Departmental Highlights Archive
2006–2005
Kai Ihnken removes a bullet from Vien Doan's heart, 35 years after the fact
Doan Binh Vien, a Vietnamese soldier who took a bullet in his heart in the Vietnam War, carried it around for 35 years until Dr. Kai Ihnken was able to remove it.
December 17, 2006
Heart program pumped up: Saint Agnes taps Stanford's surgery expertise
Saint Agnes Medical Center hopes a new affiliation with Stanford University Medical Center will provide a boost to its cardiac surgery program.
September 26, 2006
A Life that Beats the Odds
Hoxworth is believed to be the fifth-longest survivor in the world of a combined heart and lung transplant, a procedure that is rarely performed anymore. He has lived more than 20 years with the transplanted organs.
October 16, 2006
Dr. James Fann Receives Donald B. Doty Award
Through a generous grant from Medtronic, the Western Thoracic Surgical Association (WTSA) has established the Donald B. Doty Educational Award. The purpose of the award is to foster innovative educational initiatives in cardiothoracic surgery by WTSA members and provide an opportunity for the dissemination of this information to other training centers and academic institutions. Active and senior members in good standing of the WTSA are eligible.
August 2006
Dr. R. Scott Mitchell Delivers Presidential Address at 32nd Annual WTSA
Entitled, "In Critical Condition," R. Scott Mitchell , MD, delivered the presidential address at the 32nd annual of the Western Thoracic Surgical Association in Sun Valley, Idaho, on June 22nd, 2006. His address discussed the perilous state of our national healthcare system and the need to move toward a system of universal coverage, likely based on a single risk pool.
June 2006
Kai Ihnken leads investigations into the potential benefits of beating-heart surgery
Despite its reputation as a technically tricky procedure, beating-heart surgery has garnered renewed attention recently as the trend toward less-invasive methods of heart surgery grows stronger.
April 25, 2006
For One Stanford Doctor, the Beat Goes on During Open-heart Surgery
Part of a new trend in cardiac medicine, Kai Ihnken does bypass procedures while heart continues to pump.
April 25, 2006
Grant Hoyt Honored for Thirty Years of Service in Robbins Lab
Standing at an imposing six feet, eight inches, you wouldn’t think that Grant Hoyt’s expertise would be in microsurgery, surgery performed under magnification using delicate instruments and precise techniques. But that’s exactly what he does at the Laboratory of Cardiothoracic Transplantation (also known as the Robbins Lab), Grant’s place of work for the last thirty years.
March 13, 2006
Robbins' stem cell work featured on "60 Minutes"
The widely watched television news show, "60 Minutes," heralded the revolutionary healing potential of embryonic stem cells in a February 26, 2006, report — the night before a trial that could determine whether $3 billion would become available in California for stem cell research.
February 26, 2006
Dr. Norman Shumway, Heart Transplant Pioneer, Dies at 83
Norman E. Shumway, MD, PhD, the father of heart transplantation and one of the pre-eminent heart surgeons of his time, died Feb. 10 at his Palo Alto home of complications from cancer, the Stanford University School of Medicine announced. He celebrated his 83rd birthday the previous day on Feb. 9.
February 10, 2006
Berlin Heart keeps five-year-old alive for 234 days, longer than any other child in North America
On February 6, 2006, five-year-old Jason Zhao from Vallejo received the best Valentine's gift the boy could ask for — a healthy new heart. But Jason, whose own heart failed the previous June, wouldn't have lived long enough to accept the transplant without the assistance of a mechanical external pump known as the Berlin Heart. The device kept Jason alive for 234 days, longer than any other child in North America. Only three other children in the world have survived on the pump for longer than Jason.
February 2006
Dr. Bruce Reitz performs a rare surgical approach known as heterotopic transplantation on Camila Gonzalez, the youngest child in the country to benefit from the procedure
On September 16, 2004, cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Bruce Reitz implanted a new heart alongside her own to help improve the heart's output and lower the blood pressure in her lungs. Miles Coulson, his heart failing, was the youngest child — and one of only four in the country — to have a device implanted known as the Berlin Heart, which kept his blood flowing until a new organ could be found.
Dr. Stephen Hendry, II Receives AHA Vivien Thomas Young Investigator Award
This is the tenth anniversary of this award, and Hendry’s manuscript, "Myocardial Restoration with Embryonic Stem Cell Transplantation in a Murine Myocardial Infarction Model," is the first-ever entry from a member of the Robbins Lab.
December 7, 2005
Peer M. Portner, PhD, Receives Two Bücherl Awards
Both the European Society for Artificial Organs (ESAO) and the Deutsches Herzzentrum Berlin (German Heart Center of Berlin) have honored Dr. Peer M. Portner with awards coincidentally dedicated to Professor Emil Sebastian Bücherl, cardiac surgeon and artificial heart pioneer. Portner has been a consulting professor of cardiothoracic surgery at the Stanford University School of Medicine since 1989 and previously consulting associate professor of cardiovascular surgery since 1977.
November 9, 2005
Miller Elected VP of AATS, Ascends to President in 2007
D. Craig Miller, MD, the Thelma and Henry Doelger Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery, was elected as the 2005-06 vice president of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, the oldest cardiac surgical association in the world. He will ascend to president of the AATS in 2007-08.
2005
Shumway Celebrates 82, Muniz Celebrates Shumway
Every February 9th, the smell of decadent Mexican food wafts throughout the Cardiothoracic Surgery department, and all gather around to listen while Dr. Norman Shumway is serenaded by Guillermo “Bill” Muniz, the man who provides the yearly feast. The celebration is twofold, a party for Shumway’s 82nd birthday and Guillermo’s annual gift to him for elongating his son’s life.
April 2005
Shedding new light on coronary bypass surgery
For the first time in the United States, doctors use laser-based imaging system during open-heart surgery
April 12, 2005
Reitz honored for 12 years as chair of Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Bruce Reitz, MD, who devoted the last 12 years to sustaining and enhancing the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery's international reputation of excellence, stepped down last month as the department's chair.
March 9, 2005
Guardian Angel could use a helping hand
Sebastian Metz, founder of the Denver chapter of the Guardian Angels, holds 4-month-old son Rooks as his wife, Shauna, looks on. Metz suffered from a brain injury from lack of oxygen after a 24-hour operation to correct a heart defect that nearly killed him.
February 2005
Pediatric surgeon, Dr. V. Mohan Reddy performs an arterial switch procedure on the smallest baby ever to survive this type of open-heart surgery
The successful operation marked a dramatic turnaround for 1-week-old Jerrick De Leon, who was airlifted to the hospital after doctors in Southern California gave him a zero chance of survival. Barring unrelated complications from his prematurity, Jerrick is now expected to have a normal lifespan.
February 16, 2005
Dr. Robert C. Robbins named cardiothoracic surgery department chair
In his new position, the internationally known heart transplant expert who performs around 40 transplants each year, Dr. Robert C. Robbins, will oversee the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery's clinical and research programs. In addition to adult cardiac surgery, the department has a pediatric cardiac surgery program, which is one of the largest such programs in the country, and a thoracic surgery program, which treats patients suffering from lung and esophageal diseases.
February 10, 2005
Dr. Peter Fitzgerald, associate professor of cardiovascular medicine, and his colleagues Dr. Scott Mitchell, professor of cardiothoracic surgery, and assistant professor Dr. Marc Pelletier use laser-based imaging system during open-heart surgery for the first time in the United States
For the first time in the United States, doctors use laser-based imaging system during open-heart surgery. Up until this technology became available, doctors usually were not able to confirm whether a coronary bypass surgery had been successful while the patient was still on the operating table. In most cases, only after the chest had been closed could doctors get an image of the heart and see whether blood was flowing through the newly created vessels.
2005
Dr. Leora Balsam Receives Outstanding Woman Resident Award
The prize honors her "exceptional leadership abilities" and "excellent technical and patient management skills" as well as recognizing her as a role model for other surgeons and those who aspire to join the profession.
2005