Fifty-Second Annual Meeting, The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

Abstract

The 52nd Annual Meeting of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) was held at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona, January 23–27, 2016. The meeting had more than 4,300 registrants, including surgeons, allied health care professionals, exhibitors, and others. Attendees had the opportunity to participate in a variety of dynamic oral and hands-on educational sessions, including Parallel Surgical Symposia, Early Riser sessions, Surgical Motion Picture matinees, and STS University. The General Sessions were well attended. Monday’s session featured three J. Maxwell Chamberlain Memorial Papers: Adult Cardiac Surgery—“Optimal Timing Between Myocardial Infarction and Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: Impact on In-Hospital Mortality”; General Thoracic Surgery—“Quality Measures in Clinical Stage I Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer: Improved Performance Is Associated With Improved Survival”; and Congenital Heart Surgery—“Clinical Experience With the Bifurcated Y-Graft Fontan Procedure.” These honored papers were followed by three Richard E. Clark Papers, which were selected for their research using data from the STS National Database. The presentations were Adult Cardiac Surgery—“Development of a Risk Prediction Model and Clinical Risk Score for Isolated Tricuspid Valve Surgery: Analysis of the STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database”; General Thoracic Surgery—“Operative Risk for Major Lung Resection Increases at Extremes of Body Mass Index: Analysis of the STS General Thoracic Surgery Database”; and Congenital Heart Surgery—“Prevalence of Noncardiac and Genetic Abnormalities in Neonates Undergoing Surgery for Congenital Heart Disease: Analysis of the STS Congenital Heart Surgery Database.” The session ended with the Presidential Address, “Innovation for Life,” which was given by Mark S. Allen, MD. He described the five characteristics shared by innovators inside and outside of medicine—associating, questioning, observing, networking, and experimenting—and urged members of the cardiothoracic surgery community to open their hearts and minds to innovation and ultimately make the specialty better. There were three highly motivational presentations on Tuesday: the Thomas B. Ferguson Lecture, C. Walton Lillehei Lecture, and Ethics Debate. The Thomas B. Ferguson Lecture was given by former astronaut Scott Parazynski, MD. He has participated in five space shuttle missions, summited Mount Everest, and invented a number of medical devices and other technologies for life in extreme environments. Dr Parazynski’s presentation, “The Requisite Innovator’s Mindset: Open-Mindedness and the Relentless Hunt for Problems in Need of Fixing,” described a number of his inventions and highlighted the importance of creating an environment where everyone feels that they not only are allowed to innovate, but are obligated to do so. The C. Walton Lillehei Lecture was presented by award-winning science journalist Gary Taubes. He is the author of The New York Times-bestselling books Good Calories, Bad Calories and Why We Get Fat. His presentation, “Why We Get Fat,” focused on the hypothesis that high-carbohydrate diets contribute to cardiovascular disease and obesity. In the Ethics Debate, “An Advance Directive Limits Postoperative Care—Should Surgeons Accept Limits on Care?,” two experts debated how surgeons should respond to advance directives and discussed what factors should be considered. The Annual Meeting also featured collaborative educational efforts with other professional medical organizations, including the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (STS/AATS Critical Care Symposium: Quality and Value in the CT ICU); the American College of Cardiology (ACC @ STS); the American College of Chest Physicians (STS/CHEST: Primer on Advanced and Therapeutic Bronchoscopy—Theory and Hands-On Session); the Canadian Association of Thoracic Surgeons and the Canadian Society of Cardiac Surgeons (STS/CATS/CSCS: Adding New Dimensions to Your Surgical Practice—Optimizing Your Internet Presence and Understanding the Emerging Role of 3-Dimensional Printing in Cardiothoracic Surgery); the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS @ STS: Aortic Valve Repair and Aortic Root Reconstruction for Insufficient Tricuspid and Bicuspid Pathology); the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS @ STS: Controversial Issues in General Thoracic Surgery–Perspectives From Europe and North America); the Joint Council on Thoracic Surgery Education (JCTSE: Accountable Surgical Education—How Can Cardiothoracic Surgery Move Forward?); the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists (STS/SCA: Integrating Perioperative Echocardiography Into Cardiac Surgical Clinical Decision Making and SCA @ STS: Perioperative Evaluation and Management of Circulatory Shock); the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS @ STS: Sharing Common Ground for Cardiovascular Problems); and Women in Thoracic Surgery (30th Anniversary Celebration of Women in Thoracic Surgery: Innovations and Contributions of WTS and STS Members). STS University wrapped up the STS 52nd Annual Meeting. Registrants learned the latest cardiothoracic surgery techniques through hands-on procedural education taught by world-renowned instructors. More than 500 people registered for 14 sessions, the topics of which ranged from transcatheter aortic valve replacement to VATS lobectomy. On the weekend of the STS Annual Meeting, STS and AATS hosted Tech-Con 2016, which saw approximately 1,000 registrants and exhibitors. In a shift from years past, the program increased its focus on new technologies that were not yet approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration but could become available for use in the next 1 to 3 years. The Joint Session was modeled after the television show, Shark Tank, and allowed inventors the opportunity to pitch their creations to a panel of experts. The cardiac and thoracic tracks covered mitral valve technology, heart failure technology, aortic valve and aortic disease, lung surgery of the future, advances in robotic technology, and new apps and tools in the operating room. For the first time, all members of the cardiothoracic surgery community were invited to submit presentation proposals, including industry representatives. Continuing Medical Education (CME) was not offered for Tech-Con. Once again, the Society is offering the Annual Meeting Online product so that physicians can experience the dynamic educational offerings and earn CME credit from the comfort of their homes or offices. All meeting registrants receive the product for free, and nonattendees can purchase access. STS 52nd Annual Meeting Online includes the majority of sessions from the live conference, including the Surgical Symposia, General Sessions, Parallel Surgical Forums, Surgical Motion Pictures, and Ethics Debate. Up to 105.75 CME credits are available. These activities will be available for CME credit until January 31, 2017. For more information, visit www.sts.org/amonline. The success of the STS 52nd Annual Meeting was due in large part to the exemplary commitment of the Workforce on Annual Meeting under the leadership of K. Robert Shen, MD (Workforce Chair), Juan A. Crestanello, MD (STS University Task Force Chair), Leah M. Backhus, MD, MPH (Surgical Symposia Task Force Co-Chair), Andrew Fiore, MD (Surgical Symposia Task Force Co-Chair), Gorav Ailawadi, MD (Tech-Con Task Force Co-Chair), and Shanda H. Blackmon, MD, MPH (Tech-Con Task Force Co-Chair). New STS officers and directors were elected during the Annual Membership (Business) Meeting on Monday, January 25. Joseph E. Bavaria, MD, was elected STS President for 2016–2017. Additionally, Richard L. Prager, MD, was elected First Vice President, and Keith S. Naunheim, MD, was elected Second Vice President and reelected as Secretary. Joseph F. Sabik, III, MD, was elected Secretary-Elect, Haiquan Chen, MD, PhD, was elected International Director, and Joseph C. Cleveland, Jr, MD, and Joseph A. Dearani, MD, were elected Directors-at-Large. Reelected to his current position was Treasurer Robert S. D. Higgins, MD, MSHA. (Subsequently, at a special membership meeting held at STS Headquarters on May 2, 2016, Thomas E. MacGillivray, MD, was elected Treasurer-Elect.) A full listing of the Society’s governance bodies can be found at www.sts.org/about-sts/governance-and-leadership. In addition, 94 Active Members and 143 International Members were elected to the Society. A list of new members can be viewed at www.sts.org/new-members. During 2015, 81 Associate Members, 128 Candidate Members, and 81 Pre-Candidate Members also joined STS through the organization’s rolling admissions process. The Society now has more than 7,200 members. Thanks to Bylaws amendments adopted by the STS voting membership, applicants for Active and International Membership now will be eligible for election to membership three times each year instead of just one opportunity for election at the Annual Membership (Business) Meeting. The Society would like to thank the many member volunteers and their supportive families for their commitment to the specialty as well as for the hard work and long hours they put in to develop and implement this highly successful meeting. The STS 53rd Annual Meeting will be held January 21–25, 2017, in Houston, Texas.