CTSNet Podcasts

This week on The Beat, CTSNet Editor-in-Chief Joel Dunning speaks with Dr. Ari Wes, Partner at Peninsula Plastic Surgery and CEO and Cofounder of Orchid Surgical, about clinical surgery video production. Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:46 Interview Preview 02:16 No Chest-Open Heart Transplant 05:07 NSCLC Time to Surgery 07:55 Impact of Preop Invasive Nodal Staging 11:04 Air Space Spread Impacts Adenocarci...

This week on The Beat, CTSNet Editor-in-Chief Joel Dunning speaks with Dr. David Kalfa, the incoming Chief of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery and Co-Director of the Heart Institute at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami, about allogeneic mitral valve transplants. Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:46 Interview Preview 02:54 MV Surgery After Failed Intervention 07:46 Tears Predict Outcomes After Hemi-Arch 10:32 P...

In this episode of The Atrium, host Dr. Alice Copperwheat speaks with Dr. Faisal Bakaeen, Professor of Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and Director of the Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery Center at the Cleveland Clinic, about radial artery harvesting. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:45 Dr. Bakaeen Background 05:26 Historical Timeline 06:40 Radial Artery Advantages 08:58 Ana...

This week on The Beat, CTSNet Editor-in-Chief Joel Dunning speaks with CTSNet Board Member Dr. Keith Naunheim, Vallee L. and Melba Willman Professor and Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, about artificial intelligence (AI) in cardiothoracic (CT) surgery. Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:31 Guest Preview, Dr. Naunheim 02:34 Clinic Notes via AI 04:41 Congenital Chal...

This week on The Beat, CTSNet Editor-in-Chief Joel Dunning speaks with CTSNet JANS Editor Dr. Mateo Marin-Cuartas, a cardiac surgeon in the University Department of Cardiac Surgery at the Leipzig Heart Center, Germany, about surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) vs transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:57 Dr. Marin-Cuartas Feature 02:28 SHURUI Robot Feasability...

This week on The Beat, CTSNet Editor-in-Chief Joel Dunning recaps the 33rd European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS) annual meeting in Budapest. Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:30 ESTS 2025 Conference 09:11 SHURUI Robot Study 10:04 Willard A. Fry 12:44 Transplant Recipient Pregnancy Outcomes 15:25 Low-Flow, Low-Gradient Aortic Stenosis 17:12 Warm Ischemic Intervals Effect 19:16 Extracorp Circulation vs...

This week on The Beat, CTSNet Editor-in-Chief Joel Dunning speaks with cofounders Courtney Maxey-Jones and Connor Wasilnak about their charity, Global Outreach for Medical Equity and Development (GOMED), which exists to deliver essential medical supplies to underresourced regions. Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:33 Surgical Instrument Donations 02:43 Adverse Outcomes in Surgery 10:05 Lymph Node NSCLC Stud...

In this special one-year anniversary episode of The Atrium, host Dr. Alice Copperwheat speaks with Dr. Michael Mack, medical director of cardiothoracic surgery at Baylor Scott and White Health System and chairman of the Baylor Plano Research Center in Texas, about the future of valve surgery. Chapters 00:00 Introductions 01:18 Dr. Mack Background 03:41 Becoming a CT Surgeon 07:53 Path to Academic...

This week on The Beat, CTSNet Editor-in-Chief Joel Dunning speaks with Dr. Nina Fuller-Shavel, co-chair of the British Society for Integrative Oncology (BSIO) from 2021 to 2023 and current co-chair of the BSIO Clinical Practice and Education Committee, about integrative oncology. Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:29 Integrative Medicine 09:13 Bar Dislocation, Pectus 10:53 Effective Circulating Volume Fracti...

This week on The Beat, CTSNet Editor-in-Chief Joel Dunning speaks with Dr. Dibin Mohammed, a consultant at Government Medical College, Kozhikode, Kerala, India, about his WhatsApp group, Young CVTS Surgeons Kerala. Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:22 CTSNet Updates 03:44 Dr. Mohammed Guest 05:20 Allogeneic Mitral Valve Transplant 08:45 Multiple vs Single Arterial Grafting 11:50 AI & Machine Learning in...

This week on The Beat, CTSNet Editor-in-Chief Joel Dunning celebrates two years of the podcast and speaks with Dr. Joseph F. Sabik III, president of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) and chair of the Department of Surgery at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, about the future of cardiothoracic surgery. Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:16 Dr. Sabik Guest 04:13 AATS 2025 20:26 Extended Sleev...

This week on The Beat, CTSNet Editor-in-Chief Joel Dunning speaks with Dr. Cristiano Spadaccio, an attending cardiac surgeon and associate professor of surgery at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Ohio, USA, about totally tissue-engineered valves for tricuspid replacement. Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:48 Tissue-Engineered Valves 05:48 Compensatory Sweating After BETS 10:05 5Y Outcomes T...

In this month’s episode of The Atrium, host Dr. Alice Copperwheat speaks with Dr. Jose Fernandes from the Department of Clinical Perfusion at Royal Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, UK, about extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:47 History 04:46 Basics 09:58 Circuit 14:09 Cannulation 22:44 Indications for Use 28:14 VV ECMO 32:18 VA ECMO 36:44 Monitoring 42:31 Comp...

This week on The Beat, CTSNet Editor-in-Chief Joel Dunning speaks with Dr. Mario Castillo-Sang, the Surgical Director of Mitral Valve and Heart Failure Therapies at St. Elizabeth Healthcare, Edgewood, Kentucky, USA, about totally endoscopic cardiac surgery. Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:17 Minimal Access Bedside Cardiac 04:37 Lung Cancer, Histological Subtype 09:29 TAVR vs SAVR, AS & CAD 12:22 Biopr...

This week on The Beat, CTSNet Editor-in-Chief Joel Dunning examines the first-ever transcontinental uniportal thoracic surgery. Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:26 100th Episode, Future 03:01 Transcontinental Uniportal Robotics 09:52 Infective Endo in Octogenerians 12:39 Kidney Replacement Therapy, Cardiac Outcomes 15:50 Stenotic Lesions Simulation 18:59 One-Lung Ventilation, Difficult Airway 21:06 Simplif...

This week on The Beat, CTSNet Editor-in-Chief Joel Dunning speaks with Professor Robert Sneyd, Vice Chair of Aortic Dissection Awareness UK & Ireland, about the charity’s dedication to promoting awareness of aortic dissection. Chapters 00:00 Intro 03:52 RLAAO Isolated MR Study 09:07 Early Outcomes Reop Aortic Root 11:39 Fallot and Its Variants 16:55 Low-Dose Warfarin, Mech AV 22:02 AVR w LIMA-...

This week on The Beat, CTSNet Editor-in-Chief Joel Dunning speaks with Dr. Salim Aziz, thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon and clinical professor at George Washington University, about computed tomography (CT) scan-negative type A dissection. Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:57 Dr. Aziz Preview 02:01 Bringing International Colleagues to Centers 07:01 Ambulation Protocol ECMO 09:12 COPD Severity, Aortic Ane...

This week on The Beat, CTSNet Editor-in-Chief Joel Dunning recaps two presentations delivered at the Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery in Great Britain and Ireland Annual Meeting 2025. Chapters 00:00 Intro 02:57 "Teamship," Sir Woodward 09:23 Virtual Surgery Training, Dr. Ahmed 12:55 Upcoming Lung Surgery Trials 14:48 Needle Aspiration & Forceps Biopsy 17:26 Approaches to Clinical Trial Desig...

In this month’s episode of The Atrium, host Dr. Alice Copperwheat speaks with Dr. Thomas D'Amico about VATS lobectomy. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:47 Background 04:11 Indications 04:51 Preoperative Assessment 07:12 Setup 08:21 Patient Positioning 11:26 Basics 13:36 D'Amico's Port Placement 16:46 Uniportal 22:03 Steps 22:44 Anterior-Posterior Order 25:45 Anatomy 26:45 Instruments 30:54 Pleural D...

This week on The Beat, CTSNet Editor-in-Chief Joel Dunning examines future cardiothoracic surgery robotic systems. Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:05 SCTS 2025 02:50 Intuitive Single-Port System 10:00 Other Robotics in Development 12:49 Medtronic Innovations 15:53 Tumor Air Spaces Spread 18:21 Virtual Reality Effect on Patients 19:58 MR for Isolated Leaflet Lesion 21:48 Post-Surgery Proning Obese ARS Synd...

This week on The Beat, CTSNet Editor-in-Chief Joel Dunning examines how to prevent adverse publicity by patients on social media. Chapters 00:00 Intro 02:01 Patient-Social Media Interaction 11:56 Lung Cancer Screening Recommendations 15:29 Perc vs Surg Revasc, SWEDEHEART Registry 18:06 Down Syndrome Patient Outcomes 19:20 Nighttime Cardiovascular Staffing Impact 23:42 Samurai Cannulation 28:30 Off...

This week on The Beat, CTSNet Editor-in-Chief Joel Dunning examines surgical staplers. He explores the history of surgical staplers, the evolution of surgical staplers, and discusses the company that created the first automated minimally invasive surgical stapler—United States Surgical Corporation (USSC). He also discusses details about the AutoSuture Premium Poly stapler and why it is still being...

This week on The Beat, CTSNet Editor-in-Chief Joel Dunning speaks with Dr. Mujtaba Mubashir, CTSNet JANS editor and surgical resident at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, about being a JANS editor. They discuss what JANS is, their favorite part about JANS, and their favorite articles. They also explore highlights from the 61st Society of Thoracic Surgeons Annual Meeting, including how to manag...

In this month’s episode of The Atrium, host Dr. Alice Copperwheat speaks with Dr. David Taggart about internal mammary artery harvesting. They discuss indications, patient preparation, internal thoracic artery anatomy, and key steps—sternotomy, free parietal pleura, incised endothoracic fascia, cutting of IMA, and more. They also discuss the pedicled technique, the skeletonized technique, and comp...

This week on The Beat, CTSNet Editor-in-Chief Joel Dunning speaks with Dr. Husam Balkhy, Professor of Surgery and the Director of Robotic and Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery at University of Chicago Medicine and President of The International Society for Minimally Invasive Cardiothoracic Surgery (ISMICS), about robotic totally endoscopic cardiac surgery procedures. They discuss potential ways t...