Srinagar,May 15 – On the second day of the three-day 55th Annual Conference of Indian Association of Cardiovascular Thoracic Surgeons (IACTS) at SKICC, here today, Prof. M. S. Valiathan from Manipal was bestowed lifetime achievement award by the Society for his exemplary work in the field of cardiovascular surgery and medical education.
The Conference was inaugurated yesterday by Governor N. N. Vohra.
Later, speaking on the occasion, Prof. Valiathan highlighted the main achievements of cardiovascular surgeons of India and also laid a roadmap for future development of the specialty.
There were day-long deliberations on various contemporary issues in cardiovascular surgery and thoracic medicine at IACTS CON 2009 today. Presently, more than 300 national and international delegates are attending this Conference, organized by Department of Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery, Sheri-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS). The surgeons also include Prof. G. Q. Allaqaband, Prof. Mehrajuddin, Prof. M. S. Khuroo and Prof Abdul Hamid Zargar, who is also the Director of SKIMS.
In his address, the President of the Association, Dr. Vivek Jawli said that even though the number of coronary bypass surgery in the western world is slowly decreasing, in India in 2001 alone, 42,000 bypass surgeries were performed and this figure rose to 87,996 in 2008.
Dr. Chirojee from Germany also delivered a talk on current trends in cardiac imaging.
Apart from delegates from outside, faculty from different institutes of the State also participated in the proceedings today.