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Department of Anesthesiology
Duke University Medical Center
Box 3094
Durham, NC 27710

Office of Medical Education
Duke University Medical Center
Box 3005
Durham, NC 27710

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Conference Outline

The Division of Cardiothoracic Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine is proud to present their 11th Annual Duke Cardiothoracic and Regional Anesthesia Update conference. The meeting continues to be held at the ever-popular Westin Resort at Hilton Head, and this year we are delighted to introduce a number of new features. The meeting is a day longer than in previous years, now providing 32 contact hours of professional education. This year we will connect to the OR at Duke for a live 2-way audiovisual link-up during a mitral valve repair procedure, and also for a thoracic aortic stent procedure. These sessions will provide opportunities for the audience to ask questions of both the surgeon and the anesthesiologist, and also to see real time live 3D TEE pictures of the mitral valve before and after repair. Also new this year will be live demonstrations of regional anesthetic blocks (upper and lower limb) in the lecture hall, and an expanded workshop series offering thoracic anesthesia and tube thoracostomy stations. There will be the usual trade exhibition, and in addition this year a golf tournament will be held on Monday afternoon, with prizes given at the reception on Tuesday evening. Please join us for what we are sure will be another richly rewarding week at this beautiful resort.

Statement of Need

The objective of the conference is to change the scope of anesthesiology practice and increase knowledge among anesthesia, critical care, and perioperative medicine providers. This will be achieved through didactic lecture sessions, hands-on activities, case presentations, beginners and advanced TEE workshops, live demonstrations of regional anesthetic blocks, and live demonstrations of intraoperative decision making relayed via satellite from the Duke OR. This course will address the need for more interdisciplinary discussion of the changing practice of cardiac surgery, regional anesthesia, perfusion strategies and cardiac assist device management.

This course is also designed to change physician, CRNA, ICU nurse and perfusionist knowledge and practice, and to increase understanding of the role of echocardiography and ultrasound in perioperative medicine.

This course will enable greater appreciation of the team concept in acute perioperative care delivery, a deeper comprehension of the principles behind regional anesthetic techniques and the care of the high risk surgery patient, and a better understanding of the safety measures in use to prevent medical errors.

Target Audience

This activity is designed to educate and/or refresh the knowledge of healthcare professionals caring for patients undergoing cardiac, thoracic, and vascular surgical procedures.

Learning Objectives

By the conclusion of this activity, participants should be able to:

1. Discuss best practice in the perioperative care of cardiac, thoracic, and vascular surgical patients.
2. Describe cutting-edge and controversial issues within anesthesiology practice, especially in the setting of cardiothoracic surgery.
3. Describe the varying uses of TEE and hand-held ultrasound devices.

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