Content from the Journal of the American Neurological Surgeons.
The frozen elephant trunk (FET) technique provides a useful surgical approach for managing complex aortic arch pathologies (1). One of the critical challenges of this procedure is the reimplantation of the left subclavian artery (LSA) (2). A new hybrid device, the E-vita Neo EDE, (3) combines a standard FET prosthesis with an additional branch specifically…
This interview focuses on establishing a sustainable pediatric cardiac surgical program in Georgetown, Guyana. At the 2026 American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) Annual Meeting, CTSNet JANS Editor Ali Mashadi, a medical student at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland—Bahrain, spoke with Rebekah Boyd, an I6 resident at Duke University, North Carolina, USA, to…
This thoracic session features leading surgeons presenting on advancements in robotic and complex thoracic surgery at the International Society for Minimally Invasive Cardiothoracic Surgery Annual Scientific Meeting 2026. To begin, Desmond M. D’Souza from the Division of Thoracic Surgery at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center presented on “Single-Port Robotic Lobectomy—Tips and Tricks.” He…
In this insightful interview, CTSNet Editor-in-Chief Joel Dunning speaks with CTSNet Senior Editor—Global Emily Farkas, Associate Director of Global Health in Surgery at the Indiana University School of Medicine, about the upcoming Cardiac Surgery Intersociety Alliance (CSIA) conference and global cardiothoracic surgery. They discuss details of the upcoming conference, including its primary goals, covered topics,…
This video demonstrates the case of a 51-year-old female patient with a history of smoking who presented with progressive dyspnea, hemoptysis, and status alteration. Computed tomography (CT) of the chest showed a proximal left endobronchial tumor with fissural invasion. Positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) revealed a hypermetabolic mass with no evidence of other locations. A…
Treating patients with both gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and severe obesity can be challenging. Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy alone can exacerbate GERD symptoms and can induce GERD in asymptomatic patients (1). Obese patients have worse long-term control of reflux symptoms following a standalone laparoscopic fundoplication (2, 3). The laparoscopic Nissen sleeve gastrectomy (NSG) is an effective…
The authors present their technique for axillary Impella 5.5 insertion. The preferred incision was made through the deltopectoral groove, where the axillary artery is more superficial and easier to access. The pectoral muscles were traversed by spreading their fibers rather than dividing them, and two self-retaining retractors were used to optimize exposure. To expose the…
The authors present a 75-year-old woman with dyspnea on exertion. She was diagnosed with an aortic valve stenosis and moderate-to-severe mitral valve regurgitation due to a localized A2 prolapse. This case demonstrates a step-by-step transaxillary, direct-vision aortic valve replacement, mitral valve repair, concomitant ablation, and left atrial appendage clip. This video submission is from the 2026 CTSNet Instructional Video Competition.…
Mediastinal lipomas are benign, slow-growing masses that can present as large masses due to their insidious onset (1). Symptoms associated with these lipomas are generally due to mass effect, such as dysphagia, shortness of breath, palpitations, and/or chest pain. In most cases, large mediastinal masses are removed via thoracotomy or sternotomy (1, 2). In this…
Join Us in Cape Town for the EACTS/STS/CSIA Cardio-Thoracic Conference, ‘In Africa for Africa’ The conference takes place from September 4–6, 2026 in Cape Town, bringing together leading regional and international clinicians, fellows, and registrars to explore contemporary, context-specific approaches to cardio-thoracic surgery and care across Africa. The conference will explore a broad range of…
This interview focuses on systemic tricuspid valve surgery in congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (ccTGA). At the 2026 American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) Annual Meeting, Sameh Said, Chief of the Division of Pediatric and Adult Congenital Cardiac Surgery at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital in Valhalla, NY, USA, interviewed Edward Buratto, a congenital…
This cardiac session features leading surgeon Mario Castillo-Sang presenting on intraoperative pearls and pitfalls at the International Society for Minimally Invasive Cardiothoracic Surgery Annual Scientific Meeting 2026. CTSNet Senior Editor—Cardiac Dr. Castillo-Sang, the Surgical Director of Mitral Valve and Heart Failure Therapies at St. Elizabeth Healthcare in Edgewood, Kentucky, USA, delivered a presentation titled “Intraoperative…
An 8 cm left sub-areolar thoracotomy was performed as the working port. The pericardium was opened vertically over the left ventricular apex and suspended with retraction sutures. Using 3-0 polypropylene pledgeted sutures, the apical cuff was secured to the left ventricular (LV) apex. The driveline was tunneled subcostally and exteriorized on the lateral abdominal wall.…
This session features leading surgeons discussing the tricuspid valve at the Transcatheter Heart Valves Greece (THVGreece) 2026 conference. Moderators Vassilis Voudris, Director of the Cardiology/Interventional Cardiology Division, Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center, Athens, Greece; and Vasilios Lozos, Cardiac Surgeon, Hippokration General Hospital in Athens, led an esteemed panel of specialists, including: Athanasios Pipilis, Clinical Director of…
The video begins with an interview featuring thoracic surgeon and CTSNet Editor-in-Chief Joel Dunning and Dr. Leanne Ashrafian, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Guy’s Hospital in London, United Kingdom, interviewing the author of this complex case Dr. Jakraphan Yu, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Vajira Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand. They discuss the intricacies of this case and the…
Congenital diverticulum of the ventricle is a rare cardiac malformation and is usually associated with other congenital abnormalities, including intracardiac, midline thoracic, diaphragmatic, and anterior abdominal wall defects, first described by Cantrell, Haller and Ravitch (1). In this video, the authors describe a single-stage repair of an apical left ventricular diverticulum with ventricular septal defect…
