At the 2026 American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) Annual Meeting, CTSNet Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Joel Dunning, a cardiothoracic surgeon at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, UK, engaged in a discussion with Dr. Husam Balkhy, Professor of Surgery and the Director of Robotic and Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery at the University of Chicago Medicine in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Joining them were Drs. Sarah Nisivaco, a research assistant at the University of Chicago Medicine, and Bob Kiaii, a cardiac surgeon and Chief of Section of Cardiac Surgery in the Department of Cardiac Sciences at Libin Cardiovascular Institute in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
The conversation centered around the University of Chicago Medicine’s research and study on totally endoscopic coronary artery bypass (TECAB) surgery. They explored the study’s focus on early, mid-, and long-term outcomes, as well as the trends observed and what changes occurred throughout the duration of the study.
Additionally, they discussed various topics such as sternal wound infections and the use of arterial grafts. The learning curve in robotic surgery and the training of surgeons in TECAB were also key points of discussion. They also addressed the future of robotic cardiac surgery and strategies for increasing the number of trained surgeons in this field. Finally, they discussed the importance of team training and Dr. Nisivaco touched on her experience training in robotics.
At the 106th American Association for Thoracic Surgery Annual Meeting, surgeons gathered from around the word to discuss essential topics in cardiothoracic surgery. Interviews with leading surgeons addressing these critical issues were captured, and more interviews from the meeting will be available in the coming weeks.
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