In these difficult times we wish you and your families health and the strength to get through this terrible pandemic in your respective countries. Please be safe and follow the recommendations from your health authorities and governments to avoid, limit and mitigate the effects of the spread of COVID-19!
 
The WSPCHS Leadership is carefully monitoring the developments of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect around the world, as well as the policies set by institutions and countries. We are concerned about the possible effects on the health of our members, families and patients. We are also concerned about how the pandemic and travel restrictions will impact the ability to hold the 7^th Scientific Meeting of the World Society in partnership with the Pediatric Cardiac Society of India, scheduled for September 17-20, 2020 in New Delhi, India.
 
The Organizing Committee led by Sachin Talwar, Rajesh Sharma and Krishna Iyer, have been working hard to prepare what promises to be another outstanding meeting. The theme of the Scientific Program “Late presentation and remaining challenges in the treatment of congenital heart disease around the world” is really timely in helping with the rapid progress going on in the world.
 
Although we hope that the meeting will take place as planned, we also remain realistic. In the coming weeks, the unfolding situation will be assessed and any decision about the meeting will be promptly communicated.
 
In the meantime, we would like to bring to your attention a manuscript by Joseph Dearani and Associates entitled "COVID-19: Crisis Management in Congenital Heart Surgery" that has been posted on the websites of the WSPCHS, ECHSA and the CHSS. This important manuscript has been accepted for simultaneous publication in the World Journal for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery, the Annals of Thoracic Surgery and the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.
 
We send you our best wishes for health and safety,

Marcelo B. Jatene
President
Sao Paulo, Brazil
 
Christo I. Tchervenkov
Executive Director & Founding President
Montreal, Canada

We want to first acknowledge that this is a very unsettling time for the world right now, so we want to wish all of you the best and to be safe and healthy during these uncertain times. We will come together as a group and will be a stronger global community after this.

As we enter a new year, we would like to extend a ‘Thank You’ to all the members of the World Database for Pediatric Congenital Heart Surgery (WDPCHS) for your continued efforts and hard work in this important international project. The WDPCHS continues to grow each year; now with 68 hospitals in 22 countries enrolling a collective 27,470 surgeries. The WDPCHS Web Based Data Entry system has undergone a number of enhancements throughout 2019 and the beginning of 2020, including the ability to translate the data entry forms into languages other than English, monthly surgery count verification tables, and added question & answer options to data entry forms. All these changes are noted on our World Database Website as well as changes since our inception in 2017; World Database Website We will continue make enhancements to the web based data entry system in 2020 and we welcome all feedback and suggestions.

Sincerely,

James K. Kirklin, Database Chair
James D. St. Louis, Database Vice Chair/Secretary
Marcelo B. Jatene, WSPCHS President
Christo I. Tchervenkov, WSPCHS Executive Director

Our colleagues from CHSS and ECHSA have agreed to participate in a Joint Research effort that will entail establishing guidelines for Pulmonary Valve Replacement in the post-operative Tetralogy of Fallot patient.  The leadership of these societies would like to extend the invitation to participate in the literature review, review sessions at upcoming meeting, phone conferences, and eventual writing of guidelines to be published in our World Journal for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery. The proposal can be download below for your review.  Jim St. Louis will be presenting  the project at the upcoming joint ECHSA / WSPCHS meeting in Sofia Bulgaria. The presentation will be at the research session on Friday, June 21st from 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm. Those of you that are interested in participating in this project, please acknowledge with an email to Jim St Louis (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).  This will be a historic project that will further bring the three sister societies together in the sprint of cooperation and mutual respect

All the Best

Project Leadership

Vladimiro Vida (ECHSA)

Joseph Dearani (CHSS)

Christo Tchervenkou (WSPCHS)

George Sarris (ECHSA)

James Kirklin (CHSS)

James St Louis (WSPCHS)

Download the Consensus statement by expert panel from the ECHSA and WSPCHS