Welcome from the Program Chair

Luis M. Zabala MD
Program Chair

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Welcome to the 2018 Congenital Cardiac Anesthesia Society Annual Meeting. This year marks our 12th annual meeting anniversary – to be held on Thursday, March 22, 2018, at the JW Marriot Desert Ridge, Phoenix, AZ. Set in the Sonoran Desert, this award-winning spa and golf resort offers spectacular views and venues, perfect for a day dedicated to sharing new concepts and advances in the field of congenital heart disease (CHD) and anesthesia. The 2018 annual meeting marks another important milestone for the CCAS; for the first time an invited speaker will be presented with the Dr. Dolly D. Hansen lecture award in recognition of his/her contribution to the field of pediatric cardiac anesthesia. This award is intended to honor Dr. Hansen’s remarkable career and to acknowledge the educational and scientific impact of the recipient.

This year the format will follow that of the 2017 conference in Austin. The addition of the morning PBLD session was tremendously well received, and we are excited to offer it again this year with a slight change in format: the addition of 3 Roundtable Discussions (RTD). The list of 3 PBLDs includes (1) pulmonary Hypertension, (2) the patient with severe left ventricular dysfunction undergoing emergent noncardiac surgery and (3) caring for children with Long QT Syndrome. The new RTDs will be moderated by experts in the field and are envisioned to underscore fundamental concepts and definitions of each specific topic. The list of RTD includes (1) assessing oxygen delivery on cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), (2) Hemostasis point-of-care testing and medication controversies and finally (3) a discussion aimed at faculty development, physician health, communication and professionalism within our specialty.

The main program will open with an in-depth look at fetal neuroplasticity, anesthesia neurotoxicity and neurodevelopmental outcomes in CHD. This subject was first presented to us by Dr. Susan Nicolson during the 2007 CCAS Annual Meeting program in the context of hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Since then, an extensive amount of research has been done in the field of neurodevelopmental outcomes in CHD, raising the question of what are the influences: innate elements versus post-natal modifiable factors, or a combination of both. For this first session, we have  invited two internationally renowned experts in the field of neurodevelopment outcomes and anesthesia neurotoxicity in CHD; Dr. William Gaynor from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Dr. Dean Andropoulos from Texas Children's Hospital, the 2018 Dr. Dolly D. Hansen lecture award recipient.

The morning session continues with a three lecture series on pediatric updates in congenital cardiac anesthesia focused on blood transfusion practices and blood conservation strategies in the surgical management of CHD. We will hear about the importance and challenges of implementing a transfusion protocol and why a universal transfusion protocol is so difficult to attain. The next presentation will focus on the use and limitations of acute normovolemic hemodilution during pediatric CPB and finally a novel lecture on the use of autologous umbilical cord blood during the management of neonatal heart surgery. As customary, the last session before lunch is the popular "Focus on a Lesion." This year's lesion is "Ebstein's Anomaly." Guest speakers were carefully chosen to deliver, not only, the anesthesiologist and surgeons perspective of this complex and wide spectrum disease, but the cardiologist perspective as well.

The afternoon begins with oral presentations of the three highest scoring abstracts. This session highlights the most novel research performed today in congenital cardiac anesthesia. Following the oral presentations, the afternoon is set to deliver us three state of the art lectures on "New interventions in CHD and anesthesia implications." The first presentation will concentrate on bi-ventricular repair for the borderline hypoplastic left ventricle; innovations and anesthesia challenges.  The second lecture comes to us from an invited interventional cardiologist, Dr. Yoav Dori, aimed at educating us on lymphatic abnormalities in the patient with CHD: discoveries and new treatment options. The final lecture of the main program will offer a patient-centered discussion on the intraoperative anesthetic management and potential complications of novel percutaneous interventions being used to palliate pediatric patients in the catheterization laboratory.

Our meeting then continues with the option to attend the "Ask the Experts" panel or select from five of the outstanding workshops being offered. This year the "Ask the Experts" panel will include five panelists from around the country and will be moderated by our colleagues Dr. Scott Walker and Dr. Viviane Nasr. This session is envisioned to deliver a dynamic and intimate venue for discussing a variety of open topics, with particular focus on those topics included on the CCAS Website "Poll of the Month." The list of workshops includes the following areas of focus; (1) hands-on CPB led by perfusionists, an excellent setting to discuss all things related to the CPB circuit and CPB management; (2) Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and ventricular assist devices, this workshop offers the unique opportunity to understand the mechanics of most of the available devices used in clinical practice and the significant anesthesia considerations during implantation, explantation and emergent non-cardiac surgery; (3) Cardiac morphology and 3D printed heart models, looking to expand our understanding of normal and abnormal anatomic details of most CHD pathology through hands on 3D models and pig heart dissection; (4) Temporary and permanent pacemakers, led by an outstanding duo of anesthesiologists that make this very complicated subject into a pleasurable and enlightening experience; Finally, our newest workshop, (5) Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE)., this workshop provides an excellent overview of the use of TEE with consideration to the Ebstein’s Anomaly, discussed earlier in the program, and other lesions.

The program concludes with a poster viewing session and a discussion of the selected research abstracts. This gathering offers the perfect opportunity to expand your network, make new friends and share a common interest in research and particular aspect of our specialty.

The 2018 program has been a team effort and I wish to express my most profound thanks to my Co-Chairs, Kirsten Odegard and James Spaeth, for being available and offering unconditional help throughout the process, the rest of the CCAS annual meeting planning committee, Nina Guzzetta, Mark Twite, Scott Walker and Emad Mossad, for their insight and mentorship, to the CCAS Board for the outstanding support and finally to Kim Battle for her inspiring organizational role and making it all work. 

We look forward to seeing you in Phoenix. Enjoy the meeting!

Content

You Must Be Logged In


This Reminders tab will display for your scheduled lectures 15 minutes before start time and for new messages waiting.
Top