaders’ in these areas currently have churning through their minds. So, I will try to be a good little ‘cub reporter’ and promise to update you on anything new and newsworthy in not only the OB, but the GYN arenas as well. There are a couple of other posts from last week I didn’t finish up that I will also try to include over the next few days if I can keep a clear head (Tiajuana is not very far away). Anyway, with the time difference between here and the east coast, I am on EST and my body thinks it's 3:00 AM, so I will quit babbling for now...

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