Division members attend annual Florida Society of Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgerymeeting
The University of Florida Department of Surgery was well represented at this year’s annual scientific meeting of the Florida Society of Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery, held July 10-13 in Key Largo, Florida.
Thomas Beaver, M.D., M.P.H., the Grant and Shirle Herron Chair, professor and chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, presided as the society’s outgoing president.
Beaver noted that the meeting has grown considerably over the years and is attended by every medical school in Florida.
“The wonderful thing about the meeting is that it gives an opportunity for surgeons to network with peers and discuss best practices, quality improvement and the latest advancements in cardiothoracic surgery,” he said.
Beaver praised the work of Vaishnavi Karanam, M.S., a research fellow with the division, who won an award for best student presentation. The student poster presentation session was moderated by Jeffrey Jacobs, M.D., a professor of surgery and pediatrics at UF.
Department faculty who presented at the conference also included associate professor Mindaugas Rackauskas, M.D., Ph.D., and assistant professor Mohammad Aladaileh, M.B.B.S.
First-of-its-kind plain-language summary published
Beaver was also lead author on a plain-language summary recently published in Future Cardiology.
Plain-language summaries are typically written to help the general public understand the results of complex studies.
The work is a summary of an earlier publication titled “Seven-year outcomes following aortic valve replacement with a novel tissue bioprosthesis,” which was published in The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. It describes a long-term study about the efficacy of a new type of aortic valve implant and is the first plain-language summary published for Edwards Lifesciences, the sponsor of the study and maker of the implant.
“These valves are performing extremely well over longer periods and so are a reasonable option for younger patients,” Beaver said.
Beaver added that choosing a valve type is a major decision for patients who need aortic surgery since there are distinct pros and cons for each.
“Plain-language summaries like this make the decision-making process more accessible for patients,” he said.