Download Cardiovascular Center doctors named among best in

A Publication of
The Cardiovascular Center, Boston Medical Center
732 Harrison Avenue, Boston MA.
To refer a patient call 1-800-682-2862.
All articles reprinted with permission
from MedCenter News.
IN THIS ISSUE
➤ AFFILIATION PROVIDES
Cardiovascular Center doctors
named among best in America
SEVEN CARDIOVASCULAR CENTER DOCTORS ARE AMONG THE 66 BOSTON
MEDICAL CENTER PHYSICIANS NAMED TO THE BEST DOCTORS IN AMERICA
2003-2004, AN ONLINE DATABASE COMPOSED YEARLY BY BEST DOCTORS INC.
MULTIPLE BENEFITS . . . . 2
PROCEDURE FOR
ABDOMINAL AORTIC
ANEURYSMS . . . . . . . . . . . 3
➤ CARDIOVASCULAR
SURGEONS OFFER NEW
BYPASS PROCEDURE . . . . 3
➤ CARDIOVASCULAR CENTER
HELPS PATIENTS REVERSE
HEART DISEASE . . . . . . . . 4
➤ EVENTS
..............4
Ravin Davidoff, MD; Alice Jacobs, MD; Joseph
Loscalzo, MD, PhD; Khether Raby, MD; and
Thomas Ryan, MD, are noted for excellence in
treating cardiovascular disease.
In the area of surgery, Gary Gibbons, MD, and
James Menzoian, MD, are included as leaders
in their field.
The database, which is available through subscription, contains the names and professional
profiles of approximately 31,000 doctors in the
United States, all chosen through an annual
peer-review survey in which thousands of doctors participate. For more information, visit
www.bestdoctors.com.
Cardiovascular Center creates
new Web site
TO PROVIDE PATIENTS WITH THE MOST UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ABOUT
CARDIAC PROCEDURES, TESTS AND TREATMENTS, THE CARDIOVASCULAR CENTER AT
BMC HAS LAUNCHED A NEW WEB SITE http://www.bmc.org/cardiovascularcenter.
Ensuring patient privacy, the site contains a
password protection feature for patients’
cardiac health information. Also included are
detailed descriptions of the center’s programs,
information on how to make an appointment,
and downloadable forms that patients may
fill out before their office visit. Additionally,
Continued on page 2...
1
SUMMER 2004 / ISSUE 1
➤ HOSPITAL OFFERS NEW
http://www.bmc.org/cardiovascularcenter
732 Harrison Avenue, Boston MA. To refer a patient call 1-800-682-2862
Cardiovascular Center creates new Web site... Continued from page 1.
material for health care professionals is
available, such as patient referral procedures, grand rounds schedules and
cardiovascular technology literature.
“The Web site helps acclimatize patients
to the services that the Cardiovascular
Center offers,
and also provides excellent
resources that
will help both
primary care
physicians and
specialists
provide their
patients with
accurate health
information,” said Wilson Colucci, MD,
chief, Cardiovascular Medicine and codirector, Cardiovascular Center at BMC,
and professor of medicine at BUSM.
“The BMC Cardiovascular Center is a
regional referral center that uses state-ofthe-art technology to provide high-quality,
cost-effective, comprehensive cardiac
and vascular care,” said Richard Shemin,
MD, Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery and
co-director of the Cardiovascular Center
at BMC, and professor and chairman of
Cardiothoracic Surgery at BUSM.
“Through the introduction of the Web
site, we can continue to be responsive to
the needs of our patients, as well as
those of our referring physicians.”
The Cardiovascular Center encourages
all BMC health care providers to use
the site to provide health information
to their patients with cardiac issues.
The site may be accessed on the BMC
intranet by clicking on the Cardiovascular
Center link under “Departments.”
For more information, call (617) 414-4030.
SUMMER 2004 / ISSUE 1
Affiliation provides multiple
benefits
2
Palma Shaw, MD,
has been appointed
vascular surgeon at
BMC and named
assistant professor
of surgery at BUSM.
Most recently, she
was a vascular fellow at the Newark
Beth Israel Medical Center and, in 20002001, was a visiting scholar and
research fellow in vascular surgery at
the Montefiore Medical Center. Shaw
received her medical degree from
Hahnemann University in Philadelphia
and completed a residency in surgery at
Saint Vincent’s Hospital and New York
Medical Center in New York City, where
she was a research fellow in oncologic
surgery. She will perform vascular and
endovascular procedures at both BMC
and the Quincy Medical Center.
With its comprehensive range of up-todate information concerning cardiac
procedures, tests and treatments, the
Cardiovascular Center’s new Web site
is a valuable tool for both physicians
and patients.
site’s password-protected cardiac health
information feature. Physicians may
share this information with their
patients, thus giving them access to the
Web site’s extensive resources concerning cardiac care and treatment.
As a referring physician, you can affiliate
with the BMC Cardiovascular Center and
be listed on the Web site as an affiliated
practice. In addition, affiliated physicians will be trained how to utilize the
For more information concerning access
to the Cardiovascular Center web site,
please call Patricia Anderson, Director
of Physician Network Development, at
(617) 414-4030.
Curtis Hunter, MD,
has been named
attending surgeon
in Cardiothoracic
Surgery at BMC,
and appointed
assistant professor
of cardiothoracic
surgery at BUSM.
Hunter, who received his medical degree
from the University of Utah School of
Medicine, was chief resident in
Cardiothoracic Surgery at BMC for the
past two years, and also at the Lahey
Clinic from 2000-2001. He received the
Henry C. Fordham Award for Outstanding
Resident Educator while completing a
residency in general surgery at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill from 1994-2000.
http://www.bmc.org/cardiovascularcenter
732 Harrison Avenue, Boston MA. To refer a patient call 1-800-682-2862
PATIENTS WITH ABDOMINAL AORTIC ANEURYSMS MAY NOW HAVE A
NEW, LESS INVASIVE TREATMENT OPTION AT BMC.
Abdominal aortic aneurysms occur
when sections of the aortic wall
weaken and are unable to support the force of blood flow,
causing an out-pocketing, or
bubble, on the wall. As these
bubbles get larger, they are
prone to bursting, often
resulting in death.
BMC and professor of surgery at
BUSM. “The advantages of the new
procedure include smaller, less
painful incisions, a much shorter
hospital stay, and earlier resumption of normal daily activities.”
“We have had 100 percent
success in the placement
of these new grafts,”
Menzoian added. “Most
of our patients stayed
in the hospital for three
days, compared with seven
or eight days for the conventional repair of abdominal
aortic aneurysm using an
abdominal incision.”
Aortic aneurysms have traditionally been repaired by an
extensive surgical procedure
involving a long abdominal incision. By contrast, the new
technique allows repair
using only two small groin
incisions. Surgeons open
up the femoral arteries
“With the new technique,
in the groin and place a
there has been no need for
vascular graft, or tubal
blood transfusions during
device, into a small capthe
operation. Also, patients
Stent Graft in Aneurysm
sule that is passed under
can eat and be out of bed
X-ray guidance into the area
the day of their operation,” continued
of the abdominal aneurysm. Once the
Menzoian. “The first patients to have the
graft is released, blood will flow through
new operation at the medical center
have been followed for more than a year,
with no late complications.”
AneuRx® AAA Stent Graft System
the new graft and the aneurysm will
slowly shrink and no longer be a threat
to the patient.
“This is a wonderful new option for
patients who were considered too high
risk for the open surgical procedures,”
said James Menzoian, MD, vice chairman
of the Division of General Surgery at
About 60 percent of the patients with
an abdominal aortic aneurysm who are
evaluated at BMC are eligible for the
new technique. Physicians determine
eligibility based on factors such as
shape and location of the aneurysm,
and the amount of calcium in the wall of
the aorta.
Approximately 100,000 cases of abdominal aortic aneurysms are diagnosed
annually in the United States, and
approximately 45,000 surgical repairs
are performed each year.
The aneurysms are most prevalent in
white males who smoke and are age 60
and older.
Cardiovascular
surgeons offer
new bypass
procedure
CARDIOVASCULAR
SURGEONS AT BMC ARE OFFERING
A NEW ENDOSCOPIC PROCEDURE
THAT SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCES
THE SIZE OF THE INCISION
REQUIRED FOR THE PROCUREMENT
OF THE RADIAL ARTERY NEEDED
FOR CORONARY ARTERY BYPASS
GRAFT (CABG) SURGERY.
BMC was the first hospital in New
England and is one of only a handful of
centers nationwide to utilize endoscopic
radial artery harvesting for their cardiac
patients undergoing this procedure.
“This minimally invasive technique
represents a dramatic change from past
surgical practices that required an
18-inch incision to harvest radial arteries
from the arm,” said Oz Shapira, MD,
clinical director of Cardiothoracic
Surgery at BMC, and associate professor
of cardiothoracic surgery at BUSM. “This
new procedure requires only a one-anda-half-inch incision in the patient’s forearm. Radial arteries removed from the
patient’s forearm are then used in the
CABG procedure to restore blood flow
to the heart.”
Radial arteries are being used more
frequently, he added, and are preferred
over vein grafts because they remain
open longer.
Unlike traditional radial artery harvesting methods, which required an incision
that stretched from the wrist to the
elbow, this new technique allows the
surgeon to utilize a small incision near
the wrist. Patients undergoing endoContinued on page 4...
3
SUMMER 2004 / ISSUE 1
Hospital offers new procedure
for abdominal aortic aneurysms
http://www.bmc.org/cardiovascularcenter
732 Harrison Avenue, Boston MA. To refer a patient call 1-800-682-2862
Cardiovascular Center helps
patients reverse heart disease
THE CARDIOVASCULAR CENTER AT BMC IS PARTICIPATING IN A
NATIONAL STUDY THAT OFFERS PATIENTS WITH ADVANCED HEART FAILURE
AN ALTERNATIVE TO CURRENT FORMS OF HEART SURGERY.
Called the Acorn Cardiac
Support Device, the randomized trial tests the reliability
and function of a cardiac support device designed by Acorn
Cardiovascular Inc., to treat,
and even reverse, the symptoms of advanced heart failure.
SUMMER 2004 / ISSUE 1
“Research has shown that interventions
intended to reduce ventricular dilation
may offer important benefits to heart
failure patients,” said principal investigator Richard Shemin, MD, chief of
Cardiothoracic Surgery at BMC, and professor and chairman of Cardiothoracic
Surgery at BUSM. “The Acorn device is
showing great promise in stopping the
disease’s progress, providing patients
with late-stage heart failure a less invasive alternative to a heart transplant or
implant.”
BMC surgeons implanted the device,
called the Acorn CorCap, for the first
time in patient Peter Perkins this past
February. The procedure, which involves
attaching a polyester mesh jacket
around the heart, was successful from
the physician and patient’s point of view.
“For me, the surgery is a victory because
I already have a higher level of functioning, I have more energy, can think more
clearly and have better color,” said
Perkins, who first learned of the study
from his physician, George Philippides,
MD, director of the Coronary Care Unit at
BMC, and assistant professor of medicine at BUSM. “More importantly, the
data that will be collected from my experience will one day help others who
suffer from heart failure.”
4
According to the American
Heart Association, nearly 5
million Americans suffer from
heart failure and 550,000 new
cases are diagnosed each
year. As heart failure
advances, the heart changes
in an effort to compensate for
the weakening muscle. This process
places additional stress on the walls of
the heart, further decreasing its ability
to function. The deterioration of the
heart causes several symptoms that
impact a person’s well-being, including
shortness of breath, fatigue and
impaired mental ability.
To date,
the CorCap
has been
implanted
in more
than 200
patients
worldwide. “Benefits of the device,
including reduction of myocyte stretch,
reversal of deleterious molecular
changes, reduction of heart size and
improvement in ejection fraction, appear
to be maintained at two years post surgery,” said Shemin.
“The decision to be part of the study
came easily,” added Perkins. “The skill,
intelligence and kindness of Drs. Shemin
and Philippides, plus my faith in God,
made me confident I could place my life
in their hands. I am very hopeful for
what lies ahead.”
For more information on the trial, call
(617) 638-6465.
Cardiovascular surgeons offer new
bypass procedure... Continued from
page 3.
scopic radial artery harvesting may be
at lower risk for post-operative complications, such as infection or bleeding,
because the incision is smaller and
less traumatic.
“In addition, patients prefer this technique because the cosmetic result is
by far superior, compared to the more
traditional harvesting method,”
added Shapira.
The endoscopic approach to radial
artery harvesting is expected to become
the standard of care in arterial procurement for the CABG procedure.
For more information, send an e-mail
to [email protected] or call
(617) 638-7350.
E
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N
T
S
Mark Your
Calendars!
CARDIOLOGY GRAND ROUNDS
12:00 pm
Boston Medical Center
88 East Newton Street,
Room E 112A
Boston, MA 02118
JUNE 2, 2004
George Mensah, M.D., FACP, FACC, FESC
Topic: “Cardiovascular Risk Assessment,
Treatment, and Control from 2004 to
2010: What Role for Government,
Academia, and Professional Societies?”
JUNE 9, 2004
George Klein, M.D.
Topic: “Non-Pharmacologic Therapies
for Atrial Fibrillation”