Surgical Hot Topics

Hosted by Thomas K. Varghese Jr., MD, MS, the “Beyond the Abstract” program explores the “whys” behind articles in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery and discusses next steps with authors and thought leaders. In the latest episode, Mara B. Antonoff, MD, Jessica G.Y. Luc, MD, and Jason J. Han, MD, join Dr. Varghese to examine how social media has become an “inescapable” part of academic life and its role in the academic publishing proce...

In this episode of the STS Summer Series, Gorav Ailawadi, MD, MBA, and Tsuyoshi Kaneko, MD, moderate a panel of cardiothoracic surgeons and cardiologists as they review challenging cases of aortic stenosis and debate the merits of SAVR vs. TAVR as the preferred treatment. Cases include patients with bicuspid aortic valve, failed surgical bioprosthesis, small annulus, and concomitant coronary disease. Panelists include: Vinayak N. B...

Hosted by Thomas K. Varghese Jr., MD, MS, the “Beyond the Abstract” program explores the “whys” behind articles in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery and discusses next steps with authors and thought leaders. In the latest episode, Robert M. Sade, MD, joins Dr. Varghese to discuss ethical considerations in the practice of cardiothoracic surgery during a pandemic. Dr. Sade mentions the application of ethical principles and ethical conce...

STS/ACC TVT Registry leaders—Vinod H. Thourani, MD, and John D. Carroll, MD—moderate a panel of investigators, representatives from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and industry about valvular heart disease clinical research during COVID. They discuss the effects of the pandemic on research infrastructure, impediments to patient follow-ups and data collection, potential shifts in collaborative trial development guided by the...

STS President Joseph A. Dearani, MD, moderates a panel discussion that includes surgeons, a hospital executive, and a health care consultant on the economic impact of COVID and its implications for cardiothoracic surgery. At a time when cardiothoracic surgeons face 7%-8% cuts in Medicare reimbursement, they talked about the financial strain that COVID has had on staffing and salaries, how cardiothoracic surgeons quickly adapted to ...

T. Sloane Guy, MD, MBA, and Husam H. Balkhy, MD, moderate a discussion with surgeons who are experts in robotic cardiac procedures. They talk about how they got started in robotic surgery, the importance of institutional support for building and training a team, and the efficacy of robotic surgery as an instructional tool for residents and fellows. Panelists include Vinay Badhwar, MD, Arnar Geirsson, MD, Eugene A. Grossi, MD, Rober...

Hosted by Thomas K. Varghese Jr., MD, MS, the “Beyond the Abstract” program explores the “whys” behind articles in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery and discusses next steps with authors and thought leaders. In the latest episode, Francis D. Pagani, MD, PhD, joins Dr. Varghese to discuss the findings of the Intermacs 2019 Annual Report. They mentioned the percent decrease in patients listed for a transplant when they received an LVAD,...

STS President Joseph A. Dearani, MD, and Mara B. Antonoff, MD, moderate an interactive panel discussion with early career cardiothoracic surgeons about how COVID has affected their scope of work and how it may change going forward. They also discuss the expanding role of telemedicine and silver linings from the COVID pandemic. Panelists include Elizabeth A. David, MD, Melanie A. Edwards, MD, Gabriel Loor, MD, HelenMari L. Merritt-G...

Hosted by Thomas K. Varghese Jr., MD, MS, the “Beyond the Abstract” program explores the “whys” behind articles in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery and discusses next steps with authors and thought leaders. In the latest episode, John S. Ikonomidis, MD, PHD, joins Dr. Varghese to discuss the findings of the 2019 STS Practice Survey. Mandatory cognitive testing, increasing the number of women in the workforce, and job satisfaction are...

The death rate from cancer has steadily declined over the past 25 years; however, worldwide there were 9.6 million deaths in 2018, with lung cancer still number one among all cancer types. In the latest episode of “Beyond the Abstract,” a program that explores the “whys” behind an article in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Dr. Kemp H. Kernstine joins host Dr. Tom Varghese to discuss whether tumor FDG-PET avidity represents enhanced...

Hosted by Thomas K. Varghese Jr., MD, MS, the “Beyond the Abstract” program explores the “whys” behind articles in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery and discusses next steps with authors and thought leaders. In the latest episode, Lisa M. Brown, MD, MAS, joins Dr. Varghese to discuss a widespread unresolved healthcare problem—pain. Dr. Brown explains why it is important to learn more about predictors of chronic pain and the impact on ...

Managing and treating mitral valve disease have both changed radically over the past few years and now include transcatheter as well as surgical approaches. What does the future hold for mitral valve repair and replacement? During the most recent STS Annual Meeting, Vinod Thourani, MD, asked that question of Steven F. Bolling, MD, Gorav Ailawadi, MD, and Wilson Y. Szeto, MD. They also discussed new tools and technologies, making su...

Robotics is being called the “fourth industrial revolution." For some cardiothoracic surgeons, robotics means smaller, faster, and easier, resulting in patients getting out of the hospital sooner, having less pain, and returning to function faster. For others, the jury is still out on whether or not robotics will add long-term value, especially if surgeons face potential carpal tunnel injuries, back pain, and cervical stenosis....

Among the proactive steps that the Society is taking to help its members and other health care professionals deal with the evolving COVID-19 pandemic it is developing guidance documents—one for each discipline. In the latest episode of "Beyond the Abstract," Dr. Daniel Boffa joins Dr. Tom Varghese to talk about the guidance provided by representatives from multiple cancer, surgical, and research organizations for triaging p...

For cardiothoracic surgeons who are hoping to advance in their careers, it’s often difficult to balance clinical work with the scholarly activities that are necessary for promotion in a modern academic medicine environment. Ourania A. Preventza, MD, and colleagues including Himanshu J. Patel, MD, Elaine E. Tsang, MD, and Sunil Singhal, MD, provide insight on the processes required and tips to help young surgeons successfully get to...

More than 100,000 people in the United States currently are waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant, including 5,000 people on the transplant list for a heart and/or lungs, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing. Although some will die before they receive a transplant, surgeons and research teams are making great strides in expanding the pool of viable organs. Zachary N. Kon, MD, moderates a discussion with Ashish S. S...

Understanding a patient’s frailty index is an important part of assessing the risks and benefits of a surgical procedure for a cardiothoracic surgery patient. Frailty sometimes is measured by a patient’s grip strength, weight, and walking test results, but standards for evaluating and treating frailty before surgery do not exist. Mark K. Ferguson, MD (The University of Chicago), moderates a panel discussion with Nimesh Desai, MD (U...