About this event
- Date and time Mon 3 Nov 2025 from 8:15am to 4:50pm
- Location Royal Society of Medicine
- Organised by Cardiothoracic
Join national and international leaders in cardiothoracic surgery and anaesthesia for this event focused on how AI, robotics, and non-intubated techniques are revolutionising patient care and enabling fast-track recovery.
Event Overview
Cardiothoracic surgery and anaesthesia are rapidly evolving fields, driven by technological innovation and a cultural shift toward streamlined patient pathways. Emerging tools such as artificial intelligence, robotic-assisted surgery, virtual reality, and opioid-free, non-intubated anaesthetic techniques are facilitating faster recovery times, shorter hospital stays, and more efficient use of healthcare resources. However, the true transformation requires multidisciplinary teams to embrace new clinical pathways and a shift in mindset toward ambulatory and short-stay cardiothoracic care.
This event brings together international and UK experts - including the Presidents of the SCTS, ACTACC, RSM Cardiothoracic Section, and the Royal College of Surgeons of England - along with pioneers in Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS), perioperative technology, and clinical AI applications. They will share real-world case studies, implementation strategies, and debate how to embed fast-track care as the new standard.
Why Attend?
- Discover practical applications of AI improving clinical decision-making and workflow in cardiothoracic surgery and anaesthesia.
- Explore enabling technologies including robotics, virtual reality, opioid-free and non-intubated anaesthetic techniques.
- Evaluate clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness of fast-track protocols via evidence and expert panels.
- Engage in discussion on the cultural and structural changes required to implement short-stay and ambulatory cardiothoracic care.
- Learn from national and international thought leaders driving innovation and shaping consensus guidelines.
- Opportunity to contribute to a peer-reviewed publication summarizing key insights and recommendations from the meeting.
Programme Highlights
- AI in cardiothoracic surgery and anaesthesia: clinical workflows and outcomes
- Robotics and VR: emerging enabling technologies for enhanced precision and training
- Non-intubated and opioid-free anaesthesia techniques for improved patient recovery
- Evaluating performance and adherence to Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols
- Presentation and discussion of new consensus guidelines for fast-track cardiothoracic care
- Case studies and expert panel debates focused on implementation challenges and success stories
- Stimulating innovation and future directions in cardiothoracic clinical care
Cardiothoracic Section: Case Presentation Prize
- Enter here
- Prize: Two prizes of one year's RSM membership
- Open to: Medical students and cardiothoracic trainees (any level).
- Deadline: 11:59pm on Sunday 12 October 2025.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will:
- Gain a state-of-the-art understanding of fast-track cardiothoracic surgery and anaesthesia integrating new technologies.
- Learn to assess and implement AI, robotics, and advanced anaesthetic techniques in clinical practice.
- Understand how to deliver these advances in scalable, cost-neutral ways embedded within redesigned clinical pathways.
- Develop practical knowledge from multidisciplinary case studies and implementation insights shared by leading experts.
- Be equipped to contribute to a community driving the future of cardiothoracic care.
Who Should Attend?
- Cardiothoracic surgeons, anaesthetists, and perioperative specialists
- Surgical and anaesthetic multidisciplinary teams
- Clinical leaders interested in ERAS and technological innovations
- Healthcare professionals committed to advancing fast-track and ambulatory cardiac surgery
- Researchers and innovators in AI, robotics, and perioperative care
Join us to shape the future of cardiothoracic surgery and anaesthesia - where innovation meets improved patient outcomes and healthcare efficiency.
Register now to secure your place at this essential event.
Follow us on:
Facebook
Instagram
LinkedIn
Twitter
YouTube
We would like to thank our sponsors Meril and Surgical Reality for their support of this event. The companies listed have had no influence or involvement over the agenda, content or organisation of the event.
Agenda
View the programme 03 November 2025
Registration, tea and coffee
Welcome and introduction: Opening remarks and meeting goals
Professor Prakash Punjabi, President Cardiothoracic Section, RSM, NHLI, Imperial College London, UK, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, Hammersmith Hospital
Session 1: AI approaches to improving cardiothoracic surgery, anaesthetic pathways and outcomes
AI and imaging: How machine learning is improving surgical decision-making
Professor Declan O’Regan, Professor of Cardiovascular AI Institute of Clinical Sciences, Imperial College London, UK
AI and anaesthesia: "New Horizon in AI empowered hemodynamic monitoring”
Dr Nandi Marczin, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Surgery & Cancer, Imperial College London, Faculty of Medicine
AI-powered surgical planning: Precision, personalization and prediction
Virtual speaker: Professor David McCormack, Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Waikato, New Zealand
Virtual wards and AI-driven postoperative monitoring: From ICU to home in record time
Dr Mihir Kelshiker, Honorary Clinical Lecturer NHLI, Imperial College London, UK
Panel discussion and questions & answers
Panellists: Professor Declan O’Regan, Dr Nandi Marczin, Dr Mihir Kelshiker, Professor Peter Hutchinson, Professor Prakash Punjabi
Tea and coffee break
Session 2: Enhancing recovery and hospital outcomes in cardiothoracic surgery and anaesthesia
The role of minimally invasive and robotic thoracic surgery in accelerating recovery
Mr Sasha Stamenkovic, Clinical Director Robotic Surgery, St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, UK
Robotic Cardiac Surgery – How I do it?
Professor Sahin Senay - Fellow, European Board of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Vice Dean, Acıbadem University Medical School, Acbadem Maslak Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
Leveraging 3D and AI to gain precision, confidence and anatomic insights
Dr Alexander Maat, Erasmus University Medical Centre
Fast-track anaesthesia and enhanced recovery pathways: A new standard of care?
Dr Bonnie Kyle, Consultant Cardiothoracic Anaesthetist, St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, UK
Prehabilitation: The key to reducing hospital length of stay
Dr Tim Hayes, University Hospital of South Manchester, UK
Immersive imaging to aid planning - cardiac procedures - XRNOSTICS
Professor John Simpson, Guys and St. Thomas’s Hospital, Consultant in Paediatric and Fetal Cardiology, Evelina London Children's Hospital, Guy's and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust London, UK
Minimal invasive extracorporeal circulation (MiECC): the state-of-the-art in perfusion - current trends and results
Polychronis Antonitsis, NHLI, Imperial College London, UK
Panel discussion and Q&A
Lunch
Poster viewing
Session 3: Abstract presentations
Abstract presentations
Panellists: Mr Aman Coonar, Ms Heen Shamaz, Mr Nikhil Sahdev, Mr Ramanish Ravishankar, Professor Prakash Punjabi, Dr Mark Steven
Introducing upper body exoskeleton technology in cardiothoracic surgery - bilateral sequential double lung transplant in a patient with lung failure
Aamir Amin
Making space to breathe (again): a case of mediastinal repositioning utilising 3d planning and prosthetic implants for postpneumonectomy syndrome
Hui Xin Lau
Merging Precision With Protocol: Integrating Robotic MIDCAB with Enhanced Recovery After Cardiac Surgery
Abiah Jacob
Session 4: Updates in thoracic, cardiac and anaesthesia to deliver NHS England’s 10-year plan
NHS 10-year plan going forward - The RCS England update
Mr Tim Mitchell, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, UK
The NHS 10-year plan - Implementation in thoracic surgery
Mr. Aman Coonar, President SCTS, National Lead for Thoracic Surgery, Royal Papworth Hospital, UK
The NHS 10-year plan - Implementation in cardiac surgery
Professor Enoch Akowuah, President Elect SCTS, Consultant Cardiac Surgeon, James Cook Hospital, UK
The NHS 10-year plan - Implementation in anaesthesia and critical care
Professor Gudrun Kunst, Honorary President ACTACC, Consultant Anaesthetist, King’s College Hospital, London, UK
Panel discussion
Panellists: Professor Prakash Punjabi, Professor Farah Bhatti, Dr Mark Steven, Ms Heen Shamaz, Mr Nikhil Sahdev, Mr Ramanish Ravishankar
Closing remarks
Close of meeting
Sponsors
Location
Royal Society of Medicine, 1 Wimpole St, Marylebone, London, W1G 0AE, United Kingdom
Registration for this event will close at 1:00am on 2 November 2025. Late registrations will not be accepted.
The agenda is subject to change at any time.
If the event is recorded, we are only able to share presentations that we have received permission to share. There is no guarantee that all sessions will be available after the event, this is at the presenter’s and RSM’s discretion.
All views expressed at this event are of the speakers themselves and not of the Royal Society of Medicine, nor the speaker's organisations.
This event will be recorded and stored by the Royal Society of Medicine and may be distributed in future on various internet channels.