The leadership of the STS and AATS have agreed that in the future, the postgraduate courses at each of our annual meetings will be co-sponsored by both organizations beginning with the STS meeting in 2002. Further, we will alternate having an "Evolving Technology/Techniques" symposium on the week-end immediately preceding the annual meeting. This symposium will replace the traditional postgraduate course that year at the meeting at which it is held. New to the STS Annual Meeting Program line-up this year will be the TECH-CON 2002 Symposium that will be held on Saturday and Sunday, January 26-27, 2002. This educational program will include the latest technologic innovations in myocardial revascularization, the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation and heart failure, imaging of lung cancer, and robot assisted radiosurgery. Video operative demonstrations as well as presentations by leading authorities in these fields will be featured. This will be an excellent opportunity for you to update your knowledge of the latest technologic advances in cardiothoracic surgery. Look for your STS 38th Annual Meeting Advance Program (due out in October) for a more complete description of TECH/CON 2002 and registration information.

Join my wife, Susan, and me for the opening performance in Ft. Lauderdale of the exciting and exhilarating Broadway musical BLAST! at the beautiful Broward Center for the Performing Arts the evening of Tuesday, January 29th. Click here to find out more about this theatrical production. We have reserved a block of tickets for this show, but we want to be sure that everyone who wants to has a BLAST! at the STS Annual Meeting in Ft. Lauderdale. To ensure that we have reserved enough tickets, please e-mail me at Dr.Orringer@SBA.com to let us know how many tickets you will require. Your name will be added to the 'interested persons' list to ensure enough tickets are ordered, but please remember to reserve your tickets when you register for the STS Annual Meeting. The cost is $ 45.00 per ticket. From what we have heard from the advance reviews, we are all in store for a BLAST! Following the performance, plan to join Susan and me for a coffee and dessert party at the theater.