January 3, 2019
6 min read

STS News, Winter 2019 -- The STS 55th Annual Meeting is just a few weeks away, but it’s not too late to plan to join your colleagues in San Diego, California, for one of the largest cardiothoracic surgery meetings in the world. Save $100 from onsite pricing by registering on or before January 24 at sts.org/annualmeeting.

Registration provides access to educational sessions on Sunday, January 27, Monday, January 28, and Tuesday, January 29. Additionally, you will receive complimentary access to Annual Meeting Online, a web-based video presentation of most sessions offered at the Annual Meeting that will provide the opportunity to earn more than 100 continuing medical education credits. Separate tickets are required to attend STS University courses and the President’s Reception (both on Sunday, January 27). Registration also is separate for Tech-Con 2019, which will be held on Saturday, January 26.

Browse the educational program, save favorite sessions/presentations to your custom itinerary, read scientific abstracts, and more by downloading the STS Meetings app. Search for “STS Meetings” in the Apple iOS App or Google Play stores, or visit sts.org/mobileapp. Please note that printed copies of the meeting program will not be distributed onsite.

The Best Forum for Scientific Research

The meeting schedule has been reorganized, and the opening plenary session will be held on Sunday afternoon instead of Monday morning. This session will include presentation of the J. Maxwell Chamberlain Memorial Papers, which represent some of the top-rated abstracts at the meeting.

The Chamberlain paper for adult cardiac surgery examines the relationship between a hospital’s surgical aortic valve replacement volume and its transcatheter aortic valve replacement outcomes. The congenital heart surgery paper reviews patient-perceived functional health status for adults who underwent transposition of the great arteries repair as children during the transition from atrial to arterial repair. And the general thoracic surgery paper takes a look at whether thoracic surgery regionalization within an integrated health care system improves outcomes of major pulmonary resections for lung cancer.

The Richard E. Clark Memorial Papers highlight research utilizing data from the STS National Database. These papers will be featured during specialty-specific parallel sessions on Monday and Tuesday. The Clark paper for adult cardiac surgery looks at reoperative surgical aortic valve replacement for bioprosthetic failure. The congenital heart surgery paper describes outcomes of the Fontan operation with and without Down syndrome, and the general thoracic surgery paper evaluates survival for lobectomy versus segmentectomy for clinical stage IA lung cancer in elderly patients.

Hear from Experts Around the World

The STS Annual Meeting brings together surgeons from across the globe to share their unique experiences and also features a number of joint sessions with international medical societies.

A session to be presented on Sunday by STS, the Canadian Association of Thoracic Surgeons, and the Canadian Society of Cardiac Surgeons will review trends in the utilization of minimally invasive surgical techniques for anatomic pulmonary resection, including both video-assisted thoracoscopic and robotic surgery.

On Monday, the Society will team with the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery in a session on alternatives to the standard classic repair for DeBakey type I aortic dissection. Experts will discuss the outcomes of innovative extended arch repair techniques, including the distal aortic frozen elephant trunk, novel branched arch endografts, and valve retention root reconstructive surgery.

Also on Monday, STS will join the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons to discuss controversial issues in general thoracic surgery, including invasive staging in early stage lung cancer, multimodal approaches for the treatment of stage IIIAN2 lung cancer, and the use of induction therapy in patients with T2N0 esophageal cancer. 

Finally, STS and the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation will hold a symposium on Monday looking at how ventricular assist devices are utilized in European and Asian populations, as well as the latest innovations in univentricular and biventricular support.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The Annual Meeting will feature dozens of oral abstract presentations, invited talks by renowned speakers, lively debates, and surgical videos.

If you are not registered for the Annual Meeting, you can register online at sts.org/annualmeeting or onsite in San Diego beginning Friday, January 25.


Put Knowledge into Practice at STS University

STS University, a popular series of hands-on learning activities, will take place during two sessions on Sunday morning, January 27. Several courses still have space available, so add one or more to your schedule. Each course is $175.

These courses feature both didactic lectures, to be viewed online before January 27, and hands-on experiences in a wet lab or on a simulator in San Diego. You can view the lectures for all STS U courses at sts.org/stsuniversity.

Course 1: Essentials of TAVR
Course 2: TEVAR and Aortic Arch Debranching Procedures
Course 3: Mitral Valve Repair
Course 4: Valve-Sparing Aortic Root Replacement – Reimplantation
Course 5: Aortic Root Enlargement Procedures and Aortic Valve Leaflet Reconstruction
Course 6: VATS Lobectomy
Course 7: Advanced Open Esophageal and Tracheal Procedures
Course 8: Complex Chest Wall Issues for the Thoracic Surgeon: Reconstruction After Tumor Resection, Pectus Deformities, and Rib Fractures
Course 9: Minimally Invasive Aortic and Mitral Surgery
Course 10: Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy (POEM) Skills
Course 11: Robotic Lobectomy
Course 12: VATS Sleeve Lobectomy
Course 13: Percutaneous Transseptal Access, Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair, and Mitral Valve-in-Valve Replacement


Keynote Lecturers to Address Immunotherapy, Artificial Intelligence

Two intriguing and inspiring keynote lectures are planned for the Annual Meeting. In a change from previous years, the lectures will be presented on separate days—Sunday afternoon and Tuesday morning.

Thomas B. Ferguson Lecture

Laurie H. Glimcher, MD
Sunday, January 27, 3:30 p.m.

Dr. Glimcher is an immunologist who has made seminal discoveries in cancer immunology research, particularly in the fields of transcriptional regulation, lymphocyte differentiation, immunology, and osteobiology. She is President and CEO of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston—the first woman to hold that position—and also is Principal Investigator and Director of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, as well as the Richard and Susan Smith Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Her address is titled “Cancer Immunotherapy: The End of the Beginning.”

C. Walton Lillehei Lecture

Eric Topol, MD
Tuesday, January 29, 9:45 a.m.

Dr. Topol is a cardiologist and geneticist specializing in the use of artificial intelligence, “deep” data, and smart technology for individualized treatment approaches. He holds the Gary and Mary West Endowed Chair of Innovative Medicine at Scripps Research, is the Director and Founder of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, and is Chief Academic Officer of Scripps Health in La Jolla, California. His talk will explore “High-Performance Medicine: The Convergence of Artificial Intelligence and Health Care.”


Thank You!

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons gratefully acknowledges the following companies for providing educational grants for the STS 55th Annual Meeting.

This list is accurate as of January 3, 2019.

Platinum Benefactors

Provided $50,000 or more

Abbott
Medtronic

Silver Benefactors

Provided $10,000-$24,999

Boston Scientific Corporation
Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies
Olympus