Abstract
The Congenital Heart Surgeons’ Society (CHSS) was established in the spring of 1973, and the first meeting was held on September 7, 1973, at the Sonesta Beach Hotel in Key Biscayne, Florida. Since that inaugural meeting, the CHSS has developed into the leading organization dedicated to congenital heart surgery in North America. Notable achievements have been consecutive yearly meetings for 50 years, creation of a Data Center for multi-institutional studies focusing on longitudinal outcomes, joint meetings with the European Congenital Heart Surgeons Society, affiliation with the World Journal for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery, and political penetrance into the governing bodies of cardiothoracic surgery in North America. The membership has steadily increased from 16 to over 200 surgeons while maintaining high academic standards.
The 50th Anniversary of the founding of the CHSS will be celebrated in Boston, Massachusetts from October 19–22, 2023. It is a fitting time and place to commemorate and celebrate the multiple achievements over the past 50 years which has established the CHSS as the leading organization dedicated to congenital heart surgery in the United States and Canada. The ten assembled articles of this edition of The World Journal for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery highlight the important and innovative steps that the CHHS has taken over the years, along with future bright prospects for the CHSS. Each article concentrates on a particular aspect of this historical account. This issue begins with the early history of the CHSS with the 15 original members. It continues with the impact of Dr John Kirklin who is truly one of the founding fathers of congenital heart surgery. The contributions of the 11 CHSS Presidents come next in historical sequence. The important affiliation of the CHSS with The World Journal for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery occurred in 2017, and the history of this relationship is outlined. One of the most important components of the CHSS is the Kirklin-Ashburn fellowship. This two-year fellowship was initiated in 2001 and has facilitated major academic contributions of the CHSS helping guide the best care for our patients. The fellowship has also simultaneously helped train the next generation of surgeon-scientists. Three articles in succession review the Kirklin-Ashburn fellow's perspective, the research enterprise of the CHSS, and the academic impact of CHSS studies. Next, the two most recent CHSS Presidents document the historical progression of the CHSS on a national level and the bright future of the CHSS. The penultimate article is a summary of historical accounts of congenital heart surgery which puts much of this issue into perspective. This is followed by the concluding article which is the first multidisciplinary consensus, “Recommendations for Centers Performing Pediatric Heart Surgery in the United States.” This comprehensive set of recommendations for centers performing congenital heart surgery was initiated by the CHSS and developed over a two-year period involving 32 authors. The recommendations have been endorsed by 14 different medical societies including the American Association for Thoracic Surgery and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. It seems fitting these two monumental events have converged in the same issue, a celebration and review of the first 50 years of the CHSS and now the first ever “Recommendations for Centers Performing Pediatric Heart Surgery in the United States.” The CHSS has and will continue to provide trusted leadership in the science and practice of congenital heart surgery.
The Congenital Heart Surgeons’ Society celebrates its 50th Anniversary.