Congress recently passed a continuing resolution to fund the government through Dec. 20, providing a reprieve before another potential budget showdown. Despite the urgency of keeping the government running, significant progress has been made on key STS advocacy priorities in the House of Representatives.
More than 100 cardiothoracic surgeons, fellows, residents, and advanced practice providers participated in the 2024 STS Mastering Valve Surgery Workshop in Chicago on Sept 20-21. The two-day event included lectures, case-based presentations, and breakout sessions focused on mastering modern-day valve surgery, including open and transcatheter procedures for aortic, mitral, and tricuspid valves.
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Attendees participate in a hands-on aortic valve surgery session.
"This workshop stands out for its unique blend of theoretical instruction and practical hands-on training, covering both surgical and transcatheter techniques for all valve types," said co-course director Tsuyoshi Kaneko, MD, of Washington University in St. Louis. "The active participation and insightful questions from both domestic and international attendees highlighted the course's relevance and impact."
Attendees honed their skills through small-group, hands-on experiences in wet lab settings to learn the latest in advanced valve techniques (aortic root enlargement, Ross Procedure, minimally invasive valve surgery), transcatheter therapies, and atrial fibrillation.
"I'm pleased that the valve surgery courses encompassed both traditional surgical techniques and emerging transcatheter procedures," said co-course director Katherine Harrington, MD, of Baylor Scott & White Health in Dallas. “To remain at the forefront of the latest technologies in the field, we must continually update our knowledge and ensure our outcomes are exceptional, fostering collaboration with structural heart experts."
Here's what a few attendees said about the Valve Surgery Workshop:
"I enjoyed the panel discussions at the end of each session and found the small-group wet labs extremely helpful.” — Alex Wang, physician assistant, Johns Hopkins Health System
"The best sessions were aortic root enlargement by Dr. Yang, mitral valve surgery by Dr. Badhwar, and TAVR explant by Dr. Kaneko."
"Overall, it was a valuable experience to interact with experts and directly view the pig heart. The catheter-based procedure simulators were also helpful for learning."
"Great courses and discussion topics, exemplary faculty, and I enjoyed the hands-on sessions."
"Moving forward, I will adopt the aortic root enlargement technique as explained by Dr. Yang, the mitral valve replacement technique of Dr. Badhwar, and the Ross Procedure technique detailed by Dr. El-Hamamsy. I also intend to incorporate the maze and atrial clip procedures more frequently into my practice."
In this week’s The Resilient Surgeon episode, Sheila Heen, a lecturer on negotiation at Harvard Law School and co-author of Thanks for the Feedback and Difficult Conversations, talks about giving and receiving feedback and how we can be better at both. Specifically, Heen explains how to be less dismissive in the way we receive feedback and become genuinely grateful and appreciative of feedback from others. She also talks about creating a productive feedback culture in the workplace.
Former US Navy Commander Mike Abrashoff joins Dr. Michael Maddaus for a conversation on leadership with humanity. Abrashoff shares his success in turning around a struggling ship, the USS Benfold, which became the subject of his New York Times bestselling book, It's Your Ship. Learn how to know when it's appropriate to break the rules, when to challenge your superiors, how to do so without endangering your career and how to foster learning and innovation among the ranks of people conditioned to follow orders.
Join Dr. Michael Maddaus, host of The Resilient Surgeon, for a discussion with Amer Kaissi, professor of healthcare administration at Trinity University in San Antonio and author of Humbitious: The Power of Low Ego, High-Drive Leadership, about embracing change with an open approach rather than a defensive stance. Kaissi explains that when leaders "connect with humility and elevate with ambition" they can transform organizations.
It's not what you do — it's what you do in-between what you do — that really matters. In this episode of The Resilient Surgeon, Dr. Michael Maddaus talks with Dr. Adam Fraser, leading educator and researcher on human performance and author of The Third Space: Using Life's Little Transitions to Find Balance and Happiness, about transitioning from one role, such as a surgeon, to the next role, such as a spouse or parent. Dr.
Application Deadline for 2025 Thoracic Surgery Foundation Scholarships Is September 15, 2024
In 2023, Dr. Chizoba Efobi was awarded the Thoracic Surgery Foundation (TSF) International Medical Volunteer Scholarship and used it to participate in a surgical outreach trip to Kampala, Uganda.
Dr. Efobi volunteered at the Uganda Heart Institute, located within the Mulago National Referral Hospital. There, he joined a medical mission group from the US to mentor local healthcare providers. Their goal was to help the local team become more efficient and increase the number of heart surgeries performed each year.
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Dr. Chizoba Efobi, joined by TSF Every Heartbeat Matters awardee Dr. Pranava Sinha on the surgical outreach trip to Uganda.
According to Dr. Efobi, what made this mission unique was its capacity to involve the entire heart care team at the Uganda Heart Institute, including cardiology, anesthesia, nursing, and clinical administration. The focus was on teaching, training, and skills transfer rather than the volume of cases performed.
“I observed a different model of upscaling skills and training not limited to surgery, but across the entire field of heartcare,” explained Dr. Efobi. “In this case, skills and knowledge transfer were given the highest priority and guided other activities. The results of the sustained local capacity building were very evident.”
Bringing the Lessons Home
Upon returning home to Nigeria, Dr. Efobi’s participation in the TSF International Medical Volunteer Scholarship positively impacted his hospital, including the recommencement of the open-heart surgery program. Patients are now experiencing “uneventful perioperative periods” discharge within a week and satisfying recoveries.
Learn more about Dr. Efobi’s mission experience as a TSF International Medical Volunteer Scholar in his personal blog.
TSF, the charitable heart of the STS, is currently accepting applications for its 2025 awards season with nearly $1.7 million in available funding. Award categories include research, education, innovation, and humanitarian outreach. The application deadline for most awards is Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024.
Healthcare - and life- are filled with friction. In this episode, Dr. Michael Maddaus talks with Huggy Rao, co-author of The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier, about eliminating the forces that make it harder to get things done. Together, they dig into causes and solutions for five of the most common and damaging friction troubles: oblivious leaders, addition sickness, broken connections, jargon monoxide, and fast and frenzied people and teams.
This month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized a new mandatory episode-based alternative payment arrangement called the Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM).
Harvard Business School professor, researcher of psychological safety, and author of Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well, Amy Edmondson, explains the difference between good and bad failures and how to think about and practice failure wisely. She shares examples of how people and organizations can embrace human fallibility, pursue smart risks, and prevent avoidable harm.
