On Thursday, January 29, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), in collaboration with the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT), hosted the inaugural STS/ISHLT Lung Transplantation Symposium as part of the STS 62nd Annual Meeting. This full-day specialty session provided a practical, multidisciplinary review of contemporary lung transplantation, covering donor selection through long-term management with an emphasis on intraoperative decision-making and complex clinical scenarios.
“Through its practical, comprehensive approach, the symposium offered attendees an in-depth perspective on modern lung transplantation,” said organizing chair Kewal Krishan, MD. “The program equipped surgeons and care teams with strategies for both routine and highly complex cases.”
The program combined didactic lectures, live debates, and case-based panels to highlight advances in donor management, organ preservation, surgical techniques, and perioperative care. Attendees earned CME credits while engaging in detailed discussions of common challenges in lung transplantation surgery.
Sessions delivered a case-based overview across the operative spectrum—from donor management and organ preservation to complex intraoperative rescue. Faculty reviewed retrieval strategies in donation after brain death and circulatory death, surgical implantation techniques, perioperative anesthesia and hemodynamic management, and the use of ECMO or cardiopulmonary bypass. Advanced scenarios, including robotic, redo, and heart–lung transplantation, concluded with interactive discussions focused on real-world, high-risk cases.