MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

We are pleased to announce that after several years of planning the Pennsylvania Association for Thoracic Surgery is retooling itself into the Eastern Cardiothoracic Surgical Society.  A plan for this evolution was proposed to the general membership at the 2009 annual meeting, and a vote in favor of this expansion was unanimous.  The Pennsylvania Association for Thoracic Surgery has provided an opporunity for open reporting and discussion of locally generated clinical and basic science, for nearly 50 years, for the surgeons of Pennsylvania.  We have proposed this change in hopes of expanding this unique annual experience to the large number of surgeons that are excluded membership in the Southern and Western societies on the basis of geography.  It is our goal that we will be able to continue our annual mission of providing a forum for diverse and insightful local experience, in a forum that is intimate enough to allow a broad and open exhange of ideas.  Our society was founded as a local alternative to the AATS, and predates the establishment of the STS.  We would like to extend this opporunity to surgeons throughout the Mid-Atlantic, Midwestern, and New England regions.  Addtionally, we have an associate membership available to physician extenders, and membership fees are waived for Fellows in Cardiothoracic Surgery Training programs.  Please join us in this expanded venture, and contact us directly with any questions that you might have.

Sincerely,

Sanjay M. Mehta, MD

President, The Pennsylvania Association for Thoracic Surgery / Eastern Cardiothoracic Surgical Society