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The cardiac surgeons of Providence Holy Cross Medical Center and Providence Saint Joseph Medical Centers are among the most experienced in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valleys in diagnosing and treating a comprehensive range of heart disorders, as well as in performing less or minimally invasive surgical techniques, including off pump bypass and bloodless heart surgeries. In fact, Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center is Best in the San Fernando Valley for Heart Surgery and a 5-Star Provider of Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery, and both Providence Holy Cross Medical Center and Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center consistently receive prestigious awards and recognitions for being among the best providers of cardiovascular care in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valleys. Furthermore, patients rank Providence Holy Cross and Providence Saint Joseph among the top five heart programs in the Los Angeles area, according to a preference survey conducted by the National Research Corporation.
Our dedication to clinical excellence and commitment to providing compassionate care is a fusion of art and science that fully encompasses the mind, body and spirit of each individual. We call it the Art of Healing.
Common Cardiac Surgical Procedures:
Bentall Procedure
A simultaneous replacement of the aortic valve, aortic root and the entire ascending aorta, the surgery consists of replacing the aorta and the aortic valve with a composite graft of woven Dacron(r) attached to a valve and implanting the coronary arteries in the graft. This procedure is typically required in patients with an ascending aortic aneurysm, aortic dissection or patients with severe aortic insufficiency and aortic dilatation.
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Congenital Heart Defect Surgery: ASD Closure
In this surgical procedure to relieve ASD-related symptoms such as shortness of breath, fainting, palpitations and the inability to exercise, cardiac surgeons use sutures or a patch comprised of membrane or synthetic material to close the defect, or opening, in the atrial septum - the wall between the upper chambers of the heart.
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Heart Valve Surgery
Advances in the surgical treatment of diseased heart valves, along with improved diagnostic tests to help identify the location, type and extent of the valve disease, allow the surgeon, cardiologist and primary care physician to collaboratively recommend a course of treatment based on the structure of the heart, as well as the age and lifestyle of the patient.
Our surgical team is among the most experienced in the San Fernando Valley, performing a wide variety of routine and complex valve repair and replacement operations – including high-risk redo heart valve surgery – with excellent outcomes. Our surgeons specialize in treating heart valve stenosis and regurgitation in adult patients with congenital heart valve defects, patients with valves damaged by infections or rheumatic fever, and patients with changes in heart valve structure, which is most common among the elderly. Patients with defective or damaged heart valves will typically present with a heart murmur and may exhibit low or high blood pressure, depending upon the affected valve, and complain of shortness of breath, severe swelling, palpitations, chest pain, fainting or light-headedness, abdominal pain, lethargy, increased wet coughing or decreased endurance. An electrocardiogram, chest x-ray, echocardiogram or cardiac catheterization will be required to appropriately diagnose stenosis or regurgitation. Without treatment, patients will be plagued with diminished quality-of-life and ultimately experience heart failure. With skilled surgical treatment, patients feel better almost immediately.
Traditional Valve Repair and Replacement: During traditional heart valve surgery, a surgeon makes an incision down the center of the breastbone to get direct access to the heart, and then repairs or replaces the abnormal heart valve or valves. Transesophageal echocardiography is routinely utilized to enable the anesthesiologist and surgeon to assess the function of the valve before, during and after repair or replacement of the defective valve.
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Modified Maze Procedure for Atrial Fibrillation
An effective technique used in conjunction with a CABG or valve procedure to restore sinus rhythm in patients with chronic atrial fibrillation (AF). The modified MAZE procedure uses a radiofrequency device to ablate targeted tissues and create electrophysiology barriers that interrupt the multiple wavelength re-entry circuits of AF. Most patients experience an organized heart rhythm immediately and medication may eventually be discontinued.
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PDA Ligation
Cardiac surgeons close the patent (open) ductus arteriosus by creating a small incision on the left side of the chest and then carefully ligating (tying off) or cutting the ductus. Without appropriate treatment, patients with PDA will experience continuous heart murmur, increased blood flow into the lungs and extreme stress that may eventually result in heart failure.
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Repair of Aortic Aneurysms
During open heart surgery, the aorta is replaced with a fabric substitute in an operation that uses a heart-lung machine. In some cases of aneurysms of the descending thoracic aorta, surgeons may stent the vessel without creating a chest incision using specialized catheters introduced through groin arteries.
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Less or Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgical Options
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Bloodless Surgery
Blood loss often occurs during surgery. In “bloodless” surgery, however, special conservation methods minimize blood loss. Therefore, no banked allogenic blood or primary blood components must be utilized. Techniques to minimize blood loss include —
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Using lasers rather than scalpels.
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Using cellsavers during surgery to collect, recirculate and readminister the patient's blood.
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Using volume expanders or intravenous fluids to enhance circulation of the patient's blood during surgery by tracking oxygen levels during surgery with skin monitors.
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Speeding blood clotting during surgery with an argon beam coagulator.
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Stimulating bone marrow to produce red blood cells in advance of a procedure.
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Utilizing intraoperative hypotension anesthesia to lower blood pressure during surgery, minimizing bleeding.
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Endoscopic Radial Artery Harvesting
Using an endoscopic approach, surgeons harvest the radial artery from the arm to use as a graft to bypass a blocked coronary artery and restore normal blood flow to the heart. Technical advantages of the radial artery include its length (20 cm); diameter; thick, resistant walls; exposure to systemic blood pressure; and resistance to atherosclerosis.
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Off-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass
Also known as beating heart surgery, highly specialized surgical instruments stabilize the heart during the OPCAB, enabling the cardiac surgeon to isolate and manipulate small, localized areas of the heart while attaching the newly harvested vessels. The remainder of the heart continues to beat normally, which exposes the body to far less trauma compared to traditional CABG.
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Port Access Heart Valve Surgery
Minimally invasive valve surgery allows surgeons to operate through a small opening, or “port”, in the chest wall between the ribs. It involves many of the same steps as open heart surgery but eliminates one of the most painful steps – the need to open the chest through a 12- to 15-inch incision in the breastbone. Instead, the cardiac surgeon makes one small incision approximately 4 inches in length above or below the right breast through which the valve surgery is performed.
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For more information about our programs and services, awards and recognitions, or our nationally recognized heart specialists, contact our Health Resource Center at 1-888-HEALING (1-888-432-5464). Or you may find a heart specialist by searching our online physician directory.
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