Improving
patient outcomes

Curated resources, tools, events, news, and videos for aspiring, in-training, and experienced surgeons.

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New App Brings Data-Driven Decision-Making to the Bedside

The STS risk calculator mobile app—driven by precise statistical models in the STS National Database—allows surgeons and their multidisciplinary teams to estimate a patient’s operative risk in real time and on the go. Use the app to assess the risk of adult cardiac and thoracic surgical procedures and help improve patient outcomes.

Learn More and Download

Education

Network and stay on the cutting edge of cardiothoracic surgeryView All >

Event
STS Leadership Institute 2025-26

An opportunity for early and mid-career STS surgeon members to learn how to lead in and out of the OR.

Jul 10, 2025 – Jan 30, 2026

Zoom, Chicago, and New Orleans

Event
2025 STS Boot Camp

An experiential foundation and hands-on practice in basic cardiothoracic operating skills for first-year residents.

Aug 21–24, 2025

Chicago, IL

Korean Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (blue background, computer-generated heart)

Event
Heart Valve Disease Forum 2025

KTCVS-STS Asia Symposium on Valvular Heart Disease

Sep 12–13, 2025

Seoul, Korea

Data & Research

Initiatives and resources to improve quality care for patients

STS National Database

The gold standard for clinical registries and quality improvement

Open

Public Reporting

Institutional performance and national benchmarks for survival, complications, and other measures.

Open

Current Projects

The latest research in progress from programs funded by STS

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Data Access Programs

STS data for quality improvement initiatives, clinical trials, and research

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Resources

Essential tools for cardiothoracic surgeons

Risk Calculators

Calculate a patient’s risk of mortality and morbidities for common surgeries.

Open

Early Career Resources

Guidance and resources for CT surgeons in the first 7 years of practice

Open

Clinical Practice Documents and Policies

Improve patient outcomes with guidelines from experienced medical professionals.

Surgical Checklists

PDFs to prepare you and your team for upcoming surgeries.

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News & Media

The latest from the field of thoracic surgeryView All >

Podcast
169; S5: Same Surgeon, Different Light w/ Dr. Emily Farkas

Host Dr. Cherie Erkmen welcomes Dr. Emily Farkas, a cardiothoracic surgeon at the Indiana University School of Medicine, to discuss her unconventional path to becoming a trailblazer in global medicine. Dr. Farkas shares how she balances a clinical career in academic medicine with surgical missions around the world, and she reflects on her hope of serving as a model for the next generation of surgeons committed to giving back. As she puts it, “You can craft a career that’s a bit different from the rigid way we traditionally view cardiac surgery.”

52 minutes

Blog
Leading with Safety: Lessons from the 2025 STS Leadership Institute

The 2025 STS Leadership Institute meeting held in Chicago was a fantastic experience that far exceeded my expectations. I was not only able to network and get to know many people in the field, but was also able to take away many lessons that helped me to determine the path I would like to take to become a better leader as I grow and mature as a surgeon.

Jun 24, 2025

2 min read

Meghan Halub, MD

Podcast
#11, S1 How Risk Calculators Reflect Today's Thoracic Care

In this episode of Thinking Thoracic, hear from Christopher Seder, MD, professor of surgery and chief of the thoracic surgery division at Rush University, and Robert Habib, vice president of research and analytics at STS, about the development of the Society’s short-term risk calculators for pulmonary resection and esophagectomy, powered by the General Thoracic Surgery Database with more than 800,000 patient records.

40 min

STS News, the Society’s quarterly magazine for members only, brings you the latest CT surgery news, research, stories, and more to help keep you in the know and connected to your peers.

Read the issue