The nation’s premier cardiovascular centers share essential characteristics: They offer cutting-edge minimally invasive and robotic cardiac surgery, accomplished interventional cardiologists and surgeons experienced in treating complex valvular and structural heart conditions, sophisticated imaging technologies and access to groundbreaking trials. These advances were showcased recently when Baptist Health Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute hosted its 42nd annual Echocardiography and Structural Heart Symposium.
Leading experts from the Institute and across the country shared their knowledge with more than 250 cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, interventional cardiologists, sonographers, critical care physicians, emergency medicine physicians and other specialists to discuss the complexities of patients with structural heart problems.
“What distinguishes this symposium is our commitment to addressing nuance beyond standard practice. We examine ambiguous, challenging cases where we have pushed boundaries,” said Tom C. Nguyen, M.D., FACS, FACC, chief medical executive and Barry T. Katzen Endowed Chair of the Institute, where he is also the director of Minimally Invasive Valve Surgery. “For more than four decades, we’ve helped pioneer the advances that have transformed this field — from basic echocardiography to transcatheter interventions — fundamentally changing how we diagnose and treat structural heart disease.”
Institute faculty presentations included:
- A Three-Way Debate: The Best Approach for Mitral Valve Treatment — Robotic, Surgical or Transcatheter. The talk featured Institute robotic cardiothoracic surgeon Makoto Hashimoto, M.D., Ph.D., professor and director of robotic cardiac surgery at Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, and Institute interventional cardiologist Nish Patel, M.D., director of the Structural Heart Program, joined by Gerald Lawrie, M.D., the Michael E. DeBakey Distinguished Chair in Cardiac Surgery at Houston Methodist Hospital. With improved technologies and in high-volume, experienced centers, there are more alternatives today to traditional surgery for many patients, the doctors said, with less invasive procedures generally carrying lower risk and offering shorter hospitalizations and speedier recoveries.
- Pushing Boundaries in TMVR: Successes, Setbacks and What’s Next — a discussion of complex cases by Dr. Patel.
- Live Case Discussion — A Surgical Dilemma, presented by Socrates Kakoulides, M.D., chief imaging officer of the Institute.
- Aortic Regurgitation Through the Eyes of a Surgeon: Evolving from Basic Surgical Techniques to Advanced Repair, with Bradley S. Taylor, M.D., MPH, chief of cardiac surgery for the North Region and chief of quality and outcomes at Baptist Health Heart & Vascular Care.
- Debate: TAVR vs. SAVR — Which Treatment Should Prevail? A Surgical vs. Structural Heart Showdown, featuring Dr. Nguyen and Institute interventional cardiologist Bernardo Lopez Sanabria, M.D.
The symposium also reinforced the multidisciplinary approach that is essential to advancing structural heart care, said Elliott J. Elias, M.D., medical director of Cardiac & Structural Imaging for the Institute and co-director of the symposium. “This collaboration between our imaging specialists and interventional teams has never been stronger,” he said. “We’re now able to guide complex procedures with unprecedented clarity and precision, which translates to better outcomes for our patients.”
As treatment options continue to expand, forums that bridge disciplines and examine challenging cases remain critical to translating advances into clinical practice, the doctors agreed.
Watch for information soon on the Institute’s 43rd annual Echocardiography and Structural Heart Symposium.
