On June 7-8, 2024, in Miami, more than 120 cardiothoracic surgeons and heart team members from around the world gathered for the third annual STS Coronary Conference. With a focus on the technical aspects of coronary surgery, attendees experienced case-based panel discussions, abstract sessions, practical tips and tricks, and interactive “How I Do It” video presentations featuring surgical techniques.
The two-day event covered a wide range of topics, including conduit selection and harvest, graft configuration, off- and on-pump CABG, and a stepwise approach to minimally invasive coronary surgery, from MIDCAB to advanced multivessel revascularization.
"Coronary surgery is a sub-specialty within cardiac surgery, so it’s important for future surgeons to be skilled in off-pump surgery, minimally invasive surgery, and traditional on-pump cross clamp surgical techniques,” said Chase Brown, MD, assistant professor of surgery at the University of Pennsylvania, and a course presenter. “Attendees were able to learn from experts leading the way in the field.”
"The most exciting things I learned about were the technical aspects of coronary sequential grafting," said cardiac surgery resident Dr. Kevin An from the University of Toronto. “It’s an area I’m interested in implementing into my practice.”
Here's what a few other attendees said about the Coronary Conference:
- "I enjoyed the panel discussions at the end of each session – I learned as much from them as I did from each of the presentations."
- "So many great presentations. I think the 'How to Prevent AKI After CABG' presentation by Dr. Daniel Engleman may have been my favorite."
- "After attending the sessions, we will add certain changes in the steps for endoscopic harvesting of the saphenous vein, as well as measures to reduce and prevent sternal wound complications."
- "In the future, I would like to see more perioperative content and learn how to implant an Impella 5.5."
- "I really enjoyed the conference. It was worth coming to the US from Brazil to take the course."
- "As a result of attending the conference, I would tend to perform MAG-TAG more often to more patients, use the skeletonization technique to decrease sternal wound infections, and practice the Y-T graft."