Tears in the aorta are more times than not fatal, but for the few that make it to the operating room table there is new hope. An new national study being conducted out by a vascular surgeon and out of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital is examining a non invasive stent type of procedure/surgery to graft torn aortas.
“This pathology specific endovascular device has the potential to eliminate the need for highly invasive, open chest surgery to repair one of the most deadly aortic diseases in the U.S.,” said Dr. Lombardi, assistant professor of Surgery, Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University. …read more

Lights? Check. Camera? Check. Scalpel????? Um huh, I said scalpel. Check! Very cool indeed. A Cambridge surgeon, Francis Wells, provided entertainment to over 200 members of the public via the operating room. This really is neat!
Dr. Wells talked the audience through the procedure and fielded questions about open heart surgery and valve repairs along the way. When you think about it, this is a much easier way to “teach” about surgical procedures and medical treatments. A normal OR can only handle two dozen or so professionals that cram as close as they can to the ledge of the observation …read more

Would you feel safe having a catheterization at a facility that doesn’t have open heart back up? Meaning… if you were to have a heart cath procedure at a hospital that couldn’t take you directly to the open heart operating room, do you think it would be as successful as an outcome? I have worked at so many different facilities and often pondered on this very question.
The last hospital that I worked at was Nationally known for their open heart surgery program. We flew people in from all up and down the east coast, and did at …read more