Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery

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City-Wide Thoracic Grand Rounds:
Schedule | City-Wide Thoracic Grand Rounds are on Thursdays, 5-6 pm, in Room 211L in the School of Medicine. CME-accredited for physicians.

THURSDAY NOV 12, 2009 - 5-5:30 pm
Richard J. Priore, FACHE, VP Cardiovascular Services, Baptist Healthcare System
TOPIC: ACE Demonstration Project

THURSDAY NOV 12, 2009 - 5:30-6 pm
Walter Quiroga Robles, MD 2nd Year General Surgery Resident
UT School of Medicine at San Antonio | More about Dr. Quiroga Robles
TOPIC: Thoracoscopy vs. open sternotomy for disease of the thymus

Minimally invasive heart surgery reaping maximum benefits for San Antonio cardiac patients: With traditional open-heart surgery, the sternum is split and a bypass machine is used while the cardiothoracic surgeon operates on the stopped heart. Minimally invasive heart surgery is performed through small incisions, typically between the patient's ribs. V. Seenu Reddy, MD, MBA, Cardiothoracic Surgery, recently was interviewed by MySA.com regarding the techniques and benefits of minimally invasive heart surgery. In Galvan's surgery, Reddy worked directly on the heart through a hole between ribs. He wore an LED headlamp and wielded long, thin tools as he settled in over the 5-inch hole exposing the beating heart. It would take a couple of hours to reroute a nearby artery that would feed the heart plenty of oxygen-rich blood. "What attracted me to this surgery was because it didn't require a $2 million robot," said Reddy, a faculty member at the University of Texas Health Science Center. "It requires a special retractor that costs about $5,000." Read complete story on MySA.com | SA Express News Video | More about Dr. Reddy (2-23-09)

New heart surgery promises shorter hospital stay: Seenu V. Reddy, MD, MBA, performs first-time minimally invasive heart surgery at Christus Santa Rosa. "This is a relatively newer technique," said Dr. Reddy. Instead of opening the patient's chest, a small incision is made in the groin. Wires and catheters are inserted through the incision, and will be used to insert a stent. Because this procedure is significantly less invasive than traditional heart surgery, it is especially useful for older patients who might not be in the best of health. Read story on WOAI | View WOAI Video | For physician referrals, please call 210-358-4025. (2-10-09)

LONDON, England (CNN) -- More than a decade since it was first pioneered, a technique that greatly reduces the trauma of lung surgery still isn't widely used. But that finally may be starting to change, doctors say.

The less invasive form of surgery for lung cancer can significantly decrease recovery time when compared to open chest surgery. That not only allows patients to go home sooner but also can play an important role in reducing pain and preventing complications.

"The earliest I've seen someone going back to work after the procedure is one week," Dr Daniel DeArmond, an assistant professor in cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center, said in regard to a patient of his who underwent the minimally invasive surgery.

daVinci™ robotic surgery is available at Christus Santa Rosa NW.

Read CNN article | More about Dr. DeArmond | More about VATS and DaVinci™ Robotic Surgery For physician referrals, please call 210-358-4025. (11-26-08)

For early stage lung cancer, the da Vinci™ Robotic Surgical System may be the most effective, least invasive treatment alternative to traditional thoracic surgical procedures.

For physician referrals, please call 210-358-4025. (10-16-08)

Da Vinci™ robotic surgery is available at Christus Santa Rosa Northwest. For physician referrals and patient appointments, please call 210-358-4579 or 210-358-4026. For after hours, weekends, or holiday referrals, please call 210-567-0001.
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To perform a procedure, the surgeon uses the console’s master controls to maneuver the patient-side cart’s three or four robotic arms (depending on the model), which securely the instruments and a high-resolution endoscopic camera. The instruments’ jointed-wrist design exceeds the natural range of motion of the human hand; motion scaling and tremor reduction further interpret and refine the surgeon’s hand movements. The da Vinci System incorporates multiple, redundant safety features designed to minimize opportunities for human error when compared with traditional approaches. At no time is the surgical robot in control or autonomous; it operates on a "Master:Slave" relationship, the surgeon being the "Master" and the robot being the "Slave." For physician referrals, please call 210-358-4025.

Cardiothoracic Clinical Programs

Faculty members are board certified or eligible in Thoracic Surgery, and most have acquired unique areas of interest and, in some cases, additional training to be able to successfully perform difficult and complex thoracic surgeries. This subspecialization allows for a greater ability to successfully treat complex cases involving all aspects of thoracic surgery, including:

Medicare Approves Lung Transplant Center:

March 22, 2007 (San Antonio, TX) - Congratulations to John Calhoon, MD, Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery, and his team, on receiving Medicare approval for Adult Lung Transplant Center: On March 1, 2007, the lung transplant program received Medicare certification. Our program, established in 1987 by Dr. J. Kent Trinkle, has a strong history of research, education, and innovation in the surgical care of patients with lung disease. | Read more ...

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