other meeting reviews

2016 CCAS Annual Meeting

By Faith J. Ross, MD
Seattle Children’s Hospital

This year the CCAS presented an outstanding meeting at the beautiful Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. Chair Mark Twite, MD, BCh (Children’s Hospital Colorado, Aurora) and co-chairs Luis Zabala, MD (Children’s Medical Center, Dallas) and Scott Walker, MD (Riley Hospital for Children, Indianapolis) put together an impressive lineup of speakers on a variety of interesting topics in congenital cardiac anesthesia. The first session featured excellent presentations on high altitude pulmonary physiology and neuroprotection during cardiac arrest. In session 2, speakers discussed the results of recent collaboration efforts in pediatric cardiac care and treated the audience to a fascinating discussion of factor concentrates and heparin alternatives for cardiopulmonary bypass. This year, the Focus on a Lesion session addressed anesthetic and surgical perspectives on transposition of the great arteries.

After lunch, the conference resumed with presentations of three abstracts detailing projects on intraoperative blood product usage, trends in dexmedetomidine use, and an algorithmic approach to OR extubation. Session 5 presented an insightful look at adult congenital heart disease and the perioperative surgical home with an inspiring presentation from a cardiac patient.

While some members attended a more detailed discussion of neuroprotection and high altitude physiology, others participated in a new series of hands-on workshops focused on cardiac morphology, ECMO, cardiopulmonary bypass, and pacemakers. The day concluded with moderated poster presentations and a lovely reception. For those interested in a more detailed account of this engaging and informative meeting, a complete review is included in the summer CCAS newsletter.