Welcome to the 2014 Congenital Cardiac Anesthesia Society Annual Meeting

A warm welcome to the 2014 Congenital Cardiac Anesthesia Society (CCAS) Annual Meeting! The meeting is being held at a wonderful beachfront location, the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, immediately preceding the SPA/AAP Pediatric Anesthesiology 2014 meeting. We are looking forward to a great educational offering, plenty of sun, ocean breeze, and a relaxing time.

This year’s meeting represents the 8th annual session of the CCAS. We have prepared a program that reflects the mission of our organization - advancing the perioperative care of patients with congenital heart disease by promoting excellence in clinical care, education, and research. We hope to build on the success of prior meetings by featuring throughout the day the latest information and advances in the fields of congenital cardiac anesthesia, pediatric cardiology, congenital heart surgery, and cardiovascular research presented by a faculty of experts.

The day begins with a session that focuses on scientific advances in the treatment of cardiovascular disease with relevant applications to congenital pathology. The latest developments in tissue engineering related to current efforts in creating a completely new heart will be presented. This is followed by a comprehensive review of current medical and surgical management strategies for pediatric heart failure. The next session consists of presentations addressing a variety of different topics with practical applications to congenital cardiac anesthesia. Highlights include the child with heart disease undergoing noncardiac surgery and the adult patient with congenital heart disease. The morning ends with a discussion of recent published literature relevant to congenital cardiac care.

The afternoon session is initiated by oral presentations of the highest-scoring research abstracts submitted to the meeting. Next is a lively session designed to discuss clinical challenges and their management in congenital heart disease. This case-based discussion, featuring a panel of experts and audience participation, aims to be a highly interactive and dynamic session and was developed in response to feedback received from prior CCAS meetings. The mid-afternoon session, presented by a multidisciplinary team, is an in-depth overview of the interesting congenital malformation of pulmonary atresia and intact ventricular septum. The conclusion of the program features a poster viewing session where selected research work will be discussed; thereafter, an opportunity to socialize with colleagues, friends, and meet new people.

We have included in the program a variety of topics that reflect the ever-evolving nature of cardiovascular medicine with an appeal to practitioners with various levels of experience. We hope that this will be an excellent opportunity to reinforce your knowledge base, learn new concepts, and share with others. Anesthesiologists and other health care professionals are encouraged to attend, whether the clinical practice exclusively involves congenital heart disease or care of patients with cardiac issues, the pediatric or adult age-group, on a less regular-basis.

This program is the combined effort of several individuals who are passionate about congenital cardiac anesthesia and advancing the field. It has been carved out of the formal and informal highly-valuable input that many of you have provided. We also want to acknowledge the efforts of the CCAS Board, Kim Battle and others at our association management company (Ruggles Service Corporation). We are confident that this meeting will be intellectually stimulating and anticipate that the participant will be able to incorporate new knowledge in his/her clinical practice.

Enjoy the meeting!

Wanda C. Miller-Hance, MD, FACC, FASE
Program Chair

Nina A. Guzzetta, MD
Program Co-Chair

Mark D. Twite, MA MB BChir FRCP
Program Co-Chair