KCBA - Monterey, Salinas, Santa Cruz - News Weather-SVMH and Stanford Join Forces for Heart Care
Member Center:
According to the American Heart Association, almost 700,000 people undergo open heart surgery every year in the U.S.
Now patients on the Central Coast have a new option when it comes to cardiac surgery.
Dr. Vincent DeFilippi has performed more than 3,000 open heart surgeries and now he's bringing his expertise to Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital as part of a partnership with Stanford University.
"We're going to be expected to maintain the same level and quality as you would get at Stanford," says Dr. DeFilippi.
Dr. DeFilippi says that means Central Coast patients won't feel like they have to travel to the Bay Area for top notch heart care.
"We're trying to make it easier for people when they're going through a tough time having heart surgery," says Dr. DeFilippi.
Since it joined forces with Stanford University, SVMH has seen a 35% increase in the number of heart surgeries it's done.
Dr. DeFilippi says one reason for that is the new, minimally invasive techniques they're using. Open heart surgery doesn't necessarily mean prying open the rib cage anymore.
"We're doing some of the surgeries between the ribs and not even going through the breast bone. For some women we can do it in a crease of their breast so they can wear a bikini after having heart surgery," says Dr. DeFilippi.
Dr. DeFilippi can even do some surgeries without a heart-lung machine. And instead of completely replacing heart valves he's developed techniques to repair them leading to better results.
"I think it's empowering for people to be able to have some decision making as far as a big thing like having open heart surgery," says Dr. DeFilippi.
Within the next few weeks heart surgeons at SVMH will begin using a state-of-the-art robot, called da Vinci, to assist with certain procedures.
