NEWSLETTER
November
2002
Letter from the President
Financial
status of EACTS
European
School of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery
European
Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery
Interactive
Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery
Call
for Candidates and new Secretary General
Secretary Generals Report
The Exciting Field of Clinical Quality Management
EACTS Congenital Database
This year we had another successful meeting in Monaco which again resulted in a new record attendance. The attractiveness of the venue together with the high scientific quality of our meetings both contributed. Especially the increasing number of non-European visitors gives clear evidence about the scientific level that we have achieved and now consistently provide. We are indebted to Vincent Dor, chairman of the local organizing committee and to all colleagues and members of our staff who have worked on the preparation of this central scientific event of the year, especially Kathy McGree, Maud Zingmark, Linda Collis and Sharon Pidgeon.
Vienna will be the location of our 2003 meeting and it will be the first time that EACTS returns to a meeting venue that was visited before. The meeting will be held as another joint meeting together with ESTS, in the intention to concentrate the scientific contents of general thoracic surgery within Europe. This is achieved by the agreement that all abstracts and scientific material of the year will be presented on our combined meeting. ESTS will hold its spring meeting in a different format without original papers and also without an industrial exhibition. In that way, the joint EACTS/ESTS meeting will as well provide a common platform for general thoracic surgery orientated industry. This also implies, that for the first time, a separate general thoracic Techno-College on Saturday will be held, offering the attractive features of live surgery, video presentations and product and technology related information, that have been well accepted by our cardiac colleagues.
It has been agreed by the councils of both societies to organise Joint Meetings in 2003 and 2004. This decision represents another major step forward in the process of intensified collaboration between the two societies.
The importance of a unique representation of cardiac and general thoracic surgery is reflected at the European level in UEMS. There, a clear progress has been made in the last months by the foundation of the Section of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery with its two divisions. Unfortunately, thoracic surgery will also be represented in another division within the Section of General Surgery. This certainly will make decision making for this speciality difficult and it demonstrates how important it will be to further support general thoracic surgery within this Association so as not to loose it to other specialities. The first two meetings of this new UEMS Section have been held and Hans Huysmans was elected the first President of the Section and Toni Lerut the first President of the new Board, both for the period of the next year until more European countries will participate in the work.
The above important achievement was paralleled by the foundation of the European Cardiothoracic Surgery Institute of Accreditation that will be chaired by Samer Nashef and that has started with its work.
Another evidence for the status of cardiothoracic surgery in Europe is the extremely positive development of the European Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery. The recent increase in its impact factor to 1.676 brings it close to the level of the two other American journals. Ludwig von Segesser ought to be congratulated on this excellent work.
A number of important tasks are lying in front of us. Certainly the issue of highest relevance for the further course that our Association will take is the start of the search for a new Secretary General, for whom the official call for application has already been announced on the web. Torkel Aberg will finish his fourth term. He has brought such an incomparable innovative input and has developed the organisational structures of this Association in such a perfect way that it will be difficult to identify someone of similar quality. On the other hand, we can look calmly to the future, since the ground has been laid and since this Association has always brought up people of outstanding qualities.
The year ahead of us will be the starting year for the Bergamo postgraduate courses and the importance of this endeavour has been outlined repeatedly in the past. With the establishment of two separate 3-week courses in cardiac and in thoracic surgery, a real European standard in education as well as in the preparation for European Board certifications is created. The generous scholarships that will be provided by EACTS should allow all younger colleagues to participate in these courses.
Another major undertaking, the definition of "Structures of a Congenital Heart Surgery Department in Europe" is in the process of being finalised. Francois Lacour-Gayet and Willem Daenen, together with a group of other colleagues have developed this document, which is open for discussion and comments as a topic in our Discussion Forum. I encourage all interested colleagues to carefully study it and to come forward with their comments. Council will then have a final discussion on this important matter at its February meeting.
The progress of this Association has been widely carried by the work of the numerous committees and those who dedicated their time to this work in the past. Council has discussed the strategy to further improve the efficiency of committee work and it has been decided to concentrate the number of committee members to 3 or 4, and in parallel to that, create larger working groups behind the core committee members. This strategic move intends to make committee work more efficient and transparent as well. In addition, it will open access to the different committees to more members and allow identifying those individuals of outstanding engagement who qualify for further positions within EACTS.
I will finish this letter by thanking all of you for your contributions and efforts to bring forward the further development of our speciality and of this Association.
Walter Klepetko
EDITOR'S
REPORT
Ludwig
K. von Segesser - Editor-in-Chief EJCTS/ICVTS
The European Journal of Cardio-thoracic Surgery (EJCTS) has seen a considerable growth of manuscript submissions over the years (see fig. 1) and despite a decreasing rate of acceptance, the page numbers published have increased (see fig. 2). The continued efforts of our authors, the reviewers, the readers and the editorial staff have resulted in an Impact Factor increase by 50%. The impact factor 2001 (based on papers published in 1999/2000) is 1.676 (up from 1.187). This success, and the fact the scientific publishing is a rapidly moving activity, have encouraged the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery to launch together with Elsevier an additional, new, web-driven publication which is entitled Interactive Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery (ICVTS). ICVTS is designed as a virtual conference. After a dicussion period on the web, the first edition is now available in print: ICVTS 2002; 1: 1-60. It will be shipped together with the EJCTS to our readers without additional cost (joint subscription). The electronic version can be seen on the web in the ICVTS archive section, whereas new contributions are open for your discussion in the Interactive section at the same site.
Fig 1 - Manuscript submission
Fig 2 - Pages published
SECRETARY
GENERAL'S REPORT
Torkel
Åberg
MONACO
ANNUAL MEETING
The
Monaco Meeting was a huge success. The development of the Annual Meeting
continues. The Interactive Sessions are becoming even more popular. The quality
of the science is improving and we have now a truly international attendance.
We have never had as many EACTS members (642) as this year, nor non-members (1682). Together with trainees (175) there were 2500 surgically active physicians present.
The Post-Graduate Courses were attended by 572 (adult cardiac), 167 (congenital), 111 (thoracic) and 62 (perfusion) individuals, also an all-time high. The Breakfast Sessions were also well attended and popular.
The Concert on Monday featured the Monaco Symphony Orchestra, which gave an exquisite performance of French music, Franck, Ravel and Dukas. The Presidential Dinner was held at the Sporting Club in Monaco. 907 tickets were sold for this popular event.
In the post-meeting preliminary evaluation, the capacity of the Registration process was criticised. At the peak, registrants had to stand in queues for two hours. It was decided to address this issue in future Annual Meetings.
NEW
MEMBERS
During
the General Assembly, 184 new members were admitted. This brings the membership
up to 1710 colleagues. The names of the new members are posted in the Membership
Committee. The chairman of this committee, Robert Dion, has during the year
reformed the committee work and created a Work Force consisting of national
representatives from most European countries. It is hoped that these members of
the Work Force of the committee will assist in soliciting new members.
All new members are cordially welcomed. Please make use of all the features that the Association can offer, make yourself thoroughly familiar with www.CTSNet.org and our homepage. All EACTS members have private homepages and the new incoming members will have such pages erected shortly. You will then receive your ID and password to access the EJCTS and ICVTS on the web as well as other information at www.eacts.org. When these pages have been erected we trust in your co-operation to keep your information up to-date. If you have any inquiries as regards your homepage or the web pages, Maud Zingmark will be happy to assist you. We also ask you to have your picture taken at any of the major annual meetings or to send your picture as directed in http://www.ctsnet.org/section/aboutctsnet/#9. Thank you very much in advance for your assistance.
NEW
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION FORM
The Membership Committee chaired by Robert
Dion has put forward the following new requirements, which have been
approved by Council:
1)
The applicant must be European Board eligible.
2) Three supporting signatures are required by members of the Association. One
member shall be from another country than the applicant. This requirement is
optional for applicants for Junior Membership.
3) Bibliography: Applicants shall provide at least one publication in a journal
quoted in the Index Medicus. This requirement is optional for applicants for
Junior Membership.
The new Application Form is available on the frontpage and also accessible in the Membership Committee (click on 'Committees', and go to 'Membership').
If you have any views about how the Association may improve and how you yourself may be of assistance to the Association, please send to the Secretary General. And -above all- attend the Annual Meetings!
CONSTITUTION
This year, the Standing Committee on Constitution made a thorough review of the
Constitution. The Committee, chaired by Francis Fontan, one of the founding
fathers of the Association, made several pertinent changes. In essence, the
terminology of the Constitution has been unified, several clarifications have
been made and the Constitution is now easier to understand and to follow. The
proposal was posted on the homepage for several months and announced in the
Newsletter. The procedure of revising the Constitution followed the rules
(Article XIII) given by the Constitution. All changes were approved
by the General Assembly. The revised Constitution will be printed and
circulated to all members. Furthermore, the document is a permanent feature of
our homepage. Please destroy all old
versions of the Constitution in order to avoid any confusion.
NEW
SECRETARY GENERAL
As announced, a new Secretary General will be searched for. I have been your
Secretary General for 10 years now. I feel that it is time for a younger man or
woman to take over this important post. I will be happy to help the new
Secretary General during an overlapping year according to the Constitution.
I have thoroughly enjoyed being your Secretary. It has been one of the most rewarding tasks in my life. I can whole-heartedly recommend this post to anyone who is interested in further developing European Cardio-Thoracic Surgery and who is willing to devote time, energy and thoughts to it. The requirements and the selection procedure are outlined in http://www.ctsnet.org/doc/6899.
PRIZES
AND AWARDS
Fontan Prize
This most prestigious Prize of the EACTS has for 2002 been granted to Edvin
Prifti, Tirana, Albania. The prize award year will be spent in Florence, Italy,
where Edvin Prifti will continue his clinical surgical training, carry on
research projects and retrospective studies.
EACTS
Young Investigator Awards
Cardiac Surgery: G R M Grapow, Basel, Switzerland Improved endothelial function
after a modified harvesting technique of the internal thoracic artery (ITA).
Thoracic Surgery: S Quadri, Cork, Ireland: Could an anti-inflammatory drug, Rofecoxib, which shows antitumor and antiangiogenic activities in vitro, be used as a therapeutic agent in the treatment of lung cancer ?
Hans
G Borst Award
F X Schmid, Regensburg, Germany: Ascending aortic aneurysm associated with
biocuspid and tricuspid aortic valve: involevement and clinical expression of
cell death-initiating proteins by immune cells.
Sulzer-Carbomedics
Award in Congenital Heart Surgery
E Malec, Cracow, Poland: Right ventricle-to-pulmonary artery shunt (RV-PA)
versus modified Blalock-Taussig Shunt (BTS) in the Norwood procedure for
hypoplastic left heart syndrome - influence on early and late hemodynamic
status.
C
Walton Lillehei Award by St Jude Medical
R G Fuster, Valencia, Spain: Left ventricular Mass index in aortic valve
surgery: a new index for early valve replacement ?
EACTS congratulate the above winners wishing you all a very successful future in cardio-thoracic surgery.
TECHNO-COLLEGE
The
Techno-College prior to the Annual Meeting was this year arranged under the
auspices of the EACTS. Next year, it will also be arranged by the EACTS staff
and integrated into the Annual Meeting. A General Thoracic component of the
Techno-College will be introduced.
The Annual Meeting is a scientific meeting. As such it promotes material which has been reasonably well proven and which all members may be interested in. However, there is a need for a forum in which new, unproven ideas may be presented for discussion. This is one of the major aims of the Techno-College. In future this event will be arranged by EACTS and be integrated into the Annual Meeting. One of the popular features of the Techno-College consists of live surgery presentations. It has been suggested that there should also be a general thoracic Techno-College and this matter will be looked into. Most probably, a General Thoracic component of the Techno-College with live surgery will be introduced in Vienna.
The Techno-College of this year attracted 333 delegates during the one and a half days (Thursday and Friday). The programme is arranged by the New Technology Committee and its chairman Hugo Vanermen.
NEXT
TIME IN VIENNA
The next Annual Meeting will be arranged in Vienna 12-15 October. It will be a
Joint Meeting between EACTS and ESTS with Local Organising Committee Chairmen
Werner Mohl (EACTS) and Michael Rolf Müller (ESTS).
As you know, Vienna is full of history and culture. The Presidential Dinner is planned to take place in the Rathaus with the leading theme "A Viennese Ball". The concert will be held in the Stephans Dom, the old cathedral of Vienna.
With the continued development of the Association and our Annual Meeting and with the considerable developments in scientific quality and content, I am convinced that the Vienna Meeting will be something to be remembered. Please reserve the dates already now.
THE
EXCITING FIELD OF CLINICAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Samer
A M Nashef, Chairman - Audit and Guidelines Committee
There are two important developments of which EACTS members should be aware. The Audit and Guidelines Committee has completed its preliminary work on the difficult subject of quality accreditation (or certification of good practice). Our recommendations have been accepted by Council. The end result of this exercise is the establishment of ECTSIA (the European Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery Institute of Accreditation), an organisation to oversee clinical quality in Europe in our specialties.
The Committee has now turned its attention to the longstanding problem of measuring case mix and risk stratification in the field of thoracic surgery. As we all know, thoracic surgery has lagged somewhat behind cardiac surgery in this field, and the Committee felt that the time has come for the development of a robust risk assessment system in the specialty. Three prestigious experts in this field have kindly agreed to form a working party to take this further: Richard Berrisford, Tomasz Grodzki and Tom Treasure. We hope to have a risk model ready for the next annual meeting of the Association in Vienna.
The Committee welcomes comments on its work from EACTS members. We would also appreciate suggestions as to where members feel we should go next.
CONGENITAL
DATABASE
Bohdan
Maruszewski, EACTS Congenital Database Director - Chairman of the Congenital
Heart Surgery Committee
EACTS Congenital Database (http://www.eactscongenitaldb.org/ - former: www.pediatric.ecsur.org) has developed since January 2000 to the largest world collection of data on the results of surgical treatment of CHD coming from the Scientific Society. 102 centres from 42 countries are registered, 41 units regularly send their data. The registry collected the data on 12.736 procedures performed in 11.633 patients including 4.195 infants and 2.245 neonates.
The access to online reports in the "gold standard" format including statistical graphs and outcome analysis is available for all registered database members. Since the Monaco meeting the members are provided with the function of self-generated reports on www. The web database is updated on monthly basis.
The current works concentrate on the improvement of the definitions (LOS, IPPV, type of procedure) and the future developments are targeted on the analysis of complications and advanced statistics. The Complexity score project developed by the International Committee headed by Francois Lacour-Gayet will be added to the Database as its continuous function.
The database management remains in the close collaboration with the Congenital and Database Committees of the EACTS as well as with just created International Workgroup for the International Nomenclature of CHD (EACTS/STS, co-chair: B. Maruszewski and J. Jacobs).
The aim of the Database is not to control anybody's results, but to provide the surgeons with the tools of self-control and self-comparison of the outcomes with the others, especially with the best in the field.
STS
39TH
ANNUAL MEETING
January
31 - February 2, 2003
A departure from the Monday-Wednesday pattern, the 2003 Annual Meeting will be held Friday, January 31 - Sunday, February 2, 2003. This change in pattern is due to the relocation of the Super Bowl from San Francisco to San Diego. STS will return to their regular Monday - Wednesday pattern in 2004. For further details please see http://www.sts.org/
