From the desk of the President Elect
08 December 2025
SCTS Weekly Update – A Busy Week, A Big Year, and a Festive Finish
Hello everyone,
It’s that time of year again when we share what your leadership team has been up to on your behalf. As ever, it’s been a busy week in the world of SCTS—full of challenges, plenty of problem-solving, and, thankfully, lots of rewarding progress. It really is a privilege to work alongside so many passionate and like-minded colleagues.
Trustees’ Meeting – Responding to the Headlines
We started the week with an extraordinary meeting of the Trustees to discuss the recent media stories and agree how the Society should respond. It was a frank and constructive discussion, and the decisions made were all aimed at safeguarding the reputation of SCTS.
The statement released this week reflects both the tone and the intention of that meeting, and we’re grateful for the thoughtful feedback many of you have already shared.
A Trip to Paris – Collaborating Across Europe
Midweek brought something completely different: a two-day meeting in Paris hosted by EACTS, bringing together leaders of national cardiothoracic societies from across Europe. It was a great chance to connect, compare notes, and explore how we can support each other.
Aman Coonar and I attended on behalf of SCTS, and we spoke with colleagues about some familiar challenges: falling cardiac surgery activity in many countries, competition from percutaneous procedures, workforce pressures, supply chain hiccups, and the ongoing struggle for access to robotics.
EACTS is keen to evolve and help us work more closely together, and we agreed several areas where collaboration will make a real difference—from quality monitoring to aligning databases and developing new research programmes.
MICS/ERACS Accreditation – 17 Units Apply!
One of the real highlights this week has been the number of applications for our new MICS/ERACS accreditation programme. If you joined the webinar last week, you’ll know how much enthusiasm there is for this initiative from both clinicians and patients.
After a flurry of questions and conversations, we were thrilled to receive 17 applications—an impressive number given how ambitious the criteria are.
Over the next four weeks, our working group of clinicians and patients will review and score all applications. We’ll announce the five accredited centres in the New Year. Whether or not your unit applied, this process is going to help shape the future of minimally invasive and enhanced recovery surgery across the UK.
Guidelines, Debates and a New International Trial
You’ll also be aware of the lively debate surrounding the new ESC/EACTS valvular heart disease guidelines—particularly the recommendation limiting surgical AVR to patients aged 70 and under. Opinions have been mixed, to put it mildly.
Following discussions in Paris, SCTS will be joining several national societies in Europe and the US to issue a joint statement highlighting key concerns. It won’t change the guideline itself, but we hope it will be a useful document for MDT discussions and local decision-making.
On a more upbeat note, the British Heart Foundation has agreed to fund the UK arm of the REPEAT Trial, an important international study comparing valve-in-valve TAVI with redo surgery in patients with failed bioprostheses. With 900 patients planned across the US, Germany and the UK, and 10 UK sites participating, this is a big step forward in understanding long-term outcomes— crucial as more biological valves are used in younger patients.
A Festive Thought
As we all dive into the Christmas rush, I hope you can take a moment to reflect on everything you’ve achieved this year. We work in an incredibly demanding specialty, yet our outcomes are among the best anywhere in the world. That’s something we should all be proud of.
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year.
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