Adult Congenital Heart Disease Fellowship

This fellowship is in Adult Congenital Heart Disease and Aortic Root Surgery including (supported) Ross, VSRR, and PEARS procedure. Due to the success of pediatric cardiac surgery during the past decades, Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ACHD) is a steadily growing specialisation within the congenital heart surgery practice. Besides an increase in caseload, new treatment modalities are being developed in the area of percutaneous interventions, hybrid procedures, and surgical procedures. The selected Fellow will have the opportunity to obtain both theoretical and practical skills within the full spectrum of Adult Congenital Heart Disease, including all treatment modalities for congenital aortic stenosis, aortic insufficiency, and (neo-) aortic root aneurysm.

• Leadership

Congenital Heart Disease Leadership

Summary

• Grant:

  €10,000
• Location:

  Amsterdam and Leiden, The Netherlands
• Duration:

  6 months
• Start Date:

  From January 2025

Fellowship Overview

This fellowship will take place within the Centrum voor Aangeboren Hartafwijkingen Amsterdam Leiden (CAHAL) which is a renowned high volume center that grew from a successful 25-year partnership between two university hospitals in Leiden and Amsterdam.

As part of this 6-month Fellowship Programme, the successful Fellow will:

Get full exposure to 3-4 surgical ACHD cases/week and 1-2 multidisciplinary heart team meetings per week. Regularly, ACHD percutaneous and/or hybrid interventions are performed.

Amongst many other diagnosis, state of art treatment strategies will be discussed and demonstrated for:

• Tetralogy of Fallot, including interventional and hybrid procedures for the treatment of ventricular arrhythmias.
• Aberrant coronary artery origin from aorta and pulmonary artery.
• (Neo-) aortic root aneurysm, including valve sparing root replacement and personalized external aortic root support applied for several congenital diagnosis and inheritable thoracic aortic disease (HTAD).
• Valve repair for bicuspid aortic valve and AV-valves in atrioventricular canal defect.
• Treatment of LVOTO/congenital aortic stenosis with all modalities for aortic root replacement including supported Ross and Ross PEARS.

Funding

We offer a bursary of €10,000 to help with the living and travel costs associated with this Fellowship. EACTS will also contribute towards the cost of your attendance at the 2025 EACTS Annual Meeting.

How the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Fellowship will advance your surgical education

• Obtain the knowledge and clinical judgment necessary to select patients for the full spectrum of ACHD procedures according to international guidelines.
• Obtain the knowledge and skills necessary to perform a selection of ACHD surgical procedures.
• Understand the organisational requirements to run a state of art ACHD programme.
• Insight into innovative treatment modalities and strategies for a selection of frequent ACHD diagnosis.
• Be involved in a specific research programme (optional).
• Submit a paper on the topic of ACHD surgery to the EACTS Annual Meeting

Application and Selection

In order to apply for this fellowship there are some essential criteria you must meet:

• Be an EACTS member
• Be a registered cardiac/ cardiothoracic/ cardiovascular surgeon with an interest in congenital heart disease.
• Be Fluent in English.

Applicants who possess the following desirable criteria would be of particular interest:

• Possibility of applying the knowledge and abilities acquired during the fellowship in home practice

In order to complete your application, you must submit the following documents*:

• Letter of interest detailing the way in which you meet the above application criteria, along with your career aspirations, as well as how you believe the Fellowship will impact your career.
• Curriculum Vitae, including a list of publications.
• Summary of operative experience in congenital heart disease and ACHD in particular
• Letter of support from a current supervisor

*Please ensure that all documents submitted are written in English, and that they are submitted either as word documents or PDF. We do not accept images or handwritten applications.  We are unable to provide advice or guidance about visa applications, so please ensure that you understand the visa requirements before applying for this Fellowship.

Evaluation and Feedback

There will be periodic communication with the Fellowship director to ensure feedback from and toward the trainee. At the end of the Fellowship, the Fellows will produce a full report on their experience based on the Francis Fontan Fund Committee guidelines.