EACTS Annual Meeting is one of the cardinal gatherings in cardio-thoracic surgery and EASCT 2023 was no different. Cardiothoracic surgeons, researchers, other health care professionals and vendors from all over the world presented technological advancements, new study results and the existing standards of practice in the field of cardiothoracic surgery at the conference. The 2023 edition paid stronger attention to recent developments in medical technology and surgery procedures.
In this blog post, we will share with you the important findings, presentations and discussions that were a focus of EASCT 2023
1.A Glance at EASCT 2023
Several thousands of participants from different fields of the medical profession visited EASCT 2023 held in Vienna, Austria. The intended purpose of the event was to create a venue where the various professionals who work in the diagnosis and treatment of heart and lung illnesses may share information and resources.
The theme of the year was established as “Precision Medicine and Innovation in Cardiothoracic Surgery” which captured the overall aim and objective of the conference- promoting technology and individualized treatment details that would enhance the experience of the patient. The role of EASCT rises with the ongoing development of cardiothoracic surgery as it helps to put in practice major and significant findings
1.Studies and Findings
If any area was high on the agenda of EASCT 2023, it would be the demonstration of new research to set a shift in cardiothoracic surgery. Innovations described by the speakers at the event included changes in minimally invasive surgery, robotic surgery, and progress in surgical aortic valvuloplasty
2.Cardiac Surgical Operations
Les techniques de médecine interventionnelle étaient un sujet à la mode de l’événement, de nombreux sessions consacrées à l’application pratique des techniques MI.
Speakers included surgeons and researchers who discussed how better cutting tools, improved imaging, and improved surgical instrumentation are making it easier to heal physically, minimized scarring, or any other related problem
2.Robotic-Assisted Surgery
Robotic surgeries have evolved in the recent past and at EASCT 2023, there were several topics of discusssion in this line. The surgeons explained how the use of robots proved beneficial when it comes to complex operations which require precision as is the case with mitral valve repairs and even coronary artery bypass graft surgeries. Other presentations also demonstrated the expanding utilization of robotics in thoracic surgeries, especially in the resection of lung cancer
1.Newer Methods of Valvular Intervention
Valve disease of the heart continues to be an important focus for attention in patients who undergo cardiothoracic surgery. Trends identified at EASCT 2023 included a growing interest in transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), an emerging non-surgical method of substituting the valve for individuals who suffer aortic stenosis. Authors revealed that long-term results of the TAVI study are comparable with standard surgery, but it has fewer surgeries is less invasive especially for high-risk patients
3.The State of Artificial Intelligence
1.AI in Surgical Planning
Intelligent systems are also being used to map out surgeries as well as consider patients’ unique anatomical features as well as their surgical risks. During the conference, scientists spoke about defining features of artificial intelligence as an ability to produce customized surgical maps that outline possible challenges to the surgical process and the best strategy for overcoming those challenges
2.Sutural Analytics:
Machine learning is also being applied in postoperative care so as to help in the display and prognosis of patient’s recovery. Some papers delivered at EASCT 2023 described the enhancement of postoperative risk estimation using ML to increase the chances of timely interventional intervention to minimize complications
4.Advanced Therapies in Cardiothoracic Surger
Improving outcomes is another important topic that will be presented at EASCT 2023, as well as the increasing relevance of precision medicine in cardiothoracic surgery. Precision medicine is a model of providing individualized treatment and prevention plans that focus on the genetic characteristics, behaviour and conditions of a person’s body
1.Genetic Identification
From the papers presented at EASCT 2023, it was clear that physicians and other care providers need to use genotyping information for the purpose of determining which patient will benefit more from some types of surgeries or drugs. For example, authors introduced some works which showed how to used genetic indicators to estimate the outcomes of individual patients depending on particular types of Valvular Heart Disease and thus to develop more appropriate treatment strategies
2. Biomarker-Guided Therapies
One of the important areas covered the application of biomarkers in the management of treatment. Speaking at the conference emphasized the use of biomarkers in determining the fate of patients who undergo operations combined with outlining the fates of patients with high risks. In this case, recognising certain biomarkers helps to avoid adverse outcomes and improve the patient’s treatment strategy due to the identification of potential complications
5.Thoracic surgery and lung cancer
Thoracic diseases and particularly lung cancer were among the most discussed topics at EASCT 2023 focusing on point diagnosis and improved surgical interventions. Man Torako, Surgery of the lungs as well as the esophagus and other organs or structures in the chest cavity is a field that is still evolving at a high rate
1.Lung Cancer Screening as well as Detection
New discoveries in thoracic surgery that have been of particular interest in recent years include enhancement in lung cancer screening program. What emerged at the conference was the point that getting to know the ailments early makes a significant difference in health outcomes. Low dose CT and other biomarkers have improved lung cancer detection at its earliest and most curable stage
6.overview of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery
Another important subject of interest in EASCT 2023 was pediatric cardiothoracic surgery.
1. Management of congenital heart disease
There were provided new approaches to management of congenital heart diseases with focus on hybrid approaches that combine endovascular therapy with open surgical intervention. Such procedures are advantageous for children for whom open-heart operation may be too strenuous
2.Heart Transplantation in children
Heart transplantation is an essential and lifesaving mode of treatment in children with end-stage heart disease. The extensive improvements in donor heart preservation and surgical management were presented by the conference surgeons and have contributed to raising the standard of pediatric heart transplant recipients’ survival rate
7.The Future of Cardiothoracic Surgery:
This is especially important as cardiothoracic surgery is a young branch of surgery that is steadily growing and developing EASCT 2023 helped to determine which future trends can be expected. The management of increasing utilization of less invasive approaches to care, incorporation of modern advances, including artificial intelligence and robotics, will remain a work in progress in the cardiothoracic surgery of the future
1.The Facts Behind Training
Among the issues discussed one of the major problems was the problem of reeducation with regards to the younger generation of cardiothoracic surgeons for the assimilation of new technologies. Several speakers highlighted the fact that simulation should be incorporated into surgical training curriculum so that the future surgeons would be ready to work with AI, robotics and other evolving technologies
2.Availability of cardiothoracic surgery
The other difficulty is the need to increase the availability of cardiothoracic surgery in less developed areas. Several papers presented at EASCT 2023 investigated gaps in acc ess to t o quality sur gical procedures, esp ecially in LMIC s. Measures that have been taken to meet this include telemedicine, international faculty training, and relations with the local providers.
Conclusion:
EASCT 2023 turned out to be a grand success that brought to light the new developments in cardiothoracic surgery. From detailed analysis of first in-human experiences of newly developed minimally invasive procedures to innovative AI based approaches in precision medicine the conference was a glimpse of the future. Thus, as cardiothoracic specialists go further and further through their personal and interdisciplinary development events such as EASCT will remain important for the advancement and ultimately, enhancement of the global picture of cardiothoracic treatment.
The next steps for cardiothoracic surgery are clear: acquire new technologies in surgery, professionalize the young talents in the surgery, and make sure that every deserving patient obtains the surgical treatments they need no matter their remote geographical locations.
