Pacific Association of Pediatric Surgeons

What Pacific Association of Pediatric Surgeons does

Pacific Association of Pediatric Surgeons (PAPS) is a non-profit professional medical association founded in 1965 by Dr. Stephen Gans (USA) and Dr. Keijiro Suruga (Japan), with the first annual meeting held in 1968. The organization serves practicing pediatric surgeons, trainees, and allied specialists across more than 30 Pacific Rim countries, organizing an annual rotating scientific meeting (the 60th scheduled for April 2027 in Okinawa, Japan), administering membership programs, and facilitating international collaboration in pediatric surgery.

PAPS operates through a volunteer governance model led by an elected Board of Directors and officers (President, Past President, President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer), supported by 1-10 paid administrative staff. Its core 'products' are: the PAPS Annual Scientific Meeting (in-person scientific sessions, video sessions, Quick Shot presentations, posters, and the PAPS Small World Song tradition); membership tiers (Active $110/year, Trainee Fellow/Resident $55/year, plus free Senior, Honorary, Philip King, and Medical Student categories); the James Warden Global Alliance Partnership (GAP) fellowship supporting surgeons from low- and middle-income countries; the Coe Medal (highest honor, awarded since 1985) and PAPS Prize (best trainee oral presentation); and a partnership with the American Pediatric Surgical Association providing access to the Pediatric Surgery Library (NaT) digital reference.

Revenue is generated from annual membership dues (subscription/recurring) and meeting registration fees (transactional), with a portion of operating costs offset by volunteer labor and GAP program support funded through member contributions. Distribution is concentrated on the papsmeeting.com conference website and the annual in-person meeting, with membership requiring sponsorship from an existing PAPS member. The organization maintains no technology products, APIs, or AI capabilities, with its competitive advantage grounded in 60+ years of institutional continuity, a distinctive collegial culture, and a geographically distributed member network.

Name

Pacific Association of Pediatric Surgeons

Legal name

Pacific Association of Pediatric Surgeons

Website

https://papsmeeting.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1968

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Pacific Association of Pediatric Surgeons (PAPS) is a non-profit professional medical association serving pediatric surgeons across 30+ Pacific Rim countries through annual scientific meetings, membership programs, and the Global Alliance Partnership fellowship supporting surgeons from developing nations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership dues from Active Members ($110/year), Trainee Fellow/Resident Members ($55/year), with Senior, Honorary, and Medical Student members exempt from dues.
2. Meeting Registration Fees: Revenue generated from discounted meeting registration rates for members and standard rates for non-members attending the annual scientific meeting.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Pacific Association of Pediatric Surgeons (PAPS) is a professional medical association that organizes an annual scientific meeting for pediatric surgeons across Pacific Rim countries, administers tiered membership services (Active, Senior, Honorary, Philip King, and Trainee categories), and runs the Global Alliance Partnership (GAP) fellowship program to support pediatric surgeons from low- and middle-income countries. Revenue is generated through membership dues and meeting registration fees.

Product overview

The Pacific Association of Pediatric Surgeons (PAPS) is a professional medical society, not a technology product company. Its core offerings center on organizing the Annual Scientific Meeting (the 60th in 2027 in Okinawa, Japan), administering membership services across multiple categories (Active, Senior, Honorary, Philip King, and Trainee), and facilitating international collaboration in pediatric surgery through the Global Alliance Partnership (GAP) fellowship program. The organization also supports education via the APSA Pediatric Surgery Library (NaT), a quarterly-updated digital resource available by subscription. Honors include the Coe Medal (PAPS' highest honor) and the PAPS Prize for best trainee oral presentation. The society maintains no technology products, APIs, or AI capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Global Alliance Partnership (GAP): A program to assist pediatric surgeons from underserved nations attend PAPS meetings with financial support including registration, airfare, hotel, meals, and a USD$500 scholarship. Named after M. James Warden, MD.

Quantifiable outcome

• GAP fellows receive comprehensive support including registration, roundtrip airfare, hotel, meals, USD$500 scholarship, textbook of choice, and 5-year PAPS membership

Segments3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• American Pediatric Surgical Association (APSA) - Pediatric Surgery Library, Not a Textbook (NaT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPAPS has partnered with APSA to provide members discounted access to the Pediatric Surgery Library, Not a Textbook (NaT) - a quarterly updated resource written for pediatric surgeons by pediatric surgeons. Non-US/Canada PAPS members and new member applicants receive 1 year of free access to NaT. APSA members receive discounts when purchasing bundled NaT and ExPERT CME platform subscriptions.
• Journal of Pediatric SurgerycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPAPS has a dedicated issue of the Journal of Pediatric Surgery where abstracts accepted for full oral presentation at the Annual Meeting are invited to submit manuscripts for publication. The journal is the official publication partner for PAPS scientific content.
• World Federation of Associations of Pediatric Surgery (WOFAPS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPAPS co-founded WOFAPS along with other pediatric surgical associations, with the purpose of exposing pediatric surgeons in developing countries to current pediatric surgical practices. WOFAPS holds international scientific meetings every 3 years.
• Asian Association of Pediatric Surgeons (AAPS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPAPS co-founded AAPS as a regional pediatric surgery organization. The first AAPS meeting was organized concurrently with the 6th PAPS meeting in Tokyo in 1972.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sociedad Iberoamericana de Cirugía Pediátrica (SICP) / Latin American Association: SICP is the leading pediatric surgical association serving Latin America, with overlapping membership from Latin American PAPS members (Mexico, Chile, Peru, etc.). Functions as a regional peer.
• American Pediatric Surgical Association (APSA): APSA is the primary North American pediatric surgical association and a direct peer to PAPS. They co-partner on the Pediatric Surgery Library (NaT) and share overlapping surgeon membership across USA and Canada.
• World Federation of Associations of Pediatric Surgery (WOFAPS): WOFAPS is the global umbrella federation for pediatric surgical associations, co-founded by PAPS in 1974. It is the most directly comparable global peer focused on international pediatric surgery collaboration.
• Asian Association of Pediatric Surgeons (AAPS): AAPS is a regional pediatric surgical association in Asia co-founded by PAPS in 1972. It serves overlapping members and represents a closely related peer in the Pacific/Asian pediatric surgery ecosystem.
• European Paediatric Surgeons' Association (EUPSA): EUPSA is the leading European pediatric surgical association and a direct peer to PAPS, organizing annual congresses and serving as a comparable regional society for pediatric surgeons.
• Canadian Association of Paediatric Surgeons (CAPS): CAPS is the national pediatric surgical association of Canada, a peer to PAPS in serving Canadian pediatric surgeons with overlapping membership and shared educational programming.
• British Association of Paediatric Surgeons (BAPS): BAPS is the UK pediatric surgical association and a direct functional peer to PAPS in organizing annual scientific meetings, training programs, and pediatric surgery education.

Broad incumbents

• American College of Surgeons (ACS): ACS is the largest general surgical professional society in the US and serves as a broad incumbent peer. Many PAPS members hold dual ACS membership, and ACS offers overlapping CME and networking infrastructure for pediatric surgery specialists.
• Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS): RCS is a broad incumbent surgical professional body in the UK. Comparable to PAPS as a surgical society providing credentialing and education, though covering all surgical specialties rather than pediatric surgery specifically.

Emerging players

• International Pediatric Endosurgery Group (IPEG): IPEG is a pediatric surgical subspecialty society focused on minimally invasive and endoscopic surgery. Represents an emerging/niche peer with partial overlap on pediatric surgery topics but a narrower subspecialty focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pacific-association-of-pediatric-surgeons

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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