Dear Colleagues, Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great honour for me to welcome you to the 5th Joint Conference of the German, Austrian and Swiss Societies for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery in Innsbruck in 2008. I hope that you will enjoy the marvellous alpine city of Innsbruck and that the convention centre on the river Inn will contain everything that is required to make the conference a success. Due to its geographical proximity to Germany and Switzerland, the Austrian city of Innsbruck is an ideal venue for the three-country conference.

The main theme of the previous annual conferences of the German Society and the last DACH conference in 2004 showed that progress is being made in our medical speciality and that we are faced with some major changes. These changes pose a significant challenge for individual surgeons as well as the scientific societies. It was therefore logical to choose “Take the Challenge” as the main theme of the joint conference. I believe that challenges must be solved by means of proactive strategies. Innovations in the treatment of diseases which are regarded as the core expertise of our medical speciality must be evaluated in close cooperation with the surgeons.

Facing up to the challenge of innovation and progress in a highly diverse and subspecialized field requires a critical number of clinicians and scientists in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. I state that the “small” scientific societies in Switzerland and Austria will have difficulties in mastering these challenges alone. However, the Joint Conference with the German society offers an opportunity to exchange experiences and opinions. It will also provide valuable momentum for the further development of our medical speciality.

A large proportion of new developments will be the task of our young colleagues and residents. I make a special appeal to them to accept this challenge. I therefore request the heads of departments to allow large numbers of young colleagues to attend the Joint Meeting in Innsbruck in 2008.

The scientific and clinical focus of the conference is dedicated on the one hand to less invasive procedures: minimally invasive and endovascular cardiac surgery. On the other hand new developments in RVOT reconstruction and mechanical assist devices will be discussed. Further attention will be paid to the topics of bypass surgery versus stent therapy, lung transplantation and, finally, the outcome qualitiy.

I would therefore like to wish you a successful and highly informative Joint Conference in Innsbruck in 2008.

Günther Laufer