Welcome to our third annual PICS/IPC Istanbul 2026 which will be held at the Wyndham Grand İstanbul Hotel and Conference Center. This is our third collaborative meeting with the IPC of Milan and the Turkish Society/Association of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery taking place in the beautiful and historic city of Istanbul. Indeed Istanbul, as the only major city to bridge two continents, provides the perfect backdrop for a collaborative venture between cardiologists from East and West with a focus on the interventional treatment of congenital heart disease. The meeting format will mirror the PICS template with morning sessions focused on Live Case Presentations from both local and international sites and the afternoon sessions dedicated to interactive sessions outlining cutting-edge therapies for congenital heart disease, in addition to an entire separate track on imaging organized by our colleagues Aimee Armstrong and Gregor Krings who joined the board of PICS. This year also will feature for the first time a fellows/early career course that spans 2 days prior to the meeting. This meeting is dedicated to those who are in their last year of training and for those who have been 1–2 years after completing their training. A letter of support will be needed to enroll in this course and will only accept the first 50 who are eligible…
The meeting will commence on Wednesday 15th April with live cases from three international sites with experienced operators.
Thursday 16th April will begin with live case transmissions from another 3 sites (international and local hospitals). Experienced international guest operators will provide technical and cognitive perspectives on evolving international approaches for congenital interventions in children and adults.
Friday April 17th also begins with live case transmissions from local Istanbul hospitals with local and guest operators, as well as International sites.
The live case presentations are the foundation of our meeting and provide a truly unique learning experience for attendees, with meticulous attention to optimizing patient care.
In addition to the live case presentations, there will be taped cases that will focus on certain themes. Many different topics will be discussed in the afternoon sessions. Such sessions include: Lunchtime sessions, parallel sessions and much more.
in adults with CHD will have its share of discussions at the meeting. In addition, imaging sessions, and much more.Following the day’s intellectual endeavors, we will host all our attendees for dinner at the social event to celebrate our unique community and the opportunity it provides for collaboration and friendship.
Poster abstracts will be displayed throughout the meeting with oral abstracts presented on Saturday morning. We will also have our popular Meet the Expert and Nightmare Case sessions on Saturday.
The meeting will finish at lunchtime on Saturday to allow our attendees to visit the awesome attractions this truly great city.
We look forward to learning with you and from you.
Yours truly,
PICS Istanbul Course Directors and Co-Directors
