The STS Annual Meeting, taking place January 27 - 29, is the premier meeting for cardiothoracic surgeons around the world. With more than 2,000 multidisciplinary cardiothoracic professionals in attendance and 80 educational sessions, opportunities abound for attendees at all career stages. See colleagues, expand your knowledge, and engage with your networks.
This year’s meeting venue, the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, offers everything you need for a seamless experience. Plenaries, breakout sessions, and the exhibit hall are conveniently located for quick and easy access. There is comfortable seating throughout the space and places to relax in between sessions and activities.
Deciding what’s relevant to you in advance and understanding logistics will help ensure your time is well spent from start to finish. Here are a few tips to maximize your time at the meeting.
Optimize with Apps
Two apps will be essential to guide you through the three meeting days.
The STS Events App guides attendees through all activity options and lists times and locations for education sessions, plenaries, hands-on sessions, exhibits, receptions, award ceremonies, and coffee/snacks. Attendees with specific clinical interests will be able to easily pick their activities according to nine color-coded clinical tracks: adult cardiac, congenital, critical care and perioperative management, education/quality/wellness, general thoracic, lung transplant symposium, plenary sessions, early career, and trainees.
The STS Wellness Challenge App enables attendees to practice physical and mental self-care during the meeting. New for the STS Annual Meeting, the app offers a step challenge, opportunities for short meditations, reminders to stay hydrated, and lets you earn points for taking care of yourself.
Visit the Exhibit Hall
When you are not in a session or have downtime, it’s worth a trip to the exhibit hall, where there’s always something happening. More than 143 companies will showcase their latest products, some in learning spaces that mimic a hands-on course. Presentations from top experts, award-winning poster authors, and industry will run at theatres located at both ends of the exhibit hall. Schedules for both theatres will be posted in the STS Events App.
Early Careerists Unite
Residency, fellowship, and early practice are pivotal years for career development, and STS is thrilled to support young professionals in the specialty. For the first time, the meeting will include a hub for early career surgeons. At The Hub, located next to the Exhibit Hall, you’ll find early career roundtable discussions with STS leaders, a trainee symposium, a mock oral exam course, and an early career insight talk by Dr. Leah Backhus. You also can join your peers in a “Painting with a Purpose” art installation activity for the Shriners Children's Texas in Galveston.
Gain Insight into Lung Transplant
Viability of lung transplants has surged in recent years, and a pre-conference session on Friday, January 26, will showcase the possibilities. The 2024 Lung Transplant Symposium: Surgical and Medical Insights for Transplant Assessment and Management will be moderated by Yoshiya Toyoda, MD, Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia.
Value for Virtual Attendance
If you can’t travel and need to attend virtually, you can still view five plenary sessions plus the Presidential Address live, in addition to the popular Resident Showdown finals. A Livestream-Plus option offering on-demand access to the archive of recorded content from the meeting will be available for purchase for non-registrants within days after the meeting.
Step Outside
San Antonio is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site and UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy. That status is showcased in the impressive River Walk, offering restaurants, shops and museums that reflect the city’s rich history and progressive future. Make time for this vibrant stroll.