The premier annual event in cardiothoracic surgery, unveiling never-before-seen science, techniques, and technology, and creating a forum to build lasting connections with colleagues.
The management of stage IIIA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is evolving in the era of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. In the past, there has been a great deal of controversy regarding the optimal management of patients with N2 nodal metastasis at the time of diagnosis of NSCLC. There are some new questions to address when considering the results of the Checkmate 816 and the NADIM II clinical trials which demonstrated improved disease-free survival and overall survival with neoadjuvant combined chemotherapy and Nivolumab.
Recent approvals by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have made available two new technologies for treating aortic disease. The GORE® TAG® Thoracic Branch Endoprosthesis (TBE) is single-branch aortic stent graft that provides an off-the-shelf solution for patients that need zone II aortic coverage and obviates the need for prior left subclavian revascularization. The Thoraflex Hybrid Frozen Elephant Trunk (FET) device is a pre-mated surgical graft and an aortic stent graft to facilitate single-stage treatment of arch and proximal descending aortic pathologies.
Last year, the lung transplant community was excited by reports from Toronto General Hospital of successful lung transplants with seemingly improved perioperative outcomes compared to standard of care ice storage, after donor lungs were stored for up to 16 hours at 10 degrees Celsius. While a clinical trial is ongoing, preclinical evidence suggests that organ storage may be successfully extended to more than a day, with intermittent normothermic ex-vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) utilization. Is it time to consider lung transplantation as a semi-elective procedure?
Procedures to evaluate lymph nodes before lung cancer therapy, including endobronchial guided nodal aspiration and mediastinoscopy, can help diagnose and stage the patient effectively. Research findings demonstrate, however, that these procedures are underutilized overall or employed in a highly variable fashion. In this STS webinar, an expert panel of pulmonologists and thoracic surgeons discusses the changing role of pretreatment nodal staging to include diagnosis, staging, and acquisition of sufficient tissue for biomarker testing.
