27th ESTS European Society of Thoracic Surgeons Meeting

Welcome Address

Dublin is a city without strangers, where there are only friends who have not yet met. I hope you enjoy it and have as much fun on your short visit as you have capacity and energy. This is an accessible city with international airlinks and geography that see it a major location for aircraft leasing companies, with 50% of rental commercial airplanes worldwide leased by Irish companies. It is a safe city where the police are unarmed and visitors welcomed.

The European Society of Thoracic Surgeons is the largest thoracic surgery focused meeting in the world. The program will inform and inspire. You will learn new techniques you will want to implement at home. We look forward to your interaction and to your own contributions to the meeting. We want you to be part of it. You will meet new people and develop new contacts and links. We want you to return home planning your next professional thoracic journey. We will also show you some of the culture, creations and customs that make us who we are in Ireland. We will get you involved. We want you to come back.

This meeting will be about respect, collaboration, science and innovation. It is the truly global group for thoracic surgery. This discipline is changing so fast it is spinning. Never before have we been challenged by patients with so much co-morbidity. Never before have outcome expectations been so high. Never before have the costs of new technologies presented such challenges. Now is our time to come together to meet and endeavor to rise to these challenges. Dublin is waiting.

Prof. David Healy
Chair of LOC


Dear Members and Guests

The European Society of Thoracic Surgeons will celebrate its 27th annual meeting in Dublin from 9 – 12 June 2019.

Together with the Program Committee, we have been working hard to prepare this event. We expect to offer you scientific fireworks, and in parallel innovative educational tracks. Considering the constant growth of our Society, the constant improvement of the quality of our programs and satisfaction rate of the delegates we are fully loaded with fantastic expectations for this year’s Annual Conference on Thoracic Surgery.

A couple of months before the Opening Ceremony, I have to express my deep gratitude to three parties at least: all authors who will have submitted abstracts – their tremendous work is absolutely necessary to create a high quality scientific program; all participants – without them, the conference would simply be meaningless; the exhibitors and partners from industry – who make it possible to happen!

Our annual meeting is not only marked by science and education. Most of us would agree to state that it is a meeting of a united thoracic surgical family in a globalized world. As such, it is definitely an opportunity to network between institutions or between and across generations. Aside research and education, we should remember that best scientific evidence might turn out to be wrong after a couple of years, yet true friendship lasts for a lifetime! Do not miss this major opportunity to meet between friends, and to broaden the circle by finding new friends. While the purpose of the conference is to promote science and education, we should not forget about some leisure for informal exchange, or simply relaxing after strenuous working hours. I am pretty sure that the lovely city of Dublin will offer a fertile soil for planned or spontaneous social events.

Dear Colleagues and Friends, as current President of ESTS, the world’s largest society for General Thoracic Surgery, I am both proud and overwhelmed with happiness to welcome all of you, Dear Delegates gathering from all 5 continents! I wish you to catch unforgettable impressions from our conference and a marvellous stay in Dublin.

Prof. Gilbert Massard
ESTS President