Welcome to the 85th Annual Meeting of AAST & Clinical Congress of Acute Care Surgery!
Please see the 2026 Annual Meeting schedule here!
Meeting highlights:
Monday, September 14
- Emergency Surgery Course Day 1 (additional fee)
Tuesday, September 15
- Emergency Surgery Course Day 2 (additional fee)
- 4th Annual AAST Fallen Surgeons Military Educational Symposium (additional fee)
- Pre-sessions (additional fee):
- The 2026 AAST Neurocritical Care Update and Board Review Course
- Hands-on Laparoscopic Common Bile Duct Exploration Seminar (two sessions available - same content)
Wednesday, September 16th
- Welcome begins at 8:00 AM CST
- Kimberly Davis, MD, MBA Presidential Address, "Navigating Uncertainty"
- Lunch Sessions (additional fee):
- Fix the System, Not Just the Surgeon: Structural Reforms in Acute Care Surgery That Promote Longevity
- Work Smarter, Not Harder: Making the EHR Work for You
- Managing Complex Trauma: Lessons From Global Leaders
- “Too Sick” for Trauma or Emergency General Surgery? Navigating Frailty, Organ Failure, and Goals of Care
- Funding Outside the Box: Tips and Tricks for Nontraditional Grant Applications
- Optimizing Pediatric Trauma and Burn Regional Management
- Welcome Reception
Thursday, September 17
- Panel I, "Robotics: Forging the Future of Robotic Acute Care Surgery in 2026 and Beyond"
- Martin Croce, MD Fitts Lecture, "Get Off My Lawn!"
- Poster Sessions
- NEW Quickshots 1-8 (9-26 on Saturday)
- Add-on Sessions (additional fee):
- Large Scale Combat Operations Tabletop Exercise
- AAST Mastery of Acute Care Surgery Course
- How Artificial Intelligence is Transforming Surgical Practice
- Sources and Practical Strategies for Funding Acute Care Surgery Research
Friday, September 18
- NEW "Build Your Own T-shirt" in the Exhibit Hall
- Brendan Visser Expert Surgeon Lecture, "Evolving Management of Pancreatitis - Where Does It Leave the Surgeon?"
- Panel II: "Where Practice Meets Evidence: What We Should Be Doing and What We Still Don’t Know"
- Lunch Sessions (additional fee):
- The AAST Playbook: How to Turn Engagement into Research, Leadership, and Career Growth
- AI use in Scientific Writing: A JTACS Lunch Session
- Life After the ICU: Recovery, Resilience, and Long-Term Outcomes
- Profit and Purpose in Acute Care Surgery: Growth Strategies and Maintaining Financial Health
- The Nuts and Bolts of Emergency General Surgery Verification: Building, Implementing, and Maturing EGS Programs
- Not Just a Faster Horse: How the AI Transformation in Healthcare Will Create New Opportunities for Trauma and Acute Care Surgery
- Fostering Resilience in Geriatric Acute Care Surgery: Integrating ACS Geriatric Surgery Verification Principles Into Trauma and Emergency General Surgery Quality Programs
- AAST Business Meeting
- Reception, Auction, and Banquet
Saturday, September 19
- Quickshots 8-26