Experts talk about wonders of cardiac surgery

There’s something almost mythical about the act of performing heart surgery, according to a new team of cardiac surgeons at Mills-Peninsula.

“There’s a charge around the idea that you are going to stop my heart, open it, fix something, close it and then restart it – and I’m going to be able to talk with you about it on the other side of that experience,” says Conrad Vial, M.D.

“It’s absolutely mesmerizing to people, and to us as well.”

Dr. Vial and colleagues Luis Castro, M.D., and Adam Harmon, M.D., belong to a group of surgeons who’ve been working the wonders of restarting hearts for years.

“We’re approaching 7,000 surgeries for our group, which is tremendous experience you won’t find at many hospitals,” Dr. Castro said.

Under the guidance of local cardiac guru Vincent Gaudiani, M.D., who has personally performed more than 10,000 operations over the past 25 years, the Pacific Coast Cardiac & Vascular Surgeons work at a few area hospitals to provide this expertise to communities on the Peninsula.

“Because of the changes in the field of cardiovascular surgery, there’s more need for expertise based on experience performing complex surgeries,” explains Dr. Castro.

“Today’s patients require more valve surgery as well as complex combinations of valve and bypass surgery.”

Heart surgery used to be the first resort for people with significant cardiovascular disease. “Now it’s becoming the court of last resort after treatment with aspirin, beta blockers, preventative health and interventional techniques,” Dr. Castro said.

“But these services are indispensable,” says Dr. Vial. “And when you need open-heart surgery, you want to know you’re in the hands of a surgeon with experience and good outcomes.”

Working as a team on every patient, these doctors have developed a flow and intimacy that Dr. Castro likens to a well-rehearsed orchestra.

“We’re not playing instrumental solos. We’re doing symphonic pieces that require many sets of brains, not just one,” the doctor said.

“At Mills-Peninsula we have great critical care that is closely involved with the surgical team, so the entire operative experience is seamless.”

Mills-Peninsula recently rated in the top 5 percent in the country for critical care in a study by HealthGrades, a leading health care ratings company.

Dr. Castro began his interest in cardiac surgery in the lab at Stanford University.

“The heart is one of the most beautiful things to hold in your hands,” he says. “It’s a privilege to have patients trust in you to repair their hearts – people who are putting their lives in your hands.”

Dr. Harmon was interested in the heart as a child. He was born with a common congenital cardiac anomaly – a heart defect that was not severe.

“I had the fortune of seeing heart surgery early in life, and I was mechanically inclined,” he said.

“To me there’s a lot of beauty and symmetry in understanding the mechanics of the heart. But, it’s also the seat of the soul – so there’s really nothing more spiritual, heroic or privileged than this.”
Dr. Vial says that while there’s no exclusive monopoly on the privilege of caring for people who are ill, heart surgery does have a special place.

“Patient and surgeon carry each other through this tremendous experience, so there’s an element of willing the person to victory – adding your will to theirs. And where is the place of will? Some say it’s the heart.

“You could lose yourself in the poetry of it, but it’s also real.”

All three doctors take care of their own hearts by investing equally in their families and enjoying life both in and out of surgery.

“Quality verses quantity is important,” Dr. Castro says. “People have to do the things that they really enjoy in moderation, keeping a balance in life.”

“We invest ourselves fully in our work and counterbalance that investment in our family life. The family becomes the repository of everything else that is good,” adds Dr. Vial.

One of the rewards of this demanding job is the relationship they develop with patients.

“We get letters after five or ten years from people who are still so grateful,” Dr. Harmon says.

“We once got a letter from the daughter of one of our bypass surgery patients,” tells Dr. Vial.

“It included a photo of the man dancing and a note that said ‘you don’t know me, but you’ve given me a wonderful gift because your team helped my dad be able to dance at my wedding.’”

To learn more about Mills-Peninsula cardiologists and cardiac surgeons, visit www.mills-peninsula.org/physician.