Welcome

Jamie McElrath Schwartz, MD
Program Chair

I am excited to warmly welcome you to the 19th Annual Meeting of the Congenital Cardiac Anesthesia Society.  My colleagues on the planning committee, Drs. Nischal Gautam, Rania Abbasi, Manchula Navaratnam, and the CCAS Education Chair, Viviane Nasr, and I have created an interesting program focused on various aspects of teamwork entitled “It’s a Team Sport.”

This meeting’s content is an acknowledgement that congenital cardiac anesthesiologists work as part of a large multidisciplinary team in the shared goal of exceptional care, science and outcomes for our patients.  The first session of the day, “There’s no ‘I’ in Team,” will examine the concepts around teamwork, culture, and high functioning teams including a talk from Dr. Lauren Kennedy-Metz, an expert in surgical team culture, and Dr. Lori Riegger on Leadership in the Cardiac Operating Room.

The focused lesion for the meeting will be the neonatal borderline left ventricle, and the second session includes talks from the diverse team members who tackle the complexities of care for these fragile patients.  Dr. Wayne Tworetzky will give the Dolly D. Hansen Lecture on the current status of fetal interventions for evolving left heart hypoplasia, and Dr. Glen Van Arsdell will speak on surgical options in neonatal aortic hypoplasia. 

Another highlight will be a session entitled Cardiac Arrest: Let’s Choose an Ounce of Prevention; we will hear from experts in cardiac arrest prediction and prevention in the cardiac operating room and cardiac intensive care unit.

The afternoon will feature an Ask the Experts Panel that will use controversial topics from the CCAS Poll of the Month as well as talks on Lactate and Cardiopulmonary Bypass and Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Congenital Heart Surgery Outcomes.

In addition to the regular sessions, we have morning Problem Based Learning and Roundtable Discussions, afternoon Workshops on regional anesthesia for cardiac surgery, hemostasis, and mechanical support of congenital cardiac patients, as well as oral presentations of best abstracts, poster session and time with our exhibitors. 

We will end our day with the annual CCAS reception, a time to catch up with old friends and make new connections.

Our meeting will be in Anaheim, California at the Anaheim Marriott. Anaheim promises sunshine and mid 70’s with many opportunities for fun for families and adults alike, and the Marriott offers lovely accommodations that will facilitate our meeting and time together. 

We will look forward to seeing you in Anaheim.