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Ann Thorac Surg 1997;63:320
© 1997 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Department of Surgery, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, Colorado
The Palace of Culture, Prague, Czech Republic, was the venue for the 10th Annual Meeting of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS). By all accounts, the meeting was an outstanding success. Attendance was marked at an all-time record high, and the scientific program was of exceptional quality. This represents unbelievably rapid growth of a professional society in such a short period of time. Doctor Antoon Lerut, Leuven, Belgium, presided; Dr Ernst Wolner of Vienna is the incoming (now current) president; Dr Torkel Åberg, Umeå, Sweden, is the secretary-general; and Dr Marko Turina, Zurich, Switzerland, is the new editor of the Journal.
The topic of the Internet using the World Wide Web was addressed with enthusiasm by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons president, Robert Replogle, and his team of computer experts. The application of this modality for communicative and educational purposes is obvious, the timing is appropriate, and future possibilities of collaboration are unlimited.
A coordinating planning conference was held to discuss a joint meeting of the EACTS and The Society of Thoracic Surgeons to celebrate the year 2000. Vienna has been selected as the host city, and the meeting will be held in May or June of the year 2000.
The Presidential Dinner was held in the magnificent Spanish Hall of the impressive Prague Castle. Attending were the current presidents of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (Dr Robert Replogle) and The American Association for Thoracic Surgery (Dr David Skinner) along with three past presidents of each organization and a large contingent of thoracic surgeons from the United States. During the formalities of the evening, a wonderful gesture of collegiality was extended to the EACTS jointly by Drs Replogle and Skinner. The choice of neutral territory (Europe) seemed fitting and appropriate for this particular congratulatory salute. The timing was nearly perfect, coinciding with the advent of increased speed of communication via the Internet and the obvious end result of a much closer knit specialty worldwide.
Witnessing this ceremony, one sensed that a closer cooperative spirit between our organizations will strengthen our abilities to cope with the challenges that face health care delivery during the last years of this century and the beginning years of a new millennium. It was appropriate to reflect upon Hans Borst's Presidential Address to the EACTS of 1995, "A European Surgeon's Odyssey" [1], and recall the appreciation he showed for his early days of training in the United States. Obviously, now we are all on the threshold of a new era of communication where cooperative efforts in training in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery can be carried out in developing and third world countries and in the most remote parts of our planet.
As we approach the end of the current millennium and prepare for the 21st Century, our newly developed technologies of communications such as the Internet and the World Wide Web should be complemented with a spirit of collaboration, cooperation, and a sincere desire to help all of our colleagues no matter where they might be with our interaction, integration, and personal efforts.
Footnotes
Address reprint requests to Dr Rainer, 2005 Franklin St, 380, Denver, CO 80205.
Reference
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