Scientific Program
The Oscars of CTO: a joint Romanian and Hungarian CTO Workshop
Pre-Workshop Course, November 13, 2025
“Black Hawk down”: Course on complication management
*additional registration required
Course held at Ramada by Wyndham Hotel in Oradea, Romania
TimelineSession
12:20 - 12:30Let’s meet the directors and read the script!
Eric Eeckhout, Lucian Câlmâc, Iulian Matei
12:30 - 14:00Case presentation Session I
”Best Newcomer Actor”

7 min. presentation + 5 min. discussions
12:30 - 12:42A side branch that is hard to kill
Dan Deleanu
12:42 - 12:54Dissection and Perforation of the RCA
A Chronic Occlusion Angioplasty Odyssey

Mihai Marinescu
12:54 - 13:06Good Intentions, Grave Consequences
Teodor Constantin Buliga
13:06 - 13:18De la complicație la control. Gestionarea unei situații limită în sala de cateterism cardiac
Laurențiu Pașcalău
13:18 - 13:30When the Burr Won’t Budge: Stuck Rotablator and Ellis 3 Perforation in LAD CTO
Alexandru Oancea
13:30 - 13:42An unusual rupture
Cristian Udroiu
13:42 - 13:54A coil of the coil issue
Nino Cocco
13:54 - 14:06An expected result or failed understanding
Neisser Morales
14:10 - 14:40Lunch Break
14:40 - 16:10Case presentation Session II
”The best at their worst - Raspberry Awards”

7 min. presentation + 5 min. discussions
14:40 - 14:52“Say hello to my little friend!”
Mihnea Traian Nichita-Brendea
14:52 - 15:04The catch of the day
Paul Simion
15:04 - 15:16Recovery with a twist
Andras Mester
15:16 - 15:28Forced removal of a ruptured jailed wire
Laszlo Hadadi
15:28 - 15:40Catch Me If You Can: The Case of the Wandering Stent
Dragoș Trache
15:40 - 15:52Now you see it, now you don’t
Nikolay Stoyanov
15:52 - 16:10Discussions
16:10 - 16:30Keynote Lecture - Conflicts in the Cathlab (“GOT: A song of Ice and Fire”)
Eric Eeckhout
16:30 - 18:00Case presentation Session III
”Are you not entertained?”

7 cases, 12 min presentation + discussion
16:30 - 16:42Coronary Dissections - from nightmares to dreams in the cathlab
Giuseppe Colletti
16:42 - 16:54Ostial RCA Lesion Complicated with RCA Dissection Propagated to Aortic Root
Alin Borina
16:54 - 17:06Managing SCAD in a Young Female Patient: When Fragile Arteries Demand Tough Decisions
Sergiu Rus
17:06 - 17:18A diagonal closure never killed anyone… and other words of wisdom
Dan Pășcuț
17:18 - 17:30A misstep that moved us forward
Teodor Băjeu
17:30 - 17:42Iatrogenic “retrograde” HDR
Arpad Kovacs
17:45 - 18:00Discussions
18:00 - 19:15Hands-on Session (How to be an Executive Producer)
1. Coiling, Perforation managing – “007: No time to die”
2. Lost materials – “Gone with the wind”
3. How to trap and how to snare -“ Catch me if you can”
4. How to close the vascular access - “Stich”
5. “Apollo 13: Houston, we have a problem” - Improvised device manufacturing in the cathlab”
Rotating groups
Hands-on Session: (How to be the Image Director)
IVUS - 1, 2, 3

Lucian Câlmâc
The Oscars of CTO: a joint Romanian and Hungarian CTO Workshop
Pre-Workshop Course, November 13, 2025
Orbital Atherectomy Course
*additional registration required
Course held at University of Debrecen, Hungary
TimelineSession
12:30 - 13:00Lunch Break
13:00 - 13:30Plaque modification in general. When, what, how?
Tibor Szük
13:30 - 14:00Orbital atherectomy. Technical aspects.
Gábor Kerecsen
14:00 - 15:00Live case
Tibor Szük, Tamás Baranyai, Judit Barta
15:00 - 15:30Science behind the technology
Tamás Baranyai
15:30 - 16:00Complications
András Katona
16:00 - 16:20Coffee Break
16:20 - 16:50Specialties. Orbital atherectomy in CTO, DCB use after orbital atherectomy.
Judit Barta
16:50 - 17:20Periferial orbital atherectomy
Zoltan Ruzsa (online presentation)
17:20 - 17:50Live-in-a-box cases. Case based discussion.
Judit Barta, Gabor Kerecsen, Tibor Szük, András Katona
Medical Track
November 13, 2025
Piemonte Hall, Ramada by Wyndham Oradea
TimelineSession
14:00 - 14:10Opening remarks – “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship”
Virgil Popa, Mircea Ioachim Popescu
14:10 - 14:40The good, the bad and the ugly – Treatment of heart failure and prevention of c.v death (20 min presentation + 10 min discussion)
Panel of experts: Virgil Popa, Radu Lala, Emilia Babeș, Cristiana Bustea, Mircea Ioachim Popescu
Beyond myths and legends: Entresto acting to improve QoL ( Quality of Life) in HFrEF
Mircea Ioachim Popescu
State of the Art presentation, organized with the support of Novartis
14:40 - 15:10Kramer vs. Kramer – Revascularization vs. Medication - Anti ischemic Medication (20 min presentation + 10 min discussion)
Panel of experts: Marius Rus, Emilia Babeș, Cristiana Bustea, Mircea Ioachim Popescu, Florin Maghiar
Industry sponsored session: Servier
Mihnea Traian Nichita-Brendea
15:10 - 15:30Coffee Break
15:30 - 15:45Empagliflozin in hospitalized patients with acute heart failure - EMPULSE trial
Mircea Ioachim Popescu
State of the Art presentation, organized with the support of Boehringer
15:45 - 16:25Saving private PCI - Antithrombotic medication (30 min presentation + 10 min discussions)
Panel of experts: Emilia Babeș, Cristiana Bustea, Mircea Ioachim Popescu, Florin Maghiar, Marius Huta
Optimization of anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing interventional revascularization - ”The Berlin Golden Bear Award”
Emilia Babeș
State of the Art presentation, organized with the support of Berlin-Chemie
The Oscars of CTO: a joint Romanian and Hungarian CTO Workshop
Day 1, November 14, 2025
“A CTO day afternoon”
TimelineSession
08:00 - 08:30Opening remarks – “Of all the CTO workshops in all the towns in all the world, you walk into ours”
Virgil Popa, Mircea Ioachim Popescu, Imre Ungi, Gheorghe Carp
08:30 - 08:45Romanians and Hungarian joining forces – Dr. Ungi, “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship”
Imre Ungi, Virgil Popa
08:45 - 09:00Braveheart – objectives and concept
“They may take our” materials “but they will never take our” passion!

Mihnea Nichita-Brendea
09:15 - 12:15And the Oscar for best procedure goes to: “Dances with the wolves (CTOs)”
Experts panel: Giusseppe Colletti, Nino Cocco, Boris Dickmann, Imre Ungi, Lucian Câlmâc, Emanuel Radu, Valentin Chioncel
Facilitators: Mihnea Nichita-Brendea, Stefan Harb
Case 1 from Oradea
Operators: Ayman ElKahlout, V. Constantin; Proctor: Claudiu Ungureanu
Case 2 from Oradea
Operators: Iulian Matei; Proctor: Marouane Boukhris, Neisser Morales
Case 1 from Cluj-Napoca
Operators: Mihai Cocoi, Mădălin Marc; Proctor: Mihajlo Kovacic
Case 1 from Debrecen
Operators: Tibor Szuk; Proctor: Stylianos Pyxaras
12:30 - 13:30Lunch Break
13:30 - 16:45Best CTO in a leading role: “Training day”
Experts panel: Amr Elhadidy, Jurij Avramovic, David Baghdasaryan, Dirk Pretorius, Paul Simion, Stefan Harb
Facilitators: Andrei Mihnea Roșu, Flavius Gherasie
Case 3 from Oradea
Operators: Lucian Câlmâc, Cristian Udroiu; Proctor: Nenad Bozinovic
Case 4 from Oradea
Operators: Laurențiu Pașcalău, Mihaela Gheorghiu; Proctor: Aurel Toma
Case 2 from Debrecen
Operators: Ferenc Györy; Proctor: Goeran Olivecrona
Case 2 from Cluj Napoca
Operators: Alexandru Achim, Călin Homorodean; Proctor: Gregor Leibundgut
14:30 - 15:00Up! - a story with balloons
Hanna Tormilainen
15:30 - 16:00AngioCT guided CTO: “The silver linings”
Imre Benedek, Radu Lala
16:30 - 16:45“Opolski’s list” on How to do TD-ADR
16:45 - 17:00Coffee Break
17:00 - 17:30“CTO Heat” - How to manage knuckles and snare wire
Amr Elhadidy, Nino Cocco
Producer list: Jurij Avramovic, Andras Katona, Adrian Ivănică, Constantin Erimescu, Nino Cocco, Claudiu Ungureanu
17:30 - 18:00“The path of the CTO operator is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and goodwill, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness. For he is truly his brother's keeper”
From CTO operator to mentor and visionary (DANUBE CHIP and CTO)

Stefan Harb
18:00 - 18:30"The French connection” and “the Italian Job” meet in Belgium – RODIN, STRIVE
Giuseppe Colletti, Claudiu Ungureanu
19:30Networking Dinner
Sion Neolog Synagogue (22 Independenței Street, Oradea)
*pre-registration required
The Oscars of CTO: a joint Romanian and Hungarian CTO Workshop
Day 2, November 15, 2025
“Life is like a box of CTOs. You never know what you’re going to get!”
TimelineSession
09:00 - 12:00Best CTO in a supporting role: The CTO Hunter
Experts panel: Lucian Câlmâc, Ferenc Gyori, Tibor Szuk, Dan Pășcuț, Virgil Popa, Mihajlo Kovacic
Facilitators: Alexandru Achim, Mihai Cocoi
Case 5 from Oradea
Operators: Flavius Gherasie, Mihnea Nichita Brendea; Proctor: Mauro Carlino
Case 6 from Oradea
Operators: Andrei Mihnea Roșu, Emanuel Radu; Proctor: Jurij Avramovic
Case 1 from Szeged
Operators: Zoltan Ruzsa, Kornel Kakonyi
Case 2 from Gyula
Operators: Andras Katona, Imre Ungi; Proctor: Hanna Tormilainen
09:30 - 10:30“One flew over the CTO’s Nest”
Case competition (what would you do/what did I do)

Judges: Lucian Câlmâc, Virgil Popa, Imre Benedek, Ferenc Gyori, Tibor Szuk, Amr Elhadidy, Dirk Pretorius
10:30 - 10:50Best special effects: TD HDR
Special lecture from the Producer: Fujita Tsutomu
12:00 - 13:00Lunch Break
13:15 - 14:00“Once upon a time in” Milano
Producer list: Giuseppe Colletti, Nino Cocco, Aurel Toma, Dirk Pretorius, Mihajlo Kovacic, Virgil Popa
Best young procedure in a leading role: HDR “pot-pouri”
Special lecture by the Director: Mauro Carlino
14:00 - 14:20The Bridges of CTO country- new subsets of treatment options for the CTO patient
Mihnea Nichita Brendea
14:20 - 14:30And the Oscar for best CTO case goes to...
14:30 - 15:00“All those CTOs will be lost in time, like tears in rain” - Final words
Mihnea Nichita Brendea, Virgil Popa, Tibor Szuk

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