Origins of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Network (CTSNet)

Abstract

Fig 1. Robert L. Replogle, MD. DMD (Fig 1), then The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Vice President, was on holiday with his family on Grand Cayman Island. The youngest Replogle daughter, a junior in college at the time, was working on a research paper. From the vacation condo, she linked to her college library over the phone for access to the entire library resources. Impressed, Dr Replogle asked his daughter how she did this, and she showed him the “Internet” and the “World Wide Web.” He immediately recognized that the possibilities for education would be enormous, particularly for a field like thoracic surgery where the “students” are widely distributed rather than in a lecture hall. A few weeks later, at the 1996 STS Annual Meeting in Orlando, Dr Replogle was elected STS President and hosted a dinner for as many leaders of cardiothoracic surgery from around the world as possible. His goal was to promote the idea of a comprehensive educational World Wide Web for cardiothoracic surgery; his hope was that these leaders would also recognize the educational possibilities and come on board to help build a plan. The response was overwhelmingly favorable. At the same meeting in Orlando, Dr Replogle received a message from William A. Baumgartner, MD, who had heard of the plans for a World Wide Web for cardiothoracic surgery and suggested that Dr Replogle contact a recent graduate of the cardiothoracic surgery residency program at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr Baumgartner thought that the resident could be very helpful in such a project. This was a fateful message, because that recent graduate was Peter S. Greene, MD (Fig 2), who became the real engineer and the key ingredient to the future success of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Network (CTSNet). In March 1996, an assortment of people interested in and contributing to the concept of CTSNet met at the Replogle home in Chicago. They included Kim Alley, daughter of Ralph Alley, MD, and a principal in a commercial internet company; Thomas B. Ferguson, MD, Editor of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery; Carol Blasberg, Administrative Editor of The Annals; and young surgeons John R. Liddicoat, MD, MBA, David B. Campbell, MD, and Dr Greene. The consensus was that the Web presence should have an international focus, emphasize cardiothoracic surgery education of all kinds, allow easy and free access, and