GENERAL ABSTRACT SUBMISSION IS NOW CLOSED

Abstract submission for 'Late Breaking Trials' will be open 1 June - 1 September 2012 via the EACTS User Area.

Late breaking trials are typically first-time international presentations of the primary endpoint or important secondary endpoint results of prospective multi-centre randomized trials or presentations of large-scale, impactful single-center or multicenter registries, first-in-man experiences with novel devices or drugs, and important follow-up data from major randomized trials.

Abstracts that do not meet the above description will not be reviewed.

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS
Please follow the instructions given on-line, otherwise your abstract cannot be selected for review. A summary of the guidelines is as follows:

• The abstract language is English
• The text should be not more than 250 words
• The use of tables or graphs is NOT possible
• The abstract must consist of four paragraphs labelled: OBJECTIVE, METHODS, RESULTS, CONCLUSIONS
• The text and the title should be free from abbreviations, except those commonly used (e.g. LVEF, CABG, VSD, ASD etc). It should concisely address the problem and the purpose of the study (OBJECTIVE); how the study was performed (METHODS); the main findings with numerical data and statistical significance (RESULTS); and the principal conclusions drawn from the study (CONCLUSIONS)
• The title of the abstract should be printed in CAPITAL LETTERS; the name(s) of the author(s) should be preceded by the initials (omit titles). There should be no more than 8 authors
• Since the abstracts will be judged anonymously, the text may not reveal the institutional affiliation
• Mark the category which best describes the subject of your abstract. If the paper is to be considered for any award or prize, mark the corresponding field when submitting the abstracts. (See Awards and Prize details)
• The material must not have been published or presented at any major meeting before.

Abstracts will not be accepted unless they are submitted according to the format and instructions described previously, and posted on this website no later than 1 April 2012.

EACTS Submission Conditions:
For all Abstracts which are accepted for presentation at the EACTS annual meeting, the full paper must then be submitted to the European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery or Interactive CardioVascular and Thoracic Surgery, before the meeting.

The audio-visual recording of the scientific presentations will be the property of the EACTS.

Authors will be notified in writing in June 2012 if the EACTS Programme Committee has accepted their abstract(s).

ORAL SESSIONS
Oral papers are allocated 8 minutes presentation time followed by a discussion period of 7 minutes. Please note that only data projection will be available.

COMPUTER DISK PRESENTATION
The use of personal laptops is not permitted. To avoid technical problems, computer presentations should be previewed in the Speaker Preview room no later than 2 hours before the start of the session in which the presentation is to be given.

CONFLICT STATEMENT
The Editor requires authors to disclose any commercial associations that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article.

All sources of funding for work should be acknowledged in a footnote on the title page, as should all institutional affiliations of the authors (including corporate appointments). Other kinds of associations, such as consultancies, stock ownership or other equity interests or patent licensing arrangements should be disclosed to the Editor in the covering letter at the time of submission. If no conflict of interest exists, please state this in the covering letter. The Editor reserves the right to reject manuscripts that do not comply with the above-mentioned requirements. The author will be held responsible for false statements or for failure to fulfill the above-mentioned requirements.

FILM SESSIONS
Authors are requested to submit the abstract of their film electronically (see instructions for abstract submission) and to send a copy of their film for review to the Scientific Secretariat. The film should be no longer than 10 minutes, in DVD format. Sound is acceptable but not necessary. However, live narration by the principal surgeon is a requirement of participation. Films will not be returned to presenters after the Annual Meeting unless specifically requested by the author in advance.

GUIDELINES TO FILM AUTHORS

1. Films should be essentially technical movies
2. Avoid time-consuming sequences showing conventional approaches and cannulations (cardiac surgery). Specific approach should be briefly demonstrated only in very particular cases (e.g. minimally invasive, etc)
3. Indicate clearly the view that is being shown, e.g. surgeon's view (as seen by the surgeon), overhead view, or view from the patient's head
4. When it is difficult to identify the details or orientation of a surgical view, an explanatory drawing may be helpful and should be shown within the film just before the operative view
5. Should an author wish to report results of series, the film itself should be shortened to 5 minutes and 'slides' incorporated in the film (not shown on separate projector)

• Label the film with the presentation title of the abstract as submitted electronically and number given when the abstract is submitted electronically
• Provide your exact mailing address, telephone, fax number(s) and e-mail address
• Films should be sent (and received by the EACTS Executive Secretariat) by 1 APRIL 2012 at the latest, to: EACTS, EACTS House, Madeira Walk, Windsor, SL4 1EU, UK

LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE
Authors are requested to submit a powerpoint (upload instructions and powerpoint template in the Abstract Submission ) and meet the following requirements:

• Max 7 slides
• Introduction of the case (max 2 slides)
• Treatment and Complications (max 3 slides)
• Result
• Lesson to be learned
• do not mention authors' names in the presentation
• include fixed images only (no videos)