CTSNet Celebrates 25 Years of Serving the Global Cardiothoracic Community

In celebration of CTSNet’s twenty-fifth anniversary, CTSNet leaders and participants new and old came together to share the story of the organization’s founding and how CTSNet has impacted their professional lives. Join us as we celebrate the last twenty-five years of bringing together the global cardiothoracic community—and look ahead to the next twenty-five years!

It all began back in 1995. The internet was in its infancy, and after learning about it from his daughter, Dr. Robert L. Replogle had a visionary idea to bring The Society of Thoracic Surgery’s educational materials and network of surgeons to the web. Shortly thereafter, he was elected president of the STS and was able to put his plan into action. He and STS were soon joined in this effort by two other major CT surgery societies—the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery and the American Association for Thoracic Surgery—who recognized the importance of both an international focus as well as free and easy access to a broad array of cardiothoracic surgery education and information. Under the three societies’ guidance, the initial CTSNet web infrastructure was built and launched in 1999.

Today, with more than 50,000 registered users from across the world, CTSNet has grown above and beyond the original vision of Dr. Replogle and the three societies. In addition to a repository of thousands of surgical videos, we publish hundreds of video and article submissions each year from established surgeons and allied health professionals. The annual Resident Video Competition brings in submissions from the next generation of surgeons, and the Innovation Competition encourages surgeons to stay on the cutting edge of cardiothoracic surgical techniques. CTSNet’s profile function is more robust than ever before, and a flourishing social media presence continues to expand the organization’s network beyond the boundaries of the website. 

In the coming months, CTSNet users can look forward to a brand new and improved website. With features like badging for top contributors and a new learning hub, the next twenty-five years will be even better than the last. 

Stay tuned!