In accordance with the tradition of the ISCFS to rotate our biennial Congresses across the continents, we just finished an interesting meeting in Shanghai, China. Next in line is Europe and it is my great pleasure to invite you all to Rotterdam, the Netherlands for the 22nd Congress from September 7th to 10th in 2027.

The leading theme for this meeting will be team care. We already have a good representation within our society’s membership of plastic surgeons, neurosurgeons, maxillofacial surgeons and orthodontists. But true team care also involves active participation by ophthalmologists, ENT surgeons, anesthesiologists, radiologists, clinical geneticists, researchers, psychologists and many others. Our Pre-Congress Symposium will deal with topics that have a shared interest. One such topic is the difficult airway in craniofacial anomalies, ranging from making the correct diagnosis of disturbed breathing, airway evaluation and its management during midface surgery, and evaluating the effect on the child´s development.

Our goal is to increase the impact that we can make for our patients and joining forces will deliver this. Hopefully, all your team members will be eager to actively participate in taking this next step. During the congress, time will be dedicated to ensuring this multidisciplinary input. We will also facilitate plenty of time to meet each other in an informal way to stimulate collaboration among the participants, for instance by organizing a dinner party for all participants as an alternative to the traditional gala dinner.

The inspiring venue of the Congress will be De Doelen, a concert and convention venue in the city center. Originally built in 1934, it was destroyed during the bombardment of Rotterdam in May 1940 at the outset of World War II. Rebuilt in 1966, today it is a recognized national monument and serves as the home of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra.

Traveling to Rotterdam is very easy. After arriving at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, the train from the airport takes you to the Rotterdam city center within 30 minutes. Both the congress venue and the congress hotels are within a five-minute walk from the central train station. The city offers you numerous social activities and restaurants of various nationalities, including nine with Michelin stars, to have a wonderful time in Rotterdam.

Irene Mathijssen
2025-2027 ISCFS President