Cardiovascular Surgery

Hoag Heart and Vascular Institute is Orange County's highest-volume, highest-rated cardiovascular surgery program. Hoag also received Southern California's highest rating in the state's first public report evaluating hospital performance of heart bypass surgery. In the recently published report The California Report on Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery: 1997-1998 Hospital Data, Hoag was one of only three hospitals in the state to perform "significantly better than expected". The cardiac surgeons at Hoag Hospital perform more than 400 heart surgeries each year. A coronary artery bypass operation creates a new route for blood to flow to the heart muscle. This surgical procedure bypasses the blocked artery with a vein taken from the leg, an artery taken from the arm or by using the internal mammary artery (which lies beneath the breastbone). When multiple bypasses are needed, several veins, arteries or a combination may be used. The bypass allows blood to flow easily to the heart. At Hoag Hospital, this operation usually requires a hospital stay of five days and may take up to three months for full recovery.

There are two new areas of heart surgery available at Hoag Hospital that may be the right treatment choice for some individuals who need coronary artery bypass surgery ---minimally invasive bypass surgery and Transmyocardial Laser Revascularization (TMR).

Minimally Invasive Bypass Surgery

In this procedure, veins and arteries are still used to create the new route around the blocked area in the heart, but the incisions in the chest and in the leg (for the vein) are smaller. The smaller incision in the chest may not be recommended for all people needing bypass surgery; almost 70% of individuals receiving bypass surgery at Hoag Hospital receive the smaller incisions on the leg.

Transmyocardial Laser Revascularization (TMR)

In most cases, transmyocardial laser revascularization (TMR) is used in conjunction with bypass grafts to restore blood flow to the heart. At Hoag, the cardiac surgeons participated in the early clinical investigational work in the mid-1990s. Since that time, they have remained active users of the laser therapy and, in fact, have treated the largest number of patients in Orange County.

Additional Information:

• Hoag Hospital Among Top Hospitals in CA for Bypass Surgery
• Meet the Medical Director of Cardiovascular Surgery
• Drs. Raney, Zusman and Joyo - the exclusive cardiac surgery team at Hoag Hospital
• Meet the Cardiac Anesthesiologists at Hoag Hospital