Annual Meeting

16th Annual Society for Airway Management Scientific Meeting 

September 21-23, 2012 / Toronto, Canada

The Program Committee for the upcoming annual meeting is looking forward to welcoming you to Toronto, September 21-23, 2012. The meeting promises to be very exciting, with a great cast of speakers, interesting topics and some new approaches. We invite you to refer to the SAM website for the updates to the program as they become available. In the meantime, we would like to give you a glimpse of some of the highlights. Last year, the debates seemed to have been particularly well received, thus we will include several in this year’s program. As a part of these sessions, we intend to introduce an Audience Response System to make the debates and case presentations even more engaging and fun. Those who choose to participate can declare their support for or opposition to a particular strategy and get immediate feedback on how other audience members responded. In Canada, cheering and booing are generally frowned upon as being ill mannered; this is a more civilized way of sending a debater packing. Some speakers may also choose to incorporate audience responses into their presentations.We also have great speakers from around the world, including but not limited to Drs. Aghababian, Behringer, Berkow, Cohen, Crosby, Duggan, Goel, Hagberg, Hamaekers, Heidegger, Kristensen, Law, Levitan, Osborn, Pott, Prasad, Sakles, Shafer, Slinger, Sorbello, Urdaneta, Wong and Zeitels. Our International Speaker is Sunita Goel from Mumbai India who will be discussing anesthesia for bariatric surgery in India. Our Ovassapian Speaker is Steve Zeitels who will be discussing laryngology and phonosurgery. We are excited about having a new SAM member, Steven Shafer, Editor-in-Chief of Anesthesia and Analgesia as a special speaker. During coffee breaks, he may be willing to share some experiences regarding the recent trial of Conrad Murray, where he was lead witness for the prosecution. Last year we experimented with a new format for the workshops, which will continue in the coming year. This required pre-registration for a limited number of stations (generally 5 or 6 depending upon the choices) to permit a more structured and penetrating experience. Lauren Berkow and Ashu Wali will be responsible for the workshops; Joseph Quinlan will be responsible for the airway simulation session. David Wong and Ankie Hamaekers will be responsible for the abstracts and poster presentations.

The meeting will be filled with events but you will want to allow yourself some time to experience some of what Toronto has to offer as the host city. It is Canada’s largest city and one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. Walking around Toronto is safe and interesting. Shopping is excellent and there is a very wide choice of excellent restaurants and theater. The city is serviced by two airports, Pearson, which has direct flights from nearly everywhere, and the Toronto Island Airport (Billy Bishop), which is conveniently located near the Hilton Toronto hotel (145 Richmond St. W), home to the meeting. If you’re coming from a location that flies to Billy Bishop, you’ll definitely save some time and will be treated to a complimentary 200 meter ferry ride on Lake Ontario to the mainland and shuttle bus to the Royal York Hotel, a few blocks from the Hilton. The Hilton is directly across the street from City Hall,  the Four Seasons Centre (home of the Canadian Opera Company and the National Ballet of Canada); a couple of blocks from Roy Thomson Hall (home of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra), the CN Tower and the Rogers Centre (home of the Toronto Blue Jays). If you’re of the mind (or out of it, you can dangle from a harness at 1100 feet on the outside of the observation deck. Niagara Falls is 81 miles (131 km) from downtown and bus tours are easily arranged.

You are reminded that if you’re coming from outside of Canada, a passport will be required for entry.

For more details, please consult www.samhq.com More information about Toronto can be found at http://www.seetorontonow.com or http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/id474825714?mt=8 
 
Richard Cooper (Program Chair) 

Irene Osborn (Program Co-chair)

Call for Trainee Abstracts: The Society for Airway management 16th Annual Scientific Meeting: September 21-23, 2012 / Toronto, Canada. The Society for Airway Management is pleased to announce its third annual TRAINEE TRAVEL AWARDS. We encourage residents-fellows in training to submit their scientific work. A select number of resident abstracts will be awarded a cash stipend of $500 to defray travel costs to the the meeting in Toronto.  Trainee Travel Award winners will also receive free meeting registration. The trainee must be first author and presenting author of the accepted abstract. A letter from the Program Director confirming the resident is in good standing in their training program must accompany their submission.  
Please encourage your trainees to be a part of one of the most rewarding sections of the annual meeting. Submit your abstract concerning Airway Management for poster presentation. A select group of abstracts will be nominated for oral presentation during the meeting. The top three abstracts overall will be awarded a SAM plaque in recognition for their outstanding contribution to the meeting and the advancement of airway management. 
 
 Submission details: 
  1. 250 words maximum excluding title, authors, tables, figures or pictures.  The 250 word count limit will be enforced for the 2012 Annual Meeting
  2. Word document format, file sent via e-mail
  3. Identify presenter by author’s name
  4. Deadline is July 15, 2012
  5. Presenter will be notified via email
  6. Submit to David Wong MD at david.wong@uhn.on.ca

2011 Program  (last year)

Exhibitor Letter (last year)

Exhibitor Prospectus (last year)