The Association of Black Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons (ABCTS) was founded in 1997, incorporated in 1999 and re-instated on July 6, 2021.
Early History
In the mid-late 1990s, Black cardiothoracic surgeons experienced isolation in their institutions and practice and were frustrated with the limited number of Black surgeons present at the annual meetings such as the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) and American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS). Dr. Eddie Hoover is credited with initiating the process for the creation of the ABCTS and serving as a moving force behind its organization. At a meeting in 1997 in Washington, DC, the seeds were planted for the initial precursor to the ABCTS.
Some of the earliest membership included Dr. Charles Bridges ABCTS’ first president), Dr. Robert Higgins (future ABCTS, SBAS and STS president), and Dr. Ray Blackwell (the first Black trainee at Emory University). Historically, many of these members were the first or second “black” trainee at their institution; and consistently several went on to be “the first” at the faculty level including the first to hold the position of full professor. The early meetings that were held at the larger society conferences were said to be “small enough to fit in a phone booth.”
An important influence in the early efforts of the ABCTS was the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC). The relationship between the two groups was important for cultivating the growth of the organization. Dr. Richard Allen Williams, founder of the ABC, was the first Black fellow in Cardiology at Harvard University at which time there were only 3 Black faculty on staff. Despite being told that “…the purebred Negro does not have heart attacks,” he persisted in his efforts to grow the organization and was successful in doing so. The ABC will be celebrated 50 years of existence in 2024. The first joint meeting of the ABC and the ABCTS was in Las Vegas in 1999, and since then the founding members of both groups have maintained lasting relationships.
A Turning Point
A key moment for the ABCTS was the STS meeting in San Diego in 2003. While mentorship and networking were important to the early organization, leadership thought it was important for the group to establish a strong academic presence. In the words of Dr. Robert Higgins, it was imperative that this group “demonstrate some academic horsepower” and prove that black CT surgeons should be taken seriously as scholars. Members did some of the earliest work on health disparities, focusing on cardiovascular and cancer care that was presented at the meeting. The work was ultimately published as a supplement in the Annals of Thoracic Surgery. This work also got the attention of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and ultimately went on to be published as part of the Institute of Medicine’s document on unequal treatment confronting racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare. The “Understanding Disparities in Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery Outcomes in African Americans,” held in 2003 at the 39th STS Meeting in San Diego, CA, was the precursor to the Vivien Thomas Symposium that is now held at the annual STS meeting.
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Reinstatement
As clinical and research demands mounted over the years, the group’s formal structure gradually dissipated and was formally dissolved in 2015. Members went on to individually champion the mission of the ABCTS at their local institutions. However, with the mounting racial and ethnic conflicts in the United States between 2019 and 2020 and the notable disparities endured by Black patients during the COVID Pandemic, members of the Black CT Surgery community became concerned about our representation, both social and professionally. The result of this was the reinvigoration and reinstatement of the ABCTS under the directorship of Dr. Robert Higgins and Presidency of Dr. Donnell Bowen. Doctors Stephen Noble, Leah Backhus, David Tom Cooke, Fatima Wilder and Hassan Tetteh were instrumental in reestablishing the organization framework of the ABCTS as it stands today.
