Press Releases

NEW ORLEANS—February 1, 2026— Ascending aortic hemiarch reconstruction offers the same long-term benefits to patients over age 65 with acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) as more complex extended arch reconstruction procedures, according to a study presented today at the 2026 Society of Thoracic Surgeons Annual Meeting.

NEW ORLEANS—January 31, 2026—Breakthrough research presented at the 2026 Society of Thoracic Surgeons Annual Meeting shows that additional lymph node evaluation is needed during surgery for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to accurately identify cancer spread.

NEW ORLEANS—January 31, 2026—A nationwide, real-world analysis using the STS General Thoracic Surgery Database (GTSD) from 2012 to 2023, analyzed 16,056 adults who underwent esophagectomy for primary esophageal cancer to develop and validate a long-term all-cause mortality risk model.

NEW ORLEANS—January 31, 2026—Heart specialists at Mayo Clinic today presented new research at the 2026 Society of Thoracic Surgeons Annual Meeting that redo surgery for adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) remains high-risk, and a clinically applicable national risk assessment model is needed to help patients and care teams make decisions about procedures.

NEW ORLEANS—January 31, 2026— A late-breaking study leveraging more than 1.5 million patient records from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Adult Cardiac Surgery Database found that coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) performed off-pump by experienced surgeons is associated with significantly lower perioperative morbidity and mortality compared with on-pump CABG, while long-term survival outcomes were largely equivalent across techniques.

Renowned surgeon-scientist to lead the specialty with a bold agenda centered on "Excellence, Evidence, and Impact"

NEW ORLEANS —January 31, 2026 —The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) today elected Vinay Badhwar, MD, as its 62nd President during the organization's Annual Meeting in New Orleans. Dr. Badhwar will guide the more than 8,000-member organization through a rapidly evolving health care landscape with a focus on technical excellence, data-driven science, and measurable impact for patients worldwide.

NEW ORLEANS—January 31, 2026—A late-breaking study drawing on more than 15 years of national outcomes data from the STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database (ACSD) suggests that the two most commonly used multi-arterial coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) strategies—bilateral internal thoracic artery (BITA) and single internal thoracic artery plus radial artery (SITA+RA)—offer comparable long-term survival overall, with important differences emerging by patient age.

(OAKBROOK TERRACE, Illinois, January 29, 2026) — Joint Commission has partnered with two leading, highly respected medical specialty societies, The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC), to leverage clinical performance data for a new cardiac care certification driven by measures of patient outcomes.

NEW ORLEANS—January 29, 2026—At the 2026 Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Annual Meeting, investigators will present a late-breaking study focused on surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) following prior transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), a clinical scenario increasingly encountered as TAVR use expands. The analysis draws on data from the STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database to characterize risk over time and to validate a dedicated STS risk model designed to support decision-making for patients requiring surgery after TAVR.

Update: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Calendar Year (CY) 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule. STS has compiled a summary of the rule’s key provisions affecting cardiothoracic surgery.
 

Chicago—September 24, 2025—A new study published in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, a journal from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), offers rare insight into what it’s like to grow up as the child of a cardiothoracic (CT) surgeon mother, revealing a powerful blend of challenges, inspiration, and resilience.

CHICAGO, IL — September 2, 2025 — A new study published in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery suggests that prenatal detection of congenital heart disease (CHD) has improved in recent years largely due to advances in ultrasound screening practices. The research highlights that adding specific heart views during pregnancy scans has helped doctors detect more heart defects before birth. However, the study also found that detection rates still vary by region and type of defect, pointing to a need for continued improvements in prenatal care.

CHICAGO, IL — August 18, 2025 — A new study published in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, a journal from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, has identified early hemodynamic valve deterioration (HVD) in more than 6% of patients just one year after undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), raising new questions about valve durability in younger, lower-risk populations.

WASHINGTON, DC – July 16, 2025 – The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) strongly supports the reintroduction of the Mobile Cancer Screening Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at expanding access to lifesaving cancer screening services, especially low dose CT scans for lung cancer, in rural and underserved communities. The legislation was introduced this week by Representatives Raul Ruiz, MD (D-CA), Gabe Evans (R-CO), and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL).

Chicago, IL – June 12, 2025 – The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) has launched a new mobile app that offers surgeons and multidisciplinary medical providers real-time access to its suite of adult cardiac surgery and thoracic surgery risk calculators. Designed to enhance physician-patient decision-making and improve patient outcomes, the STS Risk Calculator App is now available for both iOS and Android devices.

Digital Clinical Support

CHICAGO (June 4, 2025) — A new study published in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, a journal from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, finds that Medicare patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) who undergo surgical ablation during isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) live longer than those who do not, offering compelling support for clinical guidelines that recommend this procedure but are too often not followed in practice.

CHICAGO, April 28, 2025 — The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) today announced the launch of its latest surgical risk calculator designed for patients undergoing ascending aorta and aortic root surgery, with or without concomitant aortic valve replacement (AVR). This first-of-its-kind tool represents a major step forward in risk stratification and personalized surgical planning for complex aortic operations.

CHICAGO – April 10, 2025 – A new study published in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, the flagship journal from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, suggests that Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act has significantly improved access to timely treatment and high-volume hospitals for patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). These findings underscore the critical role of healthcare policy in delivering quality oncologic care.

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) is deeply concerned about the proposed cuts to NIH-supported medical research through arbitrary caps on facilities and administrative (“indirect”) costs. STS applauds the nationwide temporary restraining order that has blocked these harmful changes.

Cutting indirect expense funding threatens the infrastructure that makes lifesaving research and innovation possible. Without it, academic institutions will struggle to conduct high-impact studies, delaying advancements in the specialty of cardiothoracic surgery.