Interventional cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons throughout the United States and the world, who treat patients with congenital heart disease, will gather at the Hilton Columbus at Easton Town Center August 31-September 2, 2010 for the International Symposium on the Hybrid Approach to Congenital Heart Disease (ISHAC). This is the fifth annual ISHAC, and this year, the Symposium returns to Columbus after a shared meeting with Mario Carminati's, MD, workshop last year in Milan, Italy.
The 2006 ISHAC was the first of its kind dedicated to exploring advancements in "Hybrid" management strategies which combine surgical and transcatheter therapies in order to minimize the cumulative impact of treatment for complex congenital heart disease (CHD). In the U.S. alone, more than 40,000 babies are born with some form of CHD and many require high risk surgical procedures. A June 2008 report by the prestigious Advisory Board noted, "This procedure is becoming increasingly viewed as a must-have for leading children's hospitals. The number of Hybrid pediatric labs is eventually expected to increase to the point where nearly all progressive children's hospitals focused on advanced cardiac work have them."
During Hybrid procedures, cardiothoracic surgeons and interventional cardiologists work collaboratively to correct defects in the heart, often with the use of stents and devices delivered through limited surgical access. Nationwide Children's is considered the benchmark institution in this area where two uniquely designed Hybrid Cardiac Catheterization Suites were opened in June, 2004 - the first in the world dedicated to this new therapy. In November 2007, Nationwide Children's opened the first dedicated state-of-the-art Hybrid Congenital Cardiac Operating Suite in the U.S. This operating suite is designed specifically around the cardiac surgeon and cardiac surgical patient, offering new advanced access and imaging in an operating room environment. The Suite facilitates rapid information sharing and features new technology from TOSHIBA Medical Systems and Maquet Surgical Workplaces.
The Symposium features lectures and panel discussions from international pioneers in the field, as well as live case demonstrations broadcast from the Hybrid Suites at The Heart Center at Nationwide Children's Hospital. A unique skills workshop will be offered to a limited number of participants providing hands-on experience performing hybrid procedures. Cases will be broadcasted from Nationwide Children's, Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and Miami Children's Hospital.
Keynote speakers at this year's ISHAC will be Phillip Bonhoeffer MD, FSCAI, and John G. Byrne, MD. Dr. Bonhoeffer is a renowned interventional cardiologist from London, UK. In 2000 he conducted the world's first human trans-catheter heart valve implantation. Dr. Bonhoeffer is also the co-founder of the Transcatheter Valve Symposium and a winner of the ETHICA award, as well as the Grand Scientific Prize of Lefoulon-Delalande de L'Institute de France. Dr. Byrne is the William S. Stoney Professor and Chairman of the Department of Cardiac Surgery at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee and a pioneer in hybrid therapies for adults with cardiovascular disease. He is also Professor of Medicine in Cardiology, as well as the Co-Director and Surgeon-in-Chief of the Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute. With his colleagues in cardiology, Dr. Byrnes developed the hybrid operating room and helped to build the heart program, which now performs over 2,000 major cardiac surgical procedures per year, including adult and congenital programs.