The AHA in Miami probably in the fall of 1978 was the earliest I remember attending an off-site meeting of pediatric cardiologists who called themselves electrophysiologists and some were pediatric cardiologists interested in heart rhythm.  The meeting was organized by Heinz Gelband and Grace Wolff, in part because they were able to hold the meeting at their department in Miami.  I was a third-year fellow with Tim Garson at TCH/Baylor dedicating our year in EP as Paul Gillette’s first EP fellows.  I have vivid memories of sitting around the table in a relatively small conference room, listening to the founders of our specialty – Gelband, Wolf, Gillette, Dick, Benson come to mind.  I don’t remember a formal agenda, but I do recall the discussion involved at length, a problem of great concern that haunted us then and subsequently for decades: sudden death in postop tetralogy of Fallot patients.  We discussed the idea of forming a multi – center research group to study the problem, pool data and learn from our collective experience.  I recall that it was inspirational because it was a group of like-minded people seeking answers to important clinical problems.  That inspirational motivated feeling never changed during my nearly 40 years involved with this collegial group.

I don’t recall the steps or details in the mid 1980s of when or how we decided that our Pediatric EP Society needed to be more formally organized.  (Mac Dick spearheaded the formation of a 501(3)(c) but that was much later in 1994.) Ultimately, we decided that we needed a leadership team of elected members, and the first president Woody Benson was elected in 1988.  Three years later in 1990, I was honored to be the Pediatric Ep Society’s third president.  In the early days, the term was 1 year (fortunately!).  I am uncertain as to what this leadership role played in the formation of the Pediatric RF Registry or vice versa.  However, I do have vivid memories of going to the bar at the Peabody Hotel in Orlando after our 1990 evening Pediatric EP Society meeting (~50 attendees?) at the annual AHA scientific sessions where several of us continued the discussion at our earlier evening meeting to explore forming a multi-center registry.  I had a drink or two and volunteered our division of Pediatric Cardiology in Omaha to be the coordinating center.  I was blessed with a tremendous team in our division composed of a computer savvy data person (Gary Felix), a colleague who was statistical genius (David Danford) and a nurse (Kris Houston) who was a great team player and arduously entered every data element.  I don’t remember any formal vote in the Peabody bar but there were no dissenters at the bar barring me from carrying out the volunteer position of organizing the Pediatric RF Registry within the Pediatric EP Society.  Upon my return to Omaha, our team drafted a data form, set up the computer programs.  These were sent out to Pediatric EP Society members for editing and we were ready for the first ablation procedure to be entered about 6 weeks later on January 1, 1991.  Eight years and 6700+ procedures later, after a confidential data reporting system to participating centers was established and with numerous research studies published by members, the first Pediatric Radiofrequency Registry ended.  It appropriately morphed into the NIHLBI-funded Prospective Assessment after Pediatric Cardiac Ablation – PAPCA which was superbly directed and pioneered by George Van Hare.

I think that the history of our Pediatric EP Society would be incomplete without something about Will Webster.  At the beginning of RF ablation, Will was on the forefront of research, development and making catheters.  Early on, it was very clear that he gravitated towards pediatrics primarily because he was motivated to do what was best for children (vs. any financially related objectives).

He set the bar very high for the pediatric cardiologist – EP and industry relationship.  This was unique because as all of us in pediatric medicine know, so often pediatrics is an afterthought to the adult medicine world.  It appeared that this relationship inspired both of us.  We pediatric EPs knew our creative efforts would result in positive action from Will and he was inspired because he loved children and it was evident that he loved working with pediatric cardiologists.

He was genuinely excited when we pediatric EP types would ask him if he could make us a customized catheter.  I never heard that he turned anyone down. He told me once during a one-to-one conversation that “my salespeople really don’t like me because many of the things I do don’t sell catheters…”.  It was evident that he was determined to not yield to the economic pressures.

In the very early days of catheter ablation, he decided to tour a few pediatric EP people / labs.  I remember several aspects of his visit to Omaha.  I still cherish and can picture what seemed like a short afternoon but probably was a few hours sitting in my office visiting.  I remember when he observed a case.  I was moved during the case when he became emotionally involved with the aspects of the specific patient.  In those days, it was no problem filling him in on all the patient details.  It always was clear that he was motivated by what was best for the patient.

Unsolicited by me, he offered to fund my travel to German electrophysiologist Karl Heinz Kuck’s lab 20 years ago to observe his creative one-catheter ablation approach.  The discussion went something like this and I think it was around the time or shortly after his visit to Omaha: “… are you aware of the one-catheter technique that Karl Heinz Kuck is using for ablating left sided pathways?  Don’t you think that would be ideal for children?  You wouldn’t need to fill their hearts with all those catheters that increase the risk? …. I would like to pay for you to go over to Germany to visit his lab and see what you think…” I was so honored then and remain so today that he asked me to do this and that he funded my entire trip to Germany to Karl Heinz Kuck’s lab!

Very few people probably remember Will’s support for the Pediatric EP Society’s Catheter Ablation Registry. This could not happen in the current era, but I believe was very key to the Registry success.  The Registry had no funding initially and even later when some centers offered to support with a participation fee, he never expected anything in return.  The company paid for the expenses of our breakfast and hotel conference room when we met twice yearly at the AHA and NASPE.  He also funded the expenses of our nurse (who entered all the thousands of procedures into the database) to attend the meetings.

Will Webster added creative, positive, and influential aspects to our pediatric EP world.