STE organize 10th Annual Perioperative and Critical Care Echocardiography Workshop

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Chandigarh 25^th February:- The Society of Transesophageal Echocardiography and the Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care are organizing the 10th Annual Perioperative and Critical Care Echocardiography Workshop from 26^th to 28^th February 2016 at the Advanced Cardiac Centre (ACC), PGIMER, Chandigarh. The workshop aims to train anesthesiologists in the use of trans-esophageal echocardiography (TEE) to assess the function of the heart and detect abnormalities of the heart. The workshop is being conducted by Prof. GD Puri (PGIMER) as the Course Director and the Organising Chairperson, Prof. Ishwar Bhukal (PGIMER) as the Treasurer and Dr. Neeti Dogra (Max Hospital, Mohali) as the Organizing Secretary. The conference will be attended by reputed anesthesiologists, cardiologists and cardiac surgeons from leading Indian institutes, who are highly experienced in the use of TEE. The international faculty presenting at the workshop include Dr. Hector Villaraga (Mayo Clinic, USA ), Dr. Andreas Fiehn[kp1]  ( University of Kassel, Germany ), Dr. Theresa Tacy (Stanford University, USA ), Dr. Swapnil Khoche (University of California at San Diego, USA) and Dr. Genevieve Lalonde[kp2]  (University of Mannitoba, Canada) . Around 200 delegates from all over the country and abroad are expected to participate in the workshop.

The highlights of the workshop are hands-on demonstration of TEE in patients undergoing cardiac surgery from the operation theatre, dissection of pig heart and correlation of the anatomy of the heart with the various echocardiographic views, discussion of selected problem cases, a session on transthoracic echocardiography and a presentation of research from young trainees attending the workshop. Prof Usha Kiran, Head of the Department of Cardiac Anaesthesia , AIIMS, New Delhi will deliver the oration "Ten years of Training in TEE – the Indian scenario". The conference will be followed by a satellite symposium on ultrasound guided nerve blocks on 28^th Feb 2016, led by international faculty including Prof Nav Prakash Sandhu (University of California San Diego, USA), Prof David Hardman (University of North Carolina, USA) and Prof Steve Chang (University of California at San Diego, USA).

TEE is performed with the probe of the device placed in the food pipe, and is used to guide the surgeon and the cardiologist before, during and after cardiac surgery. It can give information about adequacy of surgical repair, detect any additional abnormalities, detect and measure the damage to the heart muscle in patients with coronary artery disease, and help in monitoring for clots in the heart.

In the last two decades TEE has evolved from being a technique of luxury, to a modality of necessity in the cardiac operation theatre. Cardiac surgery is a very dynamic period wherein the patients' status rapidly changes. TEE provides a unique vantage point to visualize the heart's structure and function and allow closer monitoring. It allows assessment of the impact of the surgery before leaving the operating room, thus giving an opportunity to revise any repairs, and predicting/preventing post operative complications or need for another surgery. In the case of children, it also allows a complete assessment under anesthesia, which may not have been possible with a routine heart ultrasound while the child was awake and anxious.

The workshop is being organized at the Advanced Cardiac Center (ACC) at the PGIMER. The ACC is a state of the art 210-bed cardiac care facility,  which was formally inaugurated on 3^rd Nov 2009. The centre has three interventional catheterization labs, four operating rooms and one emergency operating room. It has a 24-bed cardiac step-down care unit and a 24-bed cardiac surgical intensive care unit, with separate cubicle for paediatric patients. It is also fully air conditioned including outpatient as well as indoor wards.  On an average, 1500 cardiac surgical cases and approximately 7000 interventional cath procedures are performed every year at the ACC. It has also performed two successful heart transplant surgeries. In addition the ACC has cardiac MRI, nuclear scan and four state of the art echocardiography lab facilities. Children heart link a NGO is helping the development of pediatric cardiac program at PGI by sponsoring and supporting the training program of nursing as well as technical staff.  Last but not the least, the doctors, nurses, paramedics here are dedicated and hardworking staff with a mission for excellence. Gandhi ji said that the best way to find you is to lose yourself in the service of others, and this is what the ACC staffs firmly believes and follow.