Dear CTSNet Member,

We apologize that this Newsletter is a few days late in coming. The EACTS meeting at the end of last month is the reason.

***WHAT'S NEW***

A NEW VIDEO entitled "Direct Axillary Cannulation for Cardiopulmonary Bypass" by Dr. George Tolis, Jr. of Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, NY, is available for viewing:

http://www.ctsnet.org/realmedia/vidgal/vg2005_tolis_axillar.ram

The Second Quarter 2005 THORACIC LITERATURE WATCH, compiled by Dr. Mark Ferguson, is now available:

http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/clinicalresources/literaturewatch/thoracic_litwatch/article-14.html

View another HISTORICAL CHAPTER.

Parts of Chapter 3 on the anatomical drawings of Leonardo da Vinci from "Historical Heritage in Cardiovascular Medicine: A Collection of Images" by Drs. Roberto Lorusso and W. Randolph Chitwood, Jr. have been posted. This excellent series is made available through an educational grant from Edwards Lifesciences. Access:

http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/clinicalresources/images/historicimages/chapter3/image_index.html.

NEW CASE OF THE MONTH

"Management of a Left Ventricular Aneurysm in an Adult" by Doctors Sorin V. Pusca, Barry C. Esrig, Preet M.S. Randhawa, Dusan Knezevic, and Muhamed Saric, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, NJ. View at:

http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/clinicalresources/clinicalcases/article-4.html

And follow the Discussion Thread on this paper at:

http://forums.ctsnet.org/ctsnet/forum.jspa?forumID=3

INNOVATION CENTER CONTRIBUTIONS

"Percutaneous Heart Valve Technology" is the current topic in the MINIMALLY INVASIVE CARDIAC SURGERY CENTER, with the lead article, "Percutaneous Heart Valve Technology As I See It", by Thomas A. Vassiliades Jr., MD of Atlanta, Georgia. The guest commentaries are by Ajit P. Yoganathan, PhD, Atlanta, Georgia; Irving L. Kron, MD, Charlottesville, Virginia; Ted Feldman, MD, Evanston, Illinois; and Steven F. Bolling, MD, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Read this excellent symposium at:

http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/innovation/minimallyinvasive/index.html

WORLD HEART FOUNDATION'S Project China

As part of its global humanitarian mission, the World Heart Foundation (WHF) has embarked on a series of projects to establish and improve education and training programs in host programs and countries.

A model standardized six-year cardiothoracic surgery residency program has been established at Shanghai Chest Hospital in Shanghai, China.

A. Thomas Pezzella, MD, the Director of Special Projects for the World Heart Foundation, is in China for one year implementing this program. Four residents began their training August 1st. Modeled after the new American and Canadian six-year program, and modified for China, it is hoped that this program will be used as a model and adopted by other centers in China. At the national level, a graduate medical education system is still evolving. Professor Yingze Li, Vice President and Chief of Cardiac Surgery at Shanghai Chest Hospital and program director for this project, addressed The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Annual Meeting in January 2005. Read more on the WHF website:

http://www.world-heart.org/

REMINDER!

THE DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACTS for the AATS meeting in Philadelphia, April 29-May 3, 2006 is OCTOBER 10, 2005. For more information:

http://www.aats.org/annualmeeting/index.html

The EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CARDIO-THORACIC SURGERY is pleased to announce that their electronic archive is now complete -- right back to Volume 1, Issue 1. Take advantage of this great resource!

http://ejcts.ctsnetjournals.org/

At the recently concluded EACTS-ESTS meeting in Barcelona, the EACTS 2005-2006 officers were ratified. They are:

President - Tom Treasure

Vice President - Siegfried Hagl

Secretary General - Bruce Keogh

Treasurer - Jose Pomar

Editor-in-chief - Ludwig von Segesser

Information Officer - Paul Sergeant

Past President - Torkel Aberg

Councillors

Friedhelm Beyersdorf

Juan Comas

Stefano Elia

Timothy J. Gardner

Pieter Kappetein

Ralph Alexander Schmid

________________________________________________________________

***INDUSTRY FORUM***

MEDTRONIC CARDIAC SURGERY announces the release of its new Cardioblate(R) BP2 Surgical Ablation System. The new system features an irrigated bipolar ablation device with a flexible neck and slim, 7 cm. active electrodes. Simply rotate the head or shape the malleable electrodes as the situation requires.

http://www.ctsnet.org/medtronic/product/839

ST. JUDE MEDICAL received Food and Drug Administration approval for new stented tissue heart valves, the medical-device maker's first such products in the U.S. market.

The regulatory clearance covers the SJM Biocor and Biocor Supra family of stented tissue valves. Stented tissue valves make up 60% of the U.S. market for heart valves, according to St. Jude. The company said Monday it expects to start selling the Biocor and Biocor Supra valves in the third quarter.

"Today's announcement marks a significant milestone as St. Jude Medical adds to its expanding portfolio of tissue valves and other innovative technologies for cardiac surgeons and their patients," the St. Paul, Minn., company said in a press release.

CRYOCATH TECHNOLOGIES INC. announces the release of TWO NEW Surgical CryoAblation Systems, SurgiFrost 7cm probe and FrostByte, a unique 2-in-1 cryoclamp device. The systems utilize CryoCath's new Argon technology to rapidly achieve -160°C in 30 to 60 seconds. SurgiFrost & FrostByte allow surgeons to complete all lesion lines efficiently while cryoadhesion ensures certainty in lesion placement and the ability to manipulate heart tissue. In the United States the cryosurgical systems are indicated for minimally invasive cardiac surgical procedures, including the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, 510(k) cleared. A brochure is available online: http://www.ctsnet.org/cryocath/product/951

Sterna-Band(TM) Self-locking Sternotomy Sutures are now available directly from TERUMO CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEMS. These reliable, safe, and cost-effective replacements for steel wires are easy to use for the closure of median sternotomies and lateral thoracotomies. Made of stainless steel 316L alloy, they have twice the breaking point of wires. Their design spreads the clamping force over six times the area to reduce dehiscence of the sternum and prevents the band from cutting through the bone, especially useful with high-risk patients with comorbidities such as obesity, emphysema, osteoporosis or current infection.

http://www.ctsnet.org/company/terumo

TERUMO CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEMS has added a new Featured Product: VirtuoSaph(tm) Endoscopic Vein Harvesting System. It can be viewed at:

http://www.ctsnet.org/terumo/product/949

________________________________________________________________

*** JOURNALS AND BOOKS ***

The EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION FOR CARDIO-THORACIC SURGERY (EACTS) is pleased to announce the launch of the Multimedia Manual of Cardiothoracic Surgery (MMCTS) - the premier on-line manual of cardiothoracic surgical procedures. Illustrated with videos and schematics, and including literature and product hyperlinks, MMCTS provides an interactive, multimedia guide to surgical procedures and related information. Authored by invited experts and edited by Dr. Marko Turina and a team of international specialists, MMCTS is now fully integrated into the CTSNet and HighWire Press journal collection. It is targeted at students, specialists and trainees, and is open to comments from readers. View MMCTS:

http://mmcts.ctsnetjournals.org/

CTSNET BOOKSTORE

New Volume Available!

"Managing Failed Anti-Reflux Therapy" by Mark K. Ferguson and M. Brian Fennerty. Publication date 24 October, 2005, but orders are being taken now. Use our exclusive Amazon service:

http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/journalsandbooks/bookstore/bkTitleDetail_pg.cfm?asin_str=1852339098

________________________________________________________________

***IN MY OPINION***

Dr. Vincent A. Gaudiani of Redwood City, California, in his article entitled "Rethinking Innovation" begins with these words "For the past half-century, innovation has been the tonic chord of cardiac surgery. We cannot tell our history without recounting the development of ideas, techniques, and devices that progressively revolutionized our capacity to serve those with heart disease." Read the rest of his comments at:

http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/newsandviews/inmyopinion/articles/article-56.html

and then express your own opinion in the IMO Discussion Forum:

http://forums.ctsnet.org/ctsnet/forum.jspa?forumID=8

________________________________________________________________

***INNOVATION CENTERS***

BEATING HEART CENTER

Dr. Dimitar O. Simov of Sophia, Bulgaria has posed this interesting question, addressed initially to Dr. Mercedes Dullum, an Editor of the Beating Heart Surgery Innovation Center:

"Dear Dr. Dullum,

I would like to address you as an Editor of Beating Heart Center on CTSNet with some questions regarding beating heart surgery in patients with neoplastic comorbidities. We have some cases at our clinic revascularised off-pump and cancer treated surgically on second stage with excellent results. Could you give me some references on superiority of off-pump against on-pump coronary revascularisation in such patients indicated for bypass surgery with extrathoracic neoplasia (gastric, haepatic, etc.) and should it be treated in one stage or in divided procedures. I am interested especially in the effect of ECC on cancer spreading and whether such patients benefit by OPCAB as a first-stage procedure. Could you refer me to some surgeon who is focused on this problem?

Kind Regards,

Dr. Simov"

This is a fascinating area of inquiry, and Dr. Dullum requests that readers contribute their experience on this subject, since no one person or group will likely have a large number of such cases. If you have information, please respond to:

http://forums.ctsnet.org/ctsnet/thread.jspa?threadID=1454

MINIMALLY INVASIVE INNOVATION CENTER

Volkmar Falk, MD, PhD, of the Heart Center, Leipzig Germany has contributed an article entitled "Robotic" Internal Thoracic Artery Harvesting" to the Minimally Invasive Surgery Innovation Center:

http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/innovation/minimallyinvasive/articles/article-25.html

ARRHYTHMIA INNOVATION CENTER

Doctors Ryan E. Accord, Maastricht, Krishna Khargi, The Hague, and Jos G. Maessen, Maastricht, all of The Netherlands, have written a new article entitled "The Issue of Transmurality in Surgical Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation." Drs. Khargi and Maessen are Editors of the Arrhythmia Innovation Center:

http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/innovation/arrhythmia/articles/article-7.html

________________________________________________________________

***CLINICAL RESOURCES***

NEW TECHNOLOGY - THORACIC PORTAL

Doctors Armin Ernst, interventional pulmonologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, and Kevin L. Kovitz, interventional pulmonologist at Tulane Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, have contributed an article entitled "Electromagnetic Guidance for Transbronchial Biopsy of Peripheral Lung Lesions: Navigational Bronchoscopy" to the New Technology Section of the Thoracic Portal:

http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/thoracic/newtechnology/article-1.html

VIDEO

A new video entitled "Homograft Valve Banking with Cryopreservation" by Dr. Arkalgud Sampath Kumar has been posted. Dr. Kumar is Professor of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, India, and is Editor-in-Chief of the Indian Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.

http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/clinicalresources/videos/index.html

TWO LUNG TRANSPLANT VIDEOS

Two new lung transplant videos are available. They are titled "Bilateral Sequential Lung Transplantation for Cystic Fibrosis" and "Donor Lung Procurement" by Mr. Cliff K. Choong, Dr. Bryan F. Meyers, and Dr. G. Alexander Patterson. Mr. Choong is Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, UK and University Lecturer, University of Cambridge. Dr. Meyers is a member of the Division, and Dr. Patterson is Chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.

View "Bilateral Sequential....":

http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/clinicalresources/videos/index.html

View "Donor Lung Procurement":

http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/clinicalresources/videos/index.html

2ND QUARTER ADULT CARDIAC LITERATURE WATCH

The Adult Cardiac Literature Watch for the second quarter of 2005 is now available. This Section is edited by Doctors Eric J. Okum, Chicago, Illinois and Domenico Pagano, Birmingham, UK. View:

http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/clinicalresources/literaturewatch/adultcardiac_litwatch/article-11.html

THORACIC EXPERT TECHNIQUE

A New Thoracic Expert Technique by Dr. Carolyn M. Dresler entitled "Smoking Cessation in the Cardiothoracic Surgical Clinic" has been posted. Dr. Dresler is with the International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon France. View:

http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/clinicalresources/thoracic/expert_tech-25.html

HISTORICAL CHAPTER

Another chapter in the "Historical Heritage in Cardiovascular Medicine: A Collection of Images" by Drs. Roberto Lorusso and W. Randolph Chitwood, Jr. has been posted: Historical Medical Books. This excellent series is made available through an educational grant from Edwards Lifesciences. Access:

http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/clinicalresources/images/historicimages/index.html

_____________________________________________________________

***ORGANIZATIONS***

The WEBCAST for the AATS 2005 ANNUAL MEETING in San Francisco is now available for viewing. Included are the President's address, the Basic Science Lecture, the Honored Guest's lecture, and all the scientific papers and panel discussions presented at the meeting:

http://www.aats.org/2005webcast/

STS MEETING WEBCAST

The full webcast of the January 2005 STS Annual Meeting held in Tampa, Florida, is available for viewing:

http://www.sts.org/2005webcast/

EACTS OFFERS TRAVELING SCHOLARSHIPS

A limited number of scholarships at EUR 3,000 will be granted by EACTS International Co-Operation Committee to enable surgeons at an advanced training stage in cardio-thoracic surgery to visit some leading institution(s) of their choice in Europe. For more information and application form:

http://www.eacts.org/committee/eacts/800

Is your institute interested in hosting an EACTS stipend?

The Committee is looking for institutions which are willing to accept traveling fellows for the above programme. Criteria for accepting EACTS traveling fellows are available:

http://www.eacts.org/doc/10216

Marko Turina, MD, Chair

International Co-Operation Committee, EACTS

TSFRE 2006 RESEARCH AWARDS

The THORACIC SURGERY FOUNDATION FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION (TSFRE) is pleased to announce applications for its 2006 Research Awards are now being accepted. Electronic submissions only, please. DEADLINE: Tuesday, November 1, 2005. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.tsfre.org It has detailed instructions, electronic award submission and up-to-date information regarding the status of award submissions during the process. If you know of qualified applicants, please refer them to the TSFRE website. We look forward to receiving your applications. Please email any questions to: tsfre@prri.com.

The THIRD INTERNATIONAL CARDIAC OUTREACH CONFERENCE hosted by International Children's Heart Foundation and sponsored by The World Heart Foundation will be held in the Canon Center at the Memphis Cook Convention Center, Memphis, TN, 21-22 October 2005. Sir Magdi Yacoub of London will give the keynote address. View the preliminary program:

http://www.ctsnet.org/file/3rdICOCProgram_Agenda_aug_1_2005revised.htm

The 86th Annual Meeting of THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THORACIC SURGERY will be held April 29-May 3, 2006 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, PA. ABSTRACTS ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED. THE DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACTS IS OCTOBER 10, 2005. For more information:

http://www.aats.org

THE SOCIETY OF CARDIOTHORACIC SURGEONS OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND (SCTS) is now accepting abstracts for the 2006 Annual Meeting, to be held March 13-16 in Dublin, Ireland. The online abstract system will be open from September 1 until November 5, 2005. First, please read the abstract assessment document, as there are important changes to the type of presentations for this meeting:

http://www.ctsnet.org/file/AbstractAssessment2006.pdf

Then enter the abstract submission system:

http://www.ctsnet.org/abstracts/scts/1266/

For further information:

http://www.scts.org/

IMPORTANT ABTS INFORMATION

The 2005 Part I (written) examination of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery (ABTS) will be given on December 5, 2005 at multiple sites throughout the United States using an electronic format. Questions regarding the application process should be addressed to the Board office at 633 N. Saint Clair St., Suite 2320, Chicago, IL 60611. For more information:

http://www.abts.org/

_______________________________________________________________

***RESIDENTS SECTION***

A "RENAISSANCE SUMMIT" - Reinventing the Cardiothoracic Surgeon through Catheter-Based Training will be held Saturday, October 29, 2005 at the InterContinental Hotel in Miami, Florida. Note the change in location from New Orleans to Miami due to the hurricane. To learn more about the SUMMIT and the comprehensive Renaissance Program of hands-on endovascular training, visit

http://www.medical-renaissance.com or

call 888.508.8554.

A number of full scholarships to cardiothoracic residents interested in attending the Renaissance Summit will be provided. Information is located at:

http://www.medical-renaissance.com/residents/index.html

A NEW HORIZONS CONTRIBUTION

A contribution to the New Horizons Section of the Residents page has been added. By Dr. John H. Calhoon of the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX, it is titled "If you're Uncomfortable, Change is Occurring, and with Purpose -- It Should be Good." View at:

http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/residents/newhorizons/article-6.html

CASE OF THE MONTH

"Blunt Traumatic Tracheal Laceration" Christopher Komanapalli, MD, Hannan Chaugle, MD, Ileana Esquivel, PA-C, and Mithran Sukumar, MD, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon

http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/clinicalresources/clinicalcases/article-5.html

And follow the Discussion Thread on this paper at:

http://forums.ctsnet.org/ctsnet/thread.jspa?threadID=1453&tstart=0

The brand new JUNIOR WEB SECTION of the EUROPEAN SOCIETY FOR CARDIOVASCULAR SURGERY (ESCVS) is now online. Dr. Gianluigi Bisleri, on behalf of the Junior Committee of ESCVS, is proud to announce the launch of this new website featuring useful information about the ESCVS and much more, in the form of educational links, interactive forums, deadlines, congress venues, and invited lectures. For more information about the Junior Committee and its activities, please visit:

http://www.escvs.org/Junior

PIONEER INTERVIEW

The last of the interviews (#9) conducted with Pioneers in our specialty by Dr. W. Gerald Rainer is with Dr. Ake Senning. Enjoy this interchange, as well as all the interviews in this remarkable series:

http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/residents/pioneerinterviews/index.html

CASE PRESENTATIONS

Please send your "Interesting Case Presentations" to Dr. Vinod Thourani (vthoura@emory.edu). Instructions for submission are available here:

http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/residents/articles/article-.html

________________________________________________________________

***JOURNALS***

The September issues of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, the Asian Cardiovascular & Thoracic Annals, the European Journal of Cardio-thoracic Surgery, The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, and the Interactive CardioVascular and Thoracic Surgery are now available online.

THE ANNALS OF THORACIC SURGERY September 2005 Article for Discussion

Caputo, et al: "Randomized comparison between normothermic and hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass in pediatric open-heart surgery" Caputo, et al, report the results of their investigations of the effect of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) temperature on myocardial reperfusion injury, oxidative stress, and inflammatory response in pediatric open heart surgery. Fifty-nine children (median age 78 months) undergoing correction of simple congenital heart defects were randomized to receive either hypothermic (28°C) or normothermic (35-37°C) CPB. Troponin I and 8-isoprostane, complement activation C3a, interleukin (IL) -6, -8, and -10, were measured preoperatively, on removal of the aortic cross clamp, 30 minutes, 6, and 24 hours postoperatively. Troponin I and 8-isoprostane were significantly raised, compared to baseline, in both groups, and remained high at 24 hours, and there was no evidence to suggest the treatment effect changed significantly over the time points measured (p = 0.!

63). The C3a, IL-6, and IL-8 release was similar in the two groups. The IL-10 release between the groups changed over time (p = 0.059) and examining differences at individual time points highlighted a statistically significant difference at the end of the cross-clamp time (p = 0.0079). The authors conclude that normothermic CPB is associated with reduced oxidative stress compared with hypothermic CPB, and similar myocardial reperfusion injury and whole body inflammatory response, in children undergoing open heart surgery. This result challenges some long-held beliefs regarding hypothermia for CPB, in an era in which protection during a pump mishap is very rarely required. Worldwide, there is a trend toward normothermia, but many competent and successful surgeons continue to prefer hypothermia in some form.

Please read the article at: http://ats.ctsnetjournals.org/cgi/content/full/80/3/982 and add your comments and experience to this Dilemma in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Discussion Forum:

http://forums.ctsnet.org/ctsnet/forum.jspa?forumID=4&start=0

Article of Interest from September ATS:

Review Article: "Implementation of a Cardiac Surgery Report Card: Lessons From the Massachusetts Experience" by David M. Shahian, David F. Torchiana, and Sharon-Lise T. Normand

Ann Thorac Surg 2005 80:1146-1150.

Open access at:

http://ats.ctsnetjournals.org/cgi/content/full/80/3/1146

________________________________________________________________

***DISCUSSIONS***

BEATING HEART INNOVATION CENTER

Dr. Dimitar O. Simov of Sophia, Bulgaria has posed this interesting question, addressed initially to Dr. Mercedes Dullum, an Editor of the Beating Heart Surgery Innovation Center:

"Dear Dr. Dullum,

Kind Regards,

Dr. Simov"

http://forums.ctsnet.org/ctsnet/thread.jspa?threadID=1454

TRAUMATIC TRACHEAL LACERATION

There is an interesting discussion developing on the Case of the Month "Blunt Traumatic Tracheal Laceration" By Christopher Komanapalli, MD, Hannan Chaugle, MD, Ileana Esquivel, PA-C and Mithran Sukumar, MD. View the comments at:

http://forums.ctsnet.org/ctsnet/thread.jspa?threadID=1453&tstart=0

________________________________________________________________

***TRANSITIONS***

At the recently concluded EACTS-ESTS meeting in Barcelona, the EACTS 2005-2006 officers were ratified. They are:

President - Tom Treasure

Vice President - Siegfried Hagl

Secretary General - Bruce Keogh

Treasurer - Jose Pomar

Editor-in-chief - Ludwig von Segesser

Information Officer - Paul Sergeant

Past President - Torkel Aberg

Councillors

Friedhelm Beyersdorf

Juan Comas

Stefano Elia

Timothy J. Gardner

Pieter Kappetein

Ralph Alexander Schmid

________________________________________________________________

***ABSTRACT DEADLINES***

October 10, 2005: THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THORACIC SURGERY, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

October 15, 2005: BRAZILIAN CONGRESS OF CARDIOVASCULAR SURGERY, Salvador (Bahia) Brazil.

October 31, 2005: The INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR MINIMALLY INVASIVE CARDIOTHORACIC SURGERY (ISMICS) Winter Workshop, Shanghai, China.

November 1, 2005: NewEra CARDIAC CARE: INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY, Newport Beach, California.

November 1, 2005: Autumn Meeting of the FRENCH SOCIETY OF THORACIC AND CARDIOVASCULAR SURGERY, Paris, France.

November 5, 2005: THE SOCIETY OF CARDIOTHORACIC SURGEONS OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND (SCTS), Dublin, Ireland.

December 1, 2005: SAN DIEGO CARDIOTHORACIC SURGERY SYMPOSIUM, San Diego, California.

December 1, 2005: The GENERAL THORACIC SURGICAL CLUB, Tucson, Arizona.

December 15, 2005: 16th Annual Meeting of the SCANDINAVIAN SOCIETY FOR RESEARCH IN CARDIOTHORACIC SURGERY (SSRCTS), Geilo, Norway.

December 15, 2005: 55th International Congress of the EUROPEAN SOCIETY FOR CARDIOVASCULAR SURGERY, St. Petersburg, Russia.

December 19, 2005: INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR MINIMALLY INVASIVE CARDIOTHORACIC SURGERY (ISMICS), San Francisco, California.

December 20, 2005: The EUROPEAN SOCIETY FOR CARDIOVASCULAR SURGERY (ESCVS), St. Petersburg, Russia.

March 10, 2006: THE WORLD SOCIETY OF CARDIO-THORACIC SURGEONS (WSCTS), Ottawa, Canada.

For more meeting abstract deadlines:

http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/newsandviews/eventpages/events_abstractdeadlines.cfm

_______________________________________________________________

***OCTOBER MEETINGS***

http://www.ctsnet.org/file/3rdICOCProgram_Agenda_aug_1_2005revised.htm

2005 AUSTRALASIAN SOCIETY OF CARDIAC AND THORACIC SURGEONS (ASCTS) Meeting, Tuesday 25 - Sunday 30 October 2005, Sunshine Coast Queensland, Australia. For information, contact: Taylored Images, PO Box 247, Ashgrove, Queensland, Australia 4060, phone: 61 7 3366 2205; FAX: 61 7 3366 5170; e-mail: 2005ascts@tayloredimages.com.au. For more information see:

http://www.tayloredimages.com.au/ascts2005/

The Fifth TRIENNIAL BRIGHAM CARDIAC VALVE SYMPOSIUM will be held October 26-28th, 2005 at the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston, MA. This is a multidimensional 2-day lecture and panel discussion course on valve surgery involving cardiologists and cardiac surgeons. For information, contact: Norman Shostak, Harvard Medical School-CME, 21 Landmark Center, 2nd Floor West, 401 Park Drive, Boston, MA 02215, Phone: 1 617 384-8611, Fax: 1 617 384-8686, Email: norman_shostak@hms.harvard.edu

More information and the program available at:

http://www.cme.hms.harvard.edu/index.asp?SECTION=CLASSES&ID=251558&SO=N

http://www.medical-renaissance.com or

call 888.508.8554.

A number of full scholarships to cardiothoracic residents interested in attending the Renaissance Summit

will be provided. Information is located at:

http://www.medical-renaissance.com/residents/index.html

***FUTURE MEETINGS***

The SOUTHERN THORACIC SURGICAL ASSOCIATION (STSA) 52nd Annual Meeting will be held November 10-12, 2005, at the Disney Yacht & Beach Club, Orlando, Florida. You can also download meeting registration and hotel reservation forms. Don't forget, the deadline for registration is October 14, 2005. See STSA website for further details:

http://www.stsa.org/

Click to view the STSA program in Orlando:

http://www.ctsnet.org/abstractsprogram/stsa/856?view=displayoverview&Req

Current and former staff of the Alfred Hospital Heart & Lung Transplant Service are warmly invited to attend the "1000th Transplant Celebration Dinner". Thursday 17th November 2005 at The Great Hall, National Gallery Victoria, Melbourne. For full details: www.alfred.org.au and click on the "1000th Transplant Celebration Dinner" link.

The 10th Anniversary Congress of the BELGIAN ASSOCIATION FOR CARDIO-THORACIC SURGERY will be held 19 November 2005 at the Sodehotel-Woluwe, B-1200 Brussels, Belgium. Invited speakers are Andrew S. Wechsler, Philadelphia, and Joel D. Cooper, Philadelphia. More information available either at the BACTS website:

http://www.bacts.org

or the Congress website:

http://www.medicongress.com/bacts/registration.php

The 17th Biennial Congress of ASSOCIATION OF THORACIC AND CARDIOVASCULAR SURGEONS OF ASIA (ATCSA) will be held at the Makati Shangri-la Hotel, Manila, Philippines, November 20-23, 2005. For more information:

http://www.atcsa.org

Alain Carpentier, MD, PhD, announces the "Heart Valve Club" Live Surgery Conference to be held November 28-30, 2005 in Paris, France. This CME-accredited course includes live surgeries by Prof. Carpentier, joined by an esteemed faculty for an interactive discussion of aortic, mitral, and tricuspid valve repair and replacement surgeries. Invited faculty include Sir Magdi Yacoub, MD, PhD; Hugo Vanerman, MD, PhD; Friedrich Mohr, MD, PhD; and Gilles Dreyfus, MD. CME credits are available for U.S. and Canadian physicians. To register and review the program, see:

http://www.amainc.com/heart_valve_club.html

The INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR MINIMALLY INVASIVE CARDIOTHORACIC SURGERY (ISMICS) Winter Workshop will be held December 2-4, 2005, at the Galaxy Hotel in Shanghai, China. Abstracts are being accepted through October 31, 2005. For meeting and abstract submission information please go to: http://www.ismics.org

FIRST ANNUAL HEART FAILURE HOLIDAY SYMPOSIUM, sponsored by The Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute of Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s Center for Heart Failure, will be held at Northwestern Memorial Hospital Conference Center, Chicago, IL, on December 2-4, 2005. Course directors are Patrick McCarthy, MD, and John O'Connell, MD, and Kathleen Grady, RN, PhD. This symposium will bring together the world’s leading cardiologists and cardiac surgeons to share their expertise in treating patients with heart failure, including the latest in surgical and percutaneous therapies. The faculty will share their unique insights through lectures, videos, case presentations and lively debates in a setting that promotes networking and idea exchange among participants and the faculty. For information, contact: Amie Devine, Northwestern University Office of CME, Phone 312 503-8533, Fax 312 503-4531, Email: a-devine@northwestern.edu Additional information and the program available at:

http://www.cme.northwestern.edu/Templates/heartfailure.pdf

A SYMPOSIUM on The Management of Early Lung Cancer sponsored by the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, will be held on Friday, December 9, 2005. For details on registration, lodging, and a copy of the program, please contact Joanne Clifton, Tel: (604) 875-5355; Fax: (604) 875-4036; Email: joanne.clifton@vch.ca

The 9th Annual NewEra CARDIAC CARE: INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY meeting, co-chaired by W. Randolph Chitwood, Jr., MD, and Mehmet C. Oz, MD, will be held January 6-8, 2006, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Newport Beach, California. The DEADLINE for abstracts and videos is November 1, 2005. For further information, please visit:

http://www.amainc.com/newerahome.html

The 42nd Annual Meeting of THE SOCIETY OF THORACIC SURGEONS will be held January 30-February 1, 2006, in Chicago, Illinois. Note the change in location from New Orleans to Chicago due to the hurricane. Abstracts are closed. For more information:

http://www.sts.org/sections/annualmeeting/

The 26th Annual SAN DIEGO CARDIOTHORACIC SURGERY SYMPOSIUM, chaired by Julie A. Swain, MD, will be held February 16-19, 2006, at the San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina in San Diego, California. The abstract DEADLINE is December 1, 2005. For further information:

http://www.amainc.com/cref_cardiothoracic.html

The GENERAL THORACIC SURGICAL CLUB meeting will be held March 9-12, 2006 at the Hilton El Conquistador Hotel in Tucson, Arizona:

http://www.hiltonelconquistador.com/

DEADLINE for abstracts is December 1, 2005. Abstract instructions:

http://www.gtsc.org/documents/Word/Abstract_draft-june28.doc

THE SOCIETY OF CARDIOTHORACIC SURGEONS OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND will be held in Dublin, Ireland March 13-16, 2006. The online abstract system will be open from September 1 until November 5, 2005. Further information:

http://www.scts.org/

The BRAZILIAN CONGRESS OF CARDIOVASCULAR SURGERY will be held in Salvador (Bahia) Brazil, March 29 - April 1, 2006. Abstract deadline is October 15, 2005. Accepted abstracts will be published in the Brazilian Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery, in Portuguese in the print version and in Portuguese and English in the electronic version. Manuscripts (complete for publication) of the ACCEPTED presentations must be sent to the Society (Rua Beira Rio 45, 7th floor, São Paulo, Brazil ZIP 04548-050) by February 15, 2006.

The 86th Annual Meeting of THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THORACIC SURGERY will be held April 29 - May 3, 2006 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, PA. ABSTRACTS ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED. THE DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACTS IS OCTOBER 10, 2005. For more information:

http://www.aats.org

The 55th International Congress of The EUROPEAN SOCIETY FOR CARDIOVASCULAR SURGERY will be held May 11-14, 2006 in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation. The abstract submission deadline is DECEMBER 20, 2005. For information, please contact: Prof. Claudio Muneretto, Secretary General - European Society for Cardiovascular Surgery, UDA Cardiochirurgia - Spedali Civili, P.le Spedali Civili 1, 25123 Brescia, Italy, Phone: + 39 030 3996401; Fax: + 39 030 3996096; Email: munerett@master.cci.unibs.it Additional information:

http://www.escvsannualcongress.org

The Second International Conference on PEDIATRIC MECHANICAL CIRCULATORY SUPPORT SYSTEMS AND PEDIATRIC CARDIOPULMONARY PERFUSION will be held May 18-20, 2006 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Website is: www.hmc.psu.edu/ce; A specific website for this conference is being developed and will be located at: www.hmc.psu.edu/ce/pediatrics. Questions concerning the conference should be directed to Bonnie J. Bixler, MEd, Director of Special Projects, Penn State College of Medicine Ph: 717-531-6483

The INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR MINIMALLY INVASIVE CARDIOTHORACIC SURGERY (ISMICS) will be held June 7-10, 2006, at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. As always, ISMICS is seeking submissions featuring the newest technology and techniques in minimally invasive cardiothoracic, thoracic and vascular surgery. ABSTRACT DEADLINE is December 19, 2005. For more information:

HTTP://www.ismics.org

The 32nd Annual Meeting of the Western Thoracic Surgical Association (WTSA) will be held June 21-24, 2006 at the beautiful Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho. Abstract submission guidelines and deadline information will be available later this fall at

http://www.westernthoracic.org

The 55th Annual Meeting of the SCANDINAVIAN ASSOCIATION FOR THORACIC SURGERY and the 26th Annual Meeting of SCANSECT will be held August 16-19, 2006, in Reykjavik, Iceland. Information: Iceland Travel, Conference Department, P.O. Box 8650,IS-128 Reykjavik, Iceland. Phone 354.585.4300, fax 354.585.4390; e-mail: conferences@icelandtravel.is; website:

http://www.sats-scansect.org

The 2006 Meeting of the World Society of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (WSCTS) will be held August 17-20, 2006 at Ottawa Congress Centre, Ottawa, Canada. ABSTRACTS ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED. ABSTRACT DEADLINE IS MARCH 10, 2006. For further details:

http://www.wscts2006.com

________________________________________________________________

***MEMBER SECTION***

We thank all those members who have sent your photos for posting on your home page. It does make such a difference when curious fellow-members can eyeball you. For those who have not yet done so, we urge you to send a photograph soon. We prefer a jpeg file attached to an e-mail, but will accept other types (bitmap, gif). Or simply send us a wallet-sized glossy print to the address below.

Update your home page periodically. The tool is very simple to use. When others are curious enough about you to go to the member list and click on your home page, they are disappointed when there is no picture, and the page is largely blank. You have had that same experience, and so know what we are talking about. See http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/members/index.html

Watch for the CTSNet banner! CTSNet will be registering new members, taking photos, and assisting with home pages at two meetings during the month of October: the Annual Meeting of the Swedish Association for Cardiothoracic Surgery, 13-15 October 2005, Radisson SAS Hotel, Gothenburg, Sweden and the 3rd National Conference of Cardiovascular Surgery/the 4th National Conference of Thoracic Surgery, 21-22 October 2005, The Military Hospital, Bucharest, Romania. If you attend these meetings, please stop by to say hello.

Thomas B. Ferguson, M.D.

Senior Editor

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Managing Editor

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