Nearly 100 cardiologists from Poland, Europe and the United States took part in the tenth anniversary edition of the International Ablation Workshop, organized on May 8-9 by the National Institute of Cardiology in Warsaw (Anin). The meeting program included many presentations and lectures on new ablation techniques. A live broadcast of ablation procedures performed with state-of-the-art medical equipment was also scheduled.
10th edition of the International Ablation Workshop
Published May 12, 2023 08:05
The International Ablation Workshop is the largest educational and scientific event of its kind in our part of Europe, which - in addition to practicing physicians from Poland, numerous professors, consultants in the field of cardiology - was also attended by international experts affiliated with the world's best centers.
During the two-day workshop, specialists performed a whole series of procedures using state-of-the-art medical equipment, including the Genesis Robotic Navigation System, the first of its kind in Poland and one of the first in Europe, the Farapulse system for pulmonary vein outlet electroporation, the Heliostar RF balloon, the Octaray electrode and many others. The entire event was broadcast live straight to the conference room and online, allowing workshop participants to interactively participate in the procedures and stay in touch with the electrophysiology team.
The conference began with a welcome address by Prof. Lukasz Szumowski and Dr. Pawel Derejko. Cases from the previous edition of the workshop were also reviewed (Dr. Krzysztof Dubowski and Dr. Krystyna Guzek), and Prof. Tomasz Hryniewiecki gave a lecture on the National Cardiovascular Disease Program.
This was followed by live televised ablation procedures. The first ablation of the substrate of atrial fibrillation using electroporation (PFA) and the Farapulse system was performed by Michal Orczykowski, MD, and UML Prof. Andrzej Glowniak, MD. In turn, ablation of the substrate of ventricular tachycardia using EnSite X was performed by Alexander Maciag, MD. After the break, Prof. Miguel Valderrábano from Houston, USA gave a lecture on "Alcohol ablation of the substrate of atrial and ventricular arrhythmias," and Roman Piotrowski, MD, PhD, gave a presentation on "Cardioneuroablation in syncope." In turn, Prof. Vivek Reddy from New York, USA gave a lecture on "Affera System".
Later in the conference, two more ablation sessions were held, broadcast straight to the conference hall. The first was on ablation with ethanol infusion into the Marshall vein in a patient with atrial fibrillation which was performed by one of the world's experts in the field, Prof. Miguel Valderrábana, Houston, USA. In turn, Dr. Roman Piotrowski performed a cardioneuroablation procedure in a patient with syncope. The first day of the meeting ended with a lecture by Dr. Peter Edmund Bruvers on "Challenges in the treatment of complex cardiac arrhythmias. How a novel non-contact mapping system supports effective treatment."
The second day of the conference began with a series of lectures discussing new ablation technologies and methods. The lecture on: "Pulsed field cryoablation - a new alternative to atrial fibrillation ablation" was presented by Pawel Derejko, MD. The presentation: "Clinical efficacy and safety of Hagmed ablation electrodes" was given by Krzysztof Kaczmarek, MD, and Alexander Maciąg, MD, discussed the possibilities of high-density epicardial mapping using the HD Grid electrode.
The remainder of the workshop focused on the hands-on portion, performing more ablation procedures, which were broadcast live. Professor Helmut Pürerfellner of Ordensklinikum Linz Elisabethinen in Austria, performed ablation of the substrate of atrial fibrillation using the EnSite X, and Professor Lukasz Szumowski together with Professor Tamás Szili-Török (Erasmus University in Rotterdam) performed ablation of the substrate of atrial fibrillation using robotic magnetic navigation. In turn, Dr. Patrycja Pruszkowska-Skrzep and Dr. Agnieszka Wojdyła-Horodyńska performed ablation of the substrate of atrial fibrillation using the HELIOSTAR RF balloon.
Two more ablation procedures were also performed after the break. Prof. Lukasz Szumowski and Prof. Tamás Szili-Török performed an ablation in a patient with a complex heart defect following Fontan correction using the Stereotaxis magnetic navigation system, and Prof. Raphael Martins of the University Hospital of Rennes (France) performed an ablation of atrial tachycardia using the OCTARAY TRUErefTM Carto®3 electrode.
- The last decade in medicine has been a period of many dynamic changes in the field of electrophysiology. I hope that the anniversary edition of our workshop, as well as its previous editions, provided each participant with practical knowledge of modern trends in this area," Professor Lukasz Szumowski, director of the National Institute of Cardiology, summed up the meeting.
The next, XI. Edition of the International Ablation Workshop will be held in early 2024.
Read more: www.ablacja.waw.pl
