Jackson Hospital | Partners | Fall 2019

COMMUNITY Your heart, our expe tise A vital device Technology now plays an important role both during and after heart surgery. Jackson Hospital uses the Impella left ventricular assist device (LVAD) to provide temporary support of the heart by moving blood through the heart into other organs of the body. The Impella is the smallest heart pump in the world. This device eases the workload of weak hearts and allows Dr. Kwan to perform surgery on higher-risk patients. The Impella is vital in providing assis- tance during postoperative recovery for patients experiencing cardiogenic shock following open heart surgery. Although tiny, this heart pump gives patients bet- ter outcomes after surgeries and leads to fewer complications. The gold standard for treating AFib Dr. Kwan also uses the Cox Maze open heart procedure to cure atrial fibrillation. The Cox Maze proce- dure involves a surgeon making a com- plicated set of incisions on the left and right atria (the upper chambers of the heart). These incisions interrupt the abnormal rhythms that cause irregular heartbeats, or atrial fibrillation. Because the Cox Maze procedure is extremely complex, few surgeons are able to perform it. This procedure gives patients freedom from long-term anticoagulation and decreases their likelihood of a thrombolytic stroke from atrial fibrillation. Open heart surgery has changed drastically over the past 20 years. As new technology has become readily available, open heart surgery is safer than ever. At Jackson Hospital, we use both the latest technology and experienced staff to give patients the best possible surgery experience. Stephen Kwan, MD, cardiothoracic surgeon at Jack- son Hospital, leads over 300 open heart surgeries every year. He has led a total of over 8,000 surgeries during his career. Dr. Kwan works with a highly experienced staff of registered nurses, registered nurse first assis- tants, perfusionists and cardiovascular operating room technicians. This group of operating room staff boasts over 115 years com- bined experience in cardiovascu- lar surgery. The cardiovascular intensive care unit staff has over 200 years of com- bined experience caring for patients recovering from cardiovascular surgery. HEART CARE 8 Jackson Hospital