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Société Internationale d’Urologie

Brainchild of Felix Guyon

In 1907, Alfred Pousson (below left) and Ernest Desnos (below right), surgeons at Necker Hospital in Paris, convinced their professor, Felix Guyon, of the need to unite urologists of the world. A provisional committee was formed, the members of which were representative of the specialty in Europe and America, and the first meeting of this committee took place in Paris in October 1907.


Alfred Pousson

Ernest Desnos

Every country was invited to set up its own national committee and to elect a delegate to an international committee; thus the Association Internationale d’Urologie was founded.

Felix Guyon of France (bottom right) was President with, as Vice-president, Dr Watson (from Boston USA) and Reginald Harrison (from London UK). Harrison passed away very soon after and was replaced by Joseph Israel (from Berlin Germany). Ernest Desnos (from Paris, France) was voted General-Secretary while Pasteau (also from Paris) assumed the role of Treasurer.

The Association‘s first congress took place in Paris on 30 September 1908 with Joachim Albarran as congress President and, Posner from Berlin and Watson from Boston as vice presidents.

The second congress was held in London in 1911; the chairman was Hurry Fenwick, and the third congress was held in Berlin from 2 to 5 June 1914, just two months before the outbreak of the World War I.

In 1919, following the First World War, the Association was reborn but under a different name: the Société Internationale d’Urologie.

Felix Guyon

The first SIU congress took place in Paris in July 1921. Felix Legueu was president of the SIU and president of the first congress.

The 1939 SIU congress in New York was cancelled at the last minute due to World War II; between 1936 and 1947 no SIU congresses were held.

After the war, in 1946, Octave Pasteau (Treasurer of the Society between 1907 and 1925 and General secretary 1925-1947) initiated a meeting in Amsterdam under the presidency of Van Cappelen for reviving the SIU. GG Smith (USA) was nominated President with Clifford Morson (UK) and Pasteau as Vice-Presidents.

The first post war meeting took place in Saint Moritz (Switzerland); all nations were invited.

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