Conference Programme

XIII Rzeszów Valve & Aortic Workshop · 7–8 December 2026 · Rzeszów, Poland

Day I — Monday, 7 December 2026

08:00

Welcome & Introduction

08:10-12:30

Morning Topic — Mitral Valve Repair

Chairmen: Piotr Suwalski, Marek Deja, Andreas Zierer, Antonios Pitsis, Kazimierz Widenka

Live Surgery 1 — Minimally Invasive Mitral and Tricuspid Valve Repair

Kazimierz Widenka / Rzeszów

Live Surgery 2 — Ross Procedure

Gebrine El Khoury / Brussels

11:45-12:00

Mitral Valve Repair – Water test was fine (15 min)

Andrzej Gackowski / Kraków

12:00-12:15

Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve Repair Endoscopic or Robotic (15 min)

Piotr Suwalski / Warszawa

12:15-12:30

Frozen Elephant Trunk (15 min)

Kazimierz Widenka / Rzeszów

Meanwhile Coffee Break

12:30–13:30

Lunch

13:30-17:00

Afternoon Topic — Aortic Valve

Chairmen: Andreas Zierer, Antonios Pitsis, Alex Weyman, Piotr Olszówka

Live Surgery 3 — Endoscopic Aortic Valve Replacement

Antonios Pitsis / Thessaloniki

Live Surgery 4 — David Procedure

Maciej Kolowca / Rzeszów

Afternoon Lectures

16:15-16:30

David Procedure – what really matters? (15 min)

Gebrine El Khoury / Brussels

16:30-16:45

Ross Procedure Past, Present and Future (15 min)

David (Dave)R. Koolbergen/ Amsterdam

16:45-17:00

Endoscopic Aortic Valve – is it worth struggling? (15 min)

Antonios Pitsis / Thessaloniki

Day II — Tuesday, 8 December 2026

08:00-16:00

What Happened Yesterday

08:15

Morning Topic — Tricuspid Valve Repair & Atrial Fibrillation & Aortic Surgery

Chairmen: Marek Deja, Piotr Suwalski, Andreas Zierer, Alex Weyman

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Live Surgery 5 — Mitral Valve Repair

Andreas Zierer / Linz

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Live Surgery 6 — Aortic Valve Replacement RAT direct vision

Alex Weyman / Oldenburg

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Live Surgery 7 — Aortic Arch Replacement – Live in a box

Davide Pacini / Bolonia

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Lectures

09:00-09:15

Training wheels or balance bikes? A new learning curve for MICS

Emmanuel Caillaud / Edwards

10:00-10:15

Future of Surgery in Atrial Fibrillation (15 min)

Pieter Kappetein / Medtronic

11:00-11:15

Aortic Arch – Frozen Elephant Trunk Evita Open Neo Results (15 min)

Andreas Zierer / Linz

12:00-12:15

Secondary Tricuspid Regurgitation Pro & Contra (15 min)

Marek Deja / Katowice

16:00

Farewell and Lunch

Kazimierz Widenka