Adam’s Heart Valve Surgery Blog

My Surgeon (Vaughn Starnes), My Governer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) Celebrate Heart Valve Surgery Success!

Pretty interesting article! Cheers! Adam

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger marked the 10-year anniversary of his heart surgery at USC’s Health Science Campus by visiting on April 16 and saluting the new Cardiovascular Thoracic Institute (CVTI).

The new Institute at the Keck School of Medicine is waging war against the leading cause of death among American men and women - heart disease.

It was created under the leadership of Vaughn Starnes, chair of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Keck School.

“At the USC Cardiovascular Thoracic Institute, we are dedicated to improving the statistics concerning cardiovascular and thoracic disease such as those once faced by the governor,” said Starnes, who also serves as executive director of the Institute.

Ten years ago at USC, Starnes led a team of three surgeons who repaired the aortic valve in then-actor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s heart.

The aortic valve prevents blood from flowing back into the left ventricle of the heart. Starnes implanted a healthy human tissue valve and said at the time, “This will not limit him in any way when he recovers.”

Starnes said Schwarzenegger was born with the defective valve and decided to do the surgery while he was in good health.

In a luncheon program featuring remarks by the governor, Starnes discussed plans for the Institute’s future building, which will house the clinical services. The building will be at the corner of San Pablo and Alcazar streets on USC’s Health Sciences Campus just east of Downtown Los Angeles.The new facility will provide state-of-the-art treatment rooms, outpatient clinics and labs all under one roof. Opened to patients in December 2006, the Institute is currently housed within the Health Care Consultation II building.

The Institute is a unique collaboration of cardiothoracic and vascular surgeons, cardiologists, pulmonologists and basic scientists all working together without the boundaries of departments or specialties.

“We want our patients to know that whatever the level of care they need, our team will design and implement the health plan that works best for them,” Starnes said.

According to Keck School of Medicine Dean Brian Henderson, the Institute is an important new initiative for the school, bringing clinicians and scientists together to work more collaboratively toward enhanced patient care, scientific discovery and excellent training of future physicians.

“The new Institute will allow our faculty to push the boundaries of their field,” said Henderson. “And it will continue USC’s push to expand our facilities here on the Health Sciences Campus, providing space for growth in our research and patient care programs.”

Those programs include innovative robotic therapy and heart valve replacements.

At the same time, scientific faculty associated with the Institute are exploring new research opportunities in vascular biology and regenerative medicine. “Laboratory findings will be rapidly translated into patient care, thanks to the collaboration between our physicians and scientists, who share core facilities and other resources within the institute,” Starnes said.

Article courtesy USC HSC Weekly.

• Previous: Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve Replacement Child Success Story
• Next: Ross Procedure Failure Doesn’t Stop John Hill From Life Success

This entry was posted on Friday, May 4th, 2007 at 10:18 am and is filed under Heart Valve Surgery, Top Heart Surgeons, Patient Success Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Print This Post | EMail This Post.