All Members

STS President Thomas MacGillivray, MD, recently hosted a Town Hall to get member input on how the Society can advance a more inclusive and welcoming community of cardiothoracic surgeons.

Facilitated by DEI Consultant James Pogue, PhD, the Town Hall focused on understanding member perceptions of where individuals, the specialty, and the Society are today with respect to DEI. “This work is about you, our members. We want your perspectives on the role that DEI should play in our specialty and our Society,” said Dr. MacGillivray. “This is your opportunity to speak up and have your voices heard.”

Key themes that emerged were the need for data to understand members’ general knowledge of DEI; a call to action for members to engage in real, meaningful conversations that result in tangible change; and a culture that elevates empathy, listening, kindness, and grace throughout this journey.

Dr. MacGillivray said he has listened to a wide range of opinions over the past five months, and he sees STS members at different levels of DEI understanding and engagement.

“The more we talk about things, the more we can learn. I hope all of us who are trained in science, data, and evidence take the knowledge gained from this journey and use it to help us build a better future for all,” added Dr. MacGillivray.

Leading up to the Town Hall, Dr. Pogue conducted one-on-one discussions with key stakeholders and a deep-dive DEI session with the STS Board of Directors. Next up is a member survey and focus groups. Dr. Pogue will use data and insights from this work to develop recommendations on the path forward for STS.

On June 3, 2023, in Miami Beach, Florida, cardiothoracic surgeons from around the world convened for the second annual STS Coronary Conference. Distinguished speakers and luminary surgeons painted a modern, ever-changing landscape of coronary surgery with new technologies, such as medical robotics, increasingly integrated into the specialty daily. Attendees experienced game-changing ideas, back-to-the-basics techniques, and ground-breaking science in diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to heart disease.

“The meeting brought together international leaders in the treatment of coronary artery disease and focused on the fundamentals and advanced therapies for coronary artery disease, including medical management, arterial conduits, and minimally invasive surgical revascularization,” said Joseph F. Sabik III, MD, surgeon-in-chief and vice president for surgical operations at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, and a course director of the conference. “The conversations were engaging and the atmosphere was electric.”

Sessions covered a wide range of topics, including heart team patient selection and approaches; conduit selection and harvest; non-invasive and invasive preoperative workups; and postoperative medical therapy.

Here’s a look at a few key presentations:

Two Decades of Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting in Females: Has Anything Changed? ​

Elizabeth Norton, MD, Emory University School of Medicine, and a team of surgeons representing the division of cardiothoracic surgery and the division of cardiology at the institution, examined trends in females undergoing isolated coronary artery bypass grafting during the past two decades. What they found is that female CABG mortality at their institution was higher than the male cohort and the overall national average and did not improve over time.​ Females undergoing isolated CABG were increasingly diverse, experienced more preoperative comorbidities, were more likely to undergo urgent CABG, and had greater IMA utilization.

External Stenting for Saphenous Vein Grafts in Coronary Surgery

Saphenous vein grafts have high failure rates with 3% to 12% occluding before hospital discharge, 8% to 25% failing at 1 year, and only 50% to 60% remaining patent after a decade.​ As a research fellow with the department of cardiothoracic surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine, Giovanni Jr. Soletti, MD, wanted to know - can neointima formation be prevented?​

By conducting a study-level meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials and other research methods, Dr. Soletti found that VEST reduces intimal hyperplasia and thickness of SVGs after CABG. This reduction does not translate into fewer graft occlusion events or repeat revascularization compared to non-VEST SVGs at a follow-up of 1.5 years. SVGs harvested with no-touch technique or arterial conduits, when clinically adequate, may be safely used to improve long-term patency. Further long-term data and larger studies are needed.

Intraoperative Extubation After Isolated CABG and Post-Operative Outcomes

There is a well-known association between post-op ventilator time and morbidity in CABG surgery. Les James, MD, a resident cardiothoracic surgeon at NYU Langone Health, explored the impact of routine OR extubation on postoperative outcomes. She studied risk factors and outcomes based on a patient’s age, BMI, EF% STS risk score, STS prolonged vent score, CPB, and XC and concluded that routine OR extubation after isolated CABG is safe and that expanded use of planned OR extubation may be warranted.

All three highlighted abstract presentations were conducted by cardiothoracic fellows. STS encourages residents and fellows to submit original research to an international expert faculty for future presentations.

Review all conference abstracts.