Houston Aortic Agenda

7:00 - 8:00 AM

Thursday, March 5, 2026

Continental Breakfast, Registration, and View Exhibits

Consort Foyer

8:00 - 8:05 AM

Thursday, March 5, 2026

Introduction

Consort II, 3rd Floor

Hazim J. Safi, MD, and David D. McPherson, MD

8:05 - 8:10 AM

Thursday, March 5, 2026

Opening Remarks

Consort II, 3rd Floor

Anthony Estrera, MD, Ali Azizzadeh, MD

8:10 AM - 10:10 AM

Thursday, March 5, 2026

SESSION I: Structural Heart

Consort II, 3rd Floor

Moderator:
Michael Mack, MD, Danny Ramzy, MD, PhD

8:10 - 8:18 AM

Aortic Stenosis: TAVR vs SAVR vs Ross, What Is the Best Option?

Ismail El-Hamamsy, MD

8:19 - 8:27 AM

Robotic Mitral Valve Repair for Complex Mitral Pathologies

Robert L. Smith, MD

8:28 - 8:36 AM

Hybrid vs PCI: Which is Better for Multivessel CAD?

Evelio Rodriguez, MD

8:37 - 8:45 AM

Transcatheter Mitral Options for MAC

Abhijeet Dhoble, MD

8:46 - 8:54 AM

Treatment of the Young Patient with Aortic Stenosis and a Bicuspid Aortic Valve

Michael Mack, MD

8:55 - 9:03 AM

Beyond the Mitral Valve: Expanding Indication for Robotic Cardiac Surgery

T. Sloane Guy, MD

9:04 - 9:12 AM

TAVR for Aortic Insufficiency

Daniel Hermann, MD

9:13 - 9:21 AM

Robotic Myectomy Transaortic and Transmitral?

Danny Ramzy, MD PhD

9:22 - 9:30 AM

Surgical TAVR in MAC: Current Results and Technique

Gorav Ailawali, MD, PhD

9:31 - 10:10 AM

Panel Discussion

10:10 - 10:30 AM

Thursday, March 5, 2026

Break / View Exhibits

Consort I, 3rd Floor

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Thursday, March 5, 2026

SESSION II: Aortic Root/Ascending Aorta

Consort II, 3rd Floor

Moderator:
Steven Lansman, MD, PhD, Elaine Tseng MD

10:30 - 10:38 AM

"Expanded Criteria" Ross Procedure (Previous Root, Older Age, Radiation, Severe Obesity, Endocarditis, Etc): The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Christopher Burke, MD

10:39 - 10:47 AM

Redo Aortic Root Surgery for the Small Aortic Annulus

Edward Chen, MD

10:48 - 10:56 AM

Surgical Aortic Valve Repair in the Era of TAVI

Chris Malaisrie, MD

10:57 - 11:05 AM

Minimally Invasive Proximal Aortic Surgery: Feasible? Reproducible?

Konstandinos Plestis, MD

11:06 - 11:14 AM

Redo SAVR with Y-AAE for Patients after Prior SAVR or TAVR

Bo Yang, MD

11:15 - 11:23 AM

Aortic Valve Sparing - Root Surgery

Davide Pacini, MD

11:24 - 11:32 AM

North American Trends in the Utilization and Outcomes of the Ross Procedure

Maral Ouzounian, MD

11:33 - 11:41 AM

Can We Validate New Guidelines for Indications of Elective Ascending Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm Surgery?

Elaine Tseng, MD

11:42 AM - 12:00 PM

Panel Discussion

12:00 - 1:00 PM

Thursday, March 5, 2026

Lunch

La Vista Room, 21st Floor

Lunch Lecture: 70 Years Ago: John Gibbons Odyssey Towards the First Open Heart Operation Using CPB

Joseph Bavaria, MD

1:10 - 2:55 PM

Thursday, March 5, 2026

SESSION III: Transverse Arch

Consort II, 3rd Floor

Moderator:
Tomas Martin, MD, Ourania Preventza, MD, MBA

1:10 - 1:18 PM

Frozen Elephant Trunk: How long and Why

Ourania Preventza, MD, MBA

1:19 - 1:27 PM

Ascending Aortic Pseudoaneurysms

Tomas Martin, MD

1:28 - 1:36 PM

How Should FET be Used in Chronic Dissection?

Pedro Catarino, MD

1:37 - 1:45 PM

Optimizing Cerebral Protection While Promoting Procedural Efficiency: RCP at 28C

Thomas Brett Reece, MD, MBA

1:46 - 1:54 PM

Do We Need to Replace the Normal Sized Aortic Arch During Elective Valve Sparing Aortic Root Replacements in Patients with Marfan Syndrome

Malakh Shrestha, MBBS, PhD

1:55 - 2:03 PM

Role of Robotic Transcranial Doppler in Aortic Arch Surgery

Aung Oo, MD

2:04 - 2:12 PM

Sutureless Grafts to Facilitate Arch Repair: Novel Technologies and Opportunities

Nimesh Desai, MD, MPH

2:13 - 2:21 PM

Distal Reinterventions after Type A Aortic Dissection Repair

Christopher Mehta, MD

2:22 - 2:30 PM

Low LVEF Patients. The "New Reality" in Aortic Surgery

Dimitrios Iliopoulus, MD

2:31 - 2:55 PM

Panel Discussion

2:55 - 3:15 PM

Thursday, March 5, 2026

Break / View Exhibits

Consort I

3:15 - 5:05 PM

Thursday, March 5, 2026

SESSION IV: The Harper Session: Diagnosis/Innovation/Collaboration

Consort II, 3rd Floor

Moderator:
Charles C. Miller III, PhD, Dawn Hui, MD

3:15 - 3:20 PM

Session Introduction

Charles C. Miller III, PhD

3:20 - 3:28 PM

Optimal Size for Proximal Aortic Intervention 5.0 vs 5.5 cm: A Cardiologist's View

Matthew Soloman, MD, PhD

3:29 - 3:37 PM

Precision Medicine (Gene-Based) Management of Thoracic Aortic Disease: Findings from the Montalcino Aortic Consortium

Dianna Milewicz, MD, PhD

3:38 - 3:46 PM

Aging of the Aortic Wall and Aneurysm Formation

Dimitrios Iliopoulos, MD

3:47 - 3:55 PM

Gender and Ethnic Differences in Aortic Dimensions: Implications for Treatment

Dawn Hui, MD

3:56 - 4:04 PM

Aortic Vulnerability Index: Wall Strength and Volumetric Analysis to Guide Therapy

Randy Moore, MD

4:05 - 4:13 PM

Biomechanical Evaluation Between TAVR and SAVR

Vijay Govindarajan, PhD

4:14 - 4:22 PM

Prevalence, Management and Surveillance of Cardiovascular Disease Beyond the Aorta in Patients with Heritable Aortic Disease

Alana Cecchi

4:23 - 4:31 PM

Advanced Imaging of Hemodynamic Changes in Pregnant Patients with Aortopathy: Predicting Aortic Risk

Rana Afifi, MD

4:32 - 4:40 PM

Exercising Safely with Thoracic Aortic Disease: Guidance and Resources

Siddharth Prakash, MD, PhD

4:41 - 5:05 PM

Panel Discussion

6:45 - 7:45 AM

Friday, March 6, 2026

2026 Program

Houston Aortic Symposium 2026

Promedica International CME

Accreditation

Accreditation resources

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