Surgical Treatments And Innovations

World-class heart care for southwest Michigan.

Building on our history as the first open-hearat program in the rgion, Borgess continues to lead the way in cardiac surgery. Studies have demonstrated that the more experience a hospital has in any given procedure, the better the outcome for the patients.

Few hospitals in Michigan — or the nation — can match our experience in heart surgery. Since 1971, Borgess surgical teams have performed more than 18,000 open-heart surgeries with superb results, including some of the lowest mortality and complication rates in the country.

According to an article published in the March 2000 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, high volumes (at least 500 cases annually) can be connected with better outcomes in the area of cardiac surgery. Borges is the only hospital in southwest Michigan that meets these standards — with more than 650 procedures performed annually. This experience pays off, with coronary and valve surgery outcomes at Borgess ranked better than the risk-adjusted national averages.

Specialized care for the special needs of your cardiac patients.

Board-certified surgeons and teams at Borgess have special expertise in the areas of arrhythmia, on- and off-pump open-heart surgery, valve replacement, CorRestore ® for heart failure, transmyocardial revascularization, ascending aortic aneurysm repair and other surgical treatments. Three dedicated cardiac surgery suites and a seven-bed cardiac surgery intensive care unit support these efforts.

At Borgess Heart Institute, dedicated and respected cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, electrophysiologists and other specialists deliver comprehensive heart and vascular surgical treatments in the area. Patients from all over the country come to Borgess Heart Institute for the latest surgical treatments as well as non-surgical diagnostics and cardiac procedures.

More important, primary care physicians throughout southwest Michigan have collaborated with us to offer this high level of care to their patients with surgeries that include:

CorRestore® Patch Procedure

The CorRestore patch procedure eases shortness of breath and fatigue for patients who have congestive heart failure and have suffered a major heart attack on the front side of the heart. By using a tissue patch, the surgery helps bring the cardiac muscle back to a smaller, normal size and shape — increasing blood flow and pumping.

Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery

This is a surgical procedure in which small portions of veins or arteries are taken from one part of the body and transplanted into the heart to bypass clogged coronary arteries. While this describes a traditional bypass operation, there are two state-of-the-art procedures that Borgess also currently offers for individuals meeting specific criteria: off-pump surgery and endoscopic saphenous vein harvest. Both procedures are less invasive and, therefore, less traumatic for patients. Normally, patients undergoing these surgeries can return to their lives more quickly because they have less post-operative pain and a decreased hospital stay.
--For post-operative information, visit the Society of Thoracic Surgeons "After My Bypass" Website.

Thoracic and Pulmonary Surgery

These delicate procedures include chest operations not directly related to the heart, including esophageal and lung surgery, pulmonary resections and thorascopic surgery.

Transmyocardial Laser Revascularization (TMR)

TMR is a cardiac procedure that uses a laser beam to create small holes or channels in the heart muscle. The ultimate goal is to enhance blood flow to the heart by stimulating new blood vessels to grow, thereby reducing a patient’s chronic angina (chest pain). Typically, patients with angina have limited blood flow due to atherosclerosis (coronary artery disease) or other heart-related ailments.

Valve Surgery

This is a surgical procedure in which a diseased valve is repaired or replaced. Repairing a valve involves loosening stiff valve leaflets or tightening valve leaflets. In valve replacement surgery, a mechanical or tissue valve is transplanted into the heart to replace a damaged valve. Following surgery, patients are transferred to a seven-bed cardiac surgery intensive care unit for recovery. For those with complicated heart problems, we also provide a 12-bed coronary critical care unit and a 60-bed telemetry monitored unit.