Annual Meetings

Invitation to the 20^th Scientific Meeting

of the Scandinavian Society for Research in CardioThoracic Surgery,

Geilo, Norway, February 4 – 6, 2010

                                                                                    November 9th, 2009

Dear colleque

The Scandinavian Society for Research in CardioThoracic Surgery (SSRCTS) will hold its annual Scientific Meeting in Geilo, Norway in February of 2010. The 2010 congress will be the 20^th anniversary of this popular meeting and therefore we have plans to make it a memorable event - both scientifically and socially. Last year we had over 100 participants with more than 52 abstracts presented at the meeting, as oral presentations or posters. I think that both the surgeons and participants from the industry were happy with the organization and the new ideas that were introduced. Most important is the fact that  the quality of the abstracts has improved from year to year, with an increasing number of abstracts being introduced every year.

For the anniversary in February we will continue to develop this meeting further. We still promise to remain true to the main visions, combining basic and clinical research within the field of cardiothoracic surgery. For many years this meeting has been an important forum for young scientists in presenting their academic work. At the same time it has lead to many personal friendships, bringing together young cardiothoracic surgeons from not only the Nordic Countries but also from other parts of the world. For the 2010 meeting we hope to have as many countries represented as possible, including more surgeons from Sweden who have numbered few in past meetings.

Our Main Clinical Topic this year will be Surgery of the Thoracic Aorta with Dr. Arnar Geirsson from Yale University covering the topic Modern Surgical Strategies for Diseases of the Thoracic Aorta, including the use of stents. The Postgraduate course will be related to experimental and basic research. The title is  Basics of myocardial protection and there will be letures by both Dr. Jakob Vinten-Johansen MD, from Emory University, USA, and Jarle Vaage MD,PhD from Oslo, Norway. There will also be two Invited lectures, on Stem Cell Transplantation and Tissue Engineering for the Heart, presented by Dr. Matthias Siepe, MD from Freiburg, Germany, and on Pulmonary Metastasectomy – The Evidence, by Joachim Pfannschmidt MD, PhD. At the end of the meeting we also plan a Wet-Lab where the participants, under guidance, can practice inserting both a mechanical and biological aortic valve into a pig heart, including a stentless valve.

This meeting is sponsored by several companies and there is no registration fee. The only costs would be for the hotel room and meals, which would be approximately 1000 NOK per day in a double room. There will also be time allotted for social activities, including skiing.  Norlandia Geilo Hotel will provide frames for the meeting. There will of course also be time for social activities but it is important to note that at this congress we are offering participants a full scientific program, with lectures and presentations that will continue until late evening. Norlandia Geilo Hotel will provide frames for the meeting.

The deadline for abstracts is Dec. 15, 2009 and for registration of participants, Jan 7, 2010.

Please do not hesitate to contact us via email or phone if you need additional information.  For complete meeting details, please visit the 2010 Annual Meeting page.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Tómas Guðbjartsson, MD, PhD, Professor                                        Mari-Liis Kaljusto, MD, PhD,

President of SSRCTS                                                                             Program Director

Mobile: +354 825 5016                                                                      Mobile:  +47 99727991

Email:     tomasgudbjartsson@hotmail.com                                    Email:  m.l.kaljusto@medisin.uio.no