HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Author home page(s): Douglas E. Wood Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Wood, D. E. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Wood, D. E. Related Collections Professional affairs

---

Report From The STS Board of Directors

Forty-Fifth Annual Meeting, The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

The first 300 words of the full text of this article appear below.

	Introduction

 
The Forty-Fifth Annual Meeting of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons was held at the Moscone West Convention Center in San Francisco, California, on January 26–28, 2009, with an attendance of almost 5000, which included surgeons, allied health care professionals, spouses, and exhibitors. Attendees of the Annual Meeting had the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational sessions, including the Parallel Surgical Forums, Ticketed Breakfast Sessions, Surgical Video Matinees, and STS University.

The Monday morning General Scientific Session featured three J. Maxwell Chamberlain Memorial Papers, the most highly rated papers of the Annual Meeting, which were selected for their appeal to each subspecialty: General Thoracic Surgery—"Surgeon Specialty and Long-Term Survival Following Pulmonary Resection for Lung Cancer"; Adult Cardiac Surgery—"Surgical Repair of Posterior Mitral Valve Prolapse: Implications for Guidelines and Percutaneous Repair"; and Congenital Heart Surgery—"Mortality Is Not a Valid Indicator of Quality Differences Between Cardiac Surgery Programs."

Of particular note were four highly motivational presentations: the Presidential Address, the Thomas B. Ferguson Lecture, the Lillehei Lecture, and the Ethics Debate. In his Presidential Address "The Road Less Traveled: Pioneers and Pioneering," Dr W. Randolph Chitwood Jr emphasized that cardiothoracic surgeons must continue their pioneering spirit to reinvigorate the specialty. He spoke about the importance of attracting young people to the specialty.

The Thomas B. Ferguson lecture was given by Dr Bruce E. Keogh, KBE. Dr Keogh's lecture focused on the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS) and how that system seeks to deal with social inequalities and the major effects of obesity, diabetes, and smoking on cardiothoracic surgery outcomes in the United Kingdom.

The inaugural C. Walton Lillehei Lecture was presented by Doris A. Taylor, PhD, with members of the Lillehei family in attendance. Dr Taylor's presentation, "Bioartificial Heart: New Uses for Old Cells," examined how overcoming the lack of . . . [Full Text of this Article]