The 4th Kuwait Obesity Conference — Current Medical & Surgical Treatment of Obesity takes place on 2–3 November 2026 in the Al Hashemi Ballroom at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Kuwait. It is held under the patronage and in the presence of Dr. Sheikh Salman AlSabah, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health, and is presided over by Dr. Shehab Abdullah Ekrouf, with Dr. Mohammad Jamal — founder of the Kuwait Obesity Surgery Conference and Program Director of the Bariatric Surgery Training Program in Kuwait — heading the organising committee.
The conference is affiliated with the Kuwait Obesity Association, KUSMMBS, Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital Surgery, Scalpel Circle, Dasman Diabetes Institute, the Kuwait Association of Surgeons and the Ministry of Health of the State of Kuwait. Registration is free, and the meeting carries 11 CME/CPD credits (the accrediting body is not stated on the official site).
Day 1 — Monday 2 November: Surgical Track (13:00–20:00). Session 1, Technical Pearls, covers the perfect sleeve gastrectomy, stapled versus hand-sewn gastrojejunostomy, biliary limb length in OAGB, SADI/SASI and duodenal switch, preventing staple-line leaks and bleeding, hiatal hernia repair during bariatric surgery and revisional surgery, followed by a revisional-surgery case discussion. Session 2, When Bariatric Surgery Goes Wrong, is a series of complication videos (intrathoracic sleeve migration, small-bowel injury and internal hernia after RYGB, marginal ulcer), revision for malabsorption and "my biggest complication", with an expert panel. Session 3, Expert Updates & Regulations, covers extended VTE prophylaxis, EndoFLIP in bariatric surgery, GLP-1 agonists and peri-operative gastroparesis, narrow-therapeutic-index drugs after malabsorptive procedures, colorectal cancer implications of obesity, and a panel on Kuwait's new 2026 bariatric regulation.
Day 2 — Tuesday 3 November: Medical Track (08:00–16:30). International faculty Prof. Carel le Roux (Ireland) and Prof. Donna Ryan (USA) lead sessions on the physiology of obesity, treat-to-target, the 30+ obesity drugs expected by 2030, lean and muscle loss, adherence, super-responders and whether obesity medication will replace bariatric surgery. Further talks cover obesity and menopause, nutrition strategies, the obesity–kidney connection and MASLD, a debate on over-the-counter obesity medications, and a closing panel on building an obesity medicine service in Kuwait. A Lilly industry symposium runs at midday.
Workshops (Tuesday 3 November): Surgical Staplers Workshop, 14:30–17:00 (150 minutes); and Starting Your GLP-1 (Weight-Loss Medical) Practice, 17:15–18:45 (90 minutes).
Faculty include Dr. Carlos Abril (Spain), Prof. Carel le Roux (Ireland), Prof. Donna Ryan (USA), Dr. Evangelos and Prof. Shaun Preston (UK), and Kuwaiti experts including Dr. Mohammad Jamal, Dr. Khaled Alyaqout, Dr. Abdulaziz Ali Karam, Prof. Mousa Khurshid, Dr. Ebaa Al Ozairi, Dr. Khalil Alshowaiker, Dr. Waleed Aldahi and Dr. Thamer Al Essa.
Sponsors: Lilly (Premium Diamond); AlSultan United Medical Co., Johnson & Johnson, Advanced Technology Company and Novo Nordisk (Diamond).
The conference is aimed at bariatric and general surgeons, endocrinologists, internists, obesity-medicine physicians, dietitians and allied professionals across Kuwait and the Gulf.
