|
On behalf of the CSCS Board of Directors, we are pleased to provide our first newsletter for 2022. We are looking forward to an exciting and busy year. First, I would like thank Dr. Denis Bouchard who has served as the CSCS Scientific Program Committee (SPC) Chair over the past several years. Dr. Bouchard has been our Society’s lead at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress (CCC). He has worked tirelessly to evolve and innovate content at our sessions at CCC year after year. We are deeply indebted to his contributions, advocacy and superhuman efforts over these past two challenging years. Dr. Bouchard informed us at the CSCS Annual General Meeting this past October that he is ready to pass on the SPC baton. As such following a general call and several applications, the CSCS Board of Directors are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Subodh Verma as our incoming CSCS SPC Chair.
| |
|
Dr Subodh Verma is a cardiac surgeon-scientist and Professor at the University of Toronto. He holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Cardiovascular Surgery and a past recipient of the Howard Morgan Award for Distinguished Achievements in Cardiovascular Research and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Gold Medal in Surgery. He is an appointee of the American Association of Thoracic Surgeons (AATS) and a member of the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists, Royal Society of Canada. As of February 2019, Dr Verma has an h-index of 67, with nearly 18,000 citations in 385 publications. Read more.
| |
|
In addition to Dr. Verma functioning as our representative for the CCC Scientific Planning Committee, he and Dr. Dave Nagpal will be co-chairing our CSCS Spring Meeting. This year, we are very pleased to announce our partnership of our Spring Meeting with the Society of Thoracic Surgery Coronary Conference. As we are hopefully emerging from a two-year miasma of virtual interaction (the incredible Bigelow Research Day Chaired by Dr. Terry Yau this past month not withstanding!), this unique joint venture will be an IN-PERSON event, to be held in Ottawa from June 3-5, 2022. CSCS members will have access to discount code to attend both meetings for a reduced rate. Stay tuned for more exciting details in the very near future.
Next, I would like to congratulate Dr. Bobby Yanagawa and CSCS Taskforce on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) on the recent publication of the CSCS Position Paper on EDI. Please read on for more details below.
Lastly, in this edition of the newsletter, we continue to provide updates on upcoming events, highlight new activities and initiatives that we are undertaking, and celebrate the success of Canadian cardiac surgical innovations. I encourage you send us any information on important innovations or announcements from your centre for future publications.
I again thank you for the opportunity to serve the Society, and I wish you all well.
Respectfully,
Rakesh C. Arora, MD, PhD, FRCSC
| |
|
We are proud of our official digital platform for the CSCS and what it has to offer. Watch our Virtual Lecture Series from leading experts in cardiac surgery across the country. The objective of this lecture series is to provide top-of-the-line learning opportunities with experts in their field by updates in management, case discussion, guideline and article reviews. Our goal is to enhance national collaboration on expert topics in a virtual platform. In addition, listen to our CSCS Podcast series "The Beat" with Dr. Ansar Hassan.
All events are recorded and can be found on the CSCS YouTube channel here.
| | |
|
|
Please join us for our next lecture on Thursday March 10, 2022 at 7:00 PM EST. Dr. Subodh Verma will be speaking on the topic of SGLT2i in the Treatment of Heart Failure. Click here to register.
The CSCS Virtual Lecture Series has been a shining success and continues to gain traction. For members who have attended our lecture series, we kindly ask that you take a moment to complete this short survey. This will help us continue to deliver relevant and timely topics in the field of cardiac surgery.
| |
|
Save the date for the upcoming CSCS Spring Meeting 2022. Come join us LIVE for this exciting event to be held on June 3, 2022 at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier in Ottawa, ON. One of the perks of this meeting is that it will be held in conjunction with the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Coronary Conference. Program Directors for this international meeting include Drs. Marc Ruel, Joseph F. Sabik III, Sigrid Sander, and David Glineur.
This meeting will highlight avant-garde research and accomplishments by our cardiac surgery community and hot topics in cardiac surgery. Join us and network with experts of the CSCS and its members across the country, as well as the members of the STS community!
We look forward to seeing you there! More information to follow.
| |
New Program Division Head Appointments | |
Congratulations to Drs. Maral Ouzounian and Bobby Yanagawa! | |
Dr. Maral Ouzounian, newly appointed Head of the Division of Cardiovascular Surgery at the Peter Munk Cardiac Center, University Health Network, University of Toronto. Dr. Ouzounian is the current CSCS Secretary-Treasurer and future President-Elect. She holds the Munk Chair in Advanced Therapeutics and the Antonio & Helga DeGasperis Chair in Clinical Trials and Outcomes Research at UHN. | |
|
Dr. Bobby Yanagawa, newly appointed Chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Surgery at the University of Toronto St Michael’s Hospital. Dr. Yanagawa is currently the Program Director of the Division of Cardiovascular Surgery at St. Michael’s Hospital and also the Director of the CSCS Cardiac Surgery Junior Trainee Forum (Bootcamp). | |
|
|
The CSCS would like to give a special thanks to Dr. Denis Bouchard from the Institut de Cardiologie de Montréal/Montréal Heart Institute for his dedication and hard work as Chair of the CSCS Scientific Program Committee (SPC) 2018-2021. Dr. Bouchard’s work has been pivotal in the organization of CSCS activity at the CCC, particularly in challenging times of COVID where meetings had to be transitioned to a virtual platform. Our scientific program has thrived with exceptional content and internationally renowned lecturers such as Bigelow lecturers (Drs. Yacoub, Cohn and Prager).
Dr. Bouchard’s commitments span beyond the CSCS and include hard work at the Royal College level as examiner for 12 years and as Chair-Elect of the Royal College Specialty Committee in cardiac surgery. Thank you, Dr. Bouchard, for your exemplary work.
| |
|
The 2022 Canadian Cardiovascular Congress (CCC 2022) will be a hybrid event, from Thursday, October 27 to Sunday, October 30. Delegates will have the option of attending in-person in Ottawa, ON or connecting digitally. The Call for Science is now open! Consider submitting your abstract for the CSCS Paul Cartier Cardiac Surgery Resident Award and the CSCS Video Abstract Session!
Paul Cartier Cardiac Surgery Resident Award
All residents enrolled in an accredited Canadian Cardiac Surgery Training Program at the PGY1 to PGY6 level at the time of the application deadline are eligible to apply.
Residents applying for the award must submit an abstract via the CCC abstract submission site. When submitting your abstract you must indicate that you would like to be considered for the Paul Cartier Cardiac Surgery Resident Award under the 'Recognition, Awards, & Bursaries' task.
The winner will receive a $2,500 cash award, as well as an honorary plaque.
CSCS Video Abstract Session
This session showcases excellence in cardiovascular surgery research. The top abstract submissions within the SURGERY Learning Track will be selected to present their research findings via video presentation and participate in panel discussion.
To apply, submit your abstract via the CCC abstract submission site. When submitting your abstract you must select CSCS Video Abstract among the Submission Category.
CCC abstracts submission deadline: May 3, 2022 (Noon EDT).
| |
|
Missing the Goal with the 2021 ACC/AHA/SCAI Guideline for Coronary Artery Revascularization
The ACC/AHA/SCAI published an updated guidelines for coronary artery revascularization on December 9, 2021. One of the major changes in this document was the downgrade in the class of recommendation for the use of coronary artery bypass grafting in patients with stable ischemic heart disease, normal left ventricular ejection fraction, and significant stenoses in 3 major epicardial coronary arteries. Given the controversial downgrade of class of recommendation for CABG, the Society of Thoracic Surgery (STS) and American Association of Thoracic Surgeons (AATS) have not endorsed these updated revascularization guidelines. Furthermore, these concerns were also echoed by multiple surgical societies in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Please keep an eye out as well for the Canadian response to these guidelines coming soon.
In addition, the STS recently held an international Webinar on this topic on February 17, 2022. Click here for more information.
| |
Fostering Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion | |
Declaration of Values, Vision and Approaches from the Canadian Society for Cardiac Surgery Taskforce on Equity, Diversity, and Integration | |
|
The equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) movement is aimed at creating a culture that embraces the uniqueness of individuals and that is representative of the communities that we serve. The CSCS is dedicated to addressing the unique challenges of supporting the principles of EDI in the field of cardiac surgery in Canada.
The CSCS developed an EDI Taskforce to characterize the current state of diversity among Canadian cardiac surgeons and to develop guiding principles for our future. The CSCS leadership offers this EDI statement, which serves as our guiding document as we improve access and equity in cardiac surgery for our members and for our patients. The position statement was published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology (CJC) on February 5, 2022.
CSCS EDI Values
-
We are committed to safeguarding equity for our patients, members, and trainees.
-
We believe that provision of excellent care requires a diverse and culturally-competent healthcare team.
-
We pledge to create a culture of inclusivity for our patients, members, and trainees.
-
We are dedicated to empowering women and underrepresented groups.
-
We are committed to making our specialty more accessible to all.
This position statement is meant to be a living document to be re-evaluated and revised by the CSCS leadership on a regular basis. Our commitment is ongoing, and we will continue to keep you informed of our progress.
| |
|
The Division of Cardiac Surgery at the Royal Jubilee Hospital, Victoria, British Columbia is seeking a Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada certified cardiac surgeon to join in a full- time position. Interested candidates please forward a current CV and letter of interest to Dr. Lynn Fedoruk.
Application deadline is April 30, 2022. Click here to login to your CCS/CSCS account for more information.
| |
Bigelow Cardiac Surgery Resident Research Competition | |
|
The 2nd Bigelow Canadian Cardiac Surgical Resident Research Competition was held on February 26, 2022. The event featured top-ranked innovative research in cardiac surgery across the country, as well as guest speakers Dr. John S Ikonomidis (Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of North Carolina) and Dr. Kimberley Amirault-Ryan (Performance Consultant to the NHL, NBA, and Olympians).
Congratulations to the 2022 award winners:
-
CSCS Fan Favorite Award ($1,000): Amine Mazine, Improved Survival After the Ross Procedure
-
First Place, Clinical Category ($1,500): Amine Mazine, Improved Survival After the Ross Procedure
-
Runner-up, Clinical Category ($1,000): Derrick Tam, PCI vs. CABG for LM
-
First Place, Basic/Translational Category ($1,500): Vishnu Vasanathan, Pericardial Biomaterial Delivery
-
Runner-up, Basic/Translational Category ($1,000): Keir Forgie, Normothermic Perfusion..
| |
Renew your CSCS Membership | | |
|
Your 2022 membership renewal invoice has been sent to you by email from membership@ccs.ca. You can pay your dues online through the secure MY.CCS.ca portal. To access your account, visit MY.CCS.ca. If you have any questions or concerns please email membership@ccs.ca or call 1-877-569-3407 ext. 409. | |
CSCS is an affiliate society of the | |
| | | |
