The Department of Anesthesiology, in conjunction with the Society for Advancement of Transplant Anesthesia (SATA) and the University of Pittsburgh Center for Continuing Medical Education, held the third annual UPMC Anesthesia Symposium and Inaugural Meeting of SATA at the Herberman Conference Center, UPMC Shadyside on September 26-27, 2015. National experts presented current standards and recent advances in the field of anesthesiology for organ transplantation.
The Course Directors were Raymond M Planinsic MD; Kathirvel Subramaniam, MD MPH; and Stephen A. Esper, MD, MBA, anesthesiologists from UPMC Presbyterian and Montefiore hospitals. Professor Ernesto Pretto, MD MPH, Professor of Anesthesiology and Head of Transplantation at University of Miami, represented SATA as President. Professor Peter Slinger from the University of Toronto delivered the keynote lecture, “Lung Protection Strategies.” Professor Kenichi Tanaka, Director of Cardiac Anesthesiology at University of Maryland, moderated the coagulation monitoring section, which was well-received by the audience.
The symposium featured a wide array of national speakers including Drs. Andrew Murray and Sher-Lu, Pai from Mayo Clinic, Bala Subramaniam from Harvard University, Brandi A. Bottiger from Duke University, Andre DeWolf from Northwestern University, Srikantha Rao from Penn State University, and Julie Huffmyer from the University of Virginia. Dr. Coridalia Wald-Chen from University of Miami and Dr. Kim Sang from Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY won fellow travel awards for their abstract presentations. Various department faculty delivered lectures, moderated panel sessions, and participated in workshops. Department faculty members Drs. Mark E. Hudson, John C. Caldwell, Jose Marquez, Tetsuro Sakai, Erin A. Sullivan, Cynthia M. Wells, Ibtesam Hilmi, Todd Oravitz, John Hache, Charles Boucek, Wendy Haft, and Michael Boisen participated in the event.
One hundred and twenty individuals attended the conference, including anesthesiologists and faculty members from other parts of the country, as well as certified registered nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and trainees including fellows, perfusionists, medical students, and student nurse anesthetists. The 2015 conference was a huge success. The response to this educational event was robust and we look forward to the 4th UPMC Anesthesiology Symposium to be held at a future date.