500th Open Heart Surgery Performed at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine

Contact: Susan Hall, 214-820-1817
Email: susanh@baylorhealth.edu

(GRAPEVINE, TEXAS, Nov. 8, 2007) - Walter L. Smith, 60, a Haslet, Texas resident, became the 500th open heart surgery patient at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine in late September.

"I was at work," recalled Mr. Smith, who works as a mechanic for American Airlines, "and I got a little dizzy." A trip to the company nurse revealed a higher-than-normal blood pressure, so Mr. Smith left work to see his personal physician in Keller. "They called the paramedics who took me to the hospital," he said. At the Baylor Grapevine emergency department, cardiologist Karla Lee suspected heart disease, initiating several diagnostic tests.

Three weeks later, Mr. Smith had triple bypass surgery for his heart, followed by a second surgery - catheter-based therapy for peripheral vascular pain - five days later to eliminate a painful blockage in Mr. Smith's left leg. David Scherer, M.D., performed the second surgery.

Coronary artery bypass graft surgeries have become one of the most common surgeries in the United States with nearly half a million such surgeries performed annually. Patrick T. Roughneen, M.D., who performed Baylor Grapevine's first open heart surgery four years earlier, headed the surgical team for Mr. Smith's operation. The hospital initiated its open heart program in fall 2003.

"During a coronary artery bypass," explains Dr. Roughneen, "we essentially create a bypass to re-route the blood flow around arteries that have become clogged with built-up plaque. You can almost think of it like a highway bypass around a congested intersection."

The surgeon takes a segment of a healthy blood vessel from another part of the body and uses it to create a detour around the blocked portion of a blood vessel in the heart. Patients may require one, two, three or more bypasses depending on how many coronary arteries (and their main branches) are blocked.

Following the surgery, the patient goes to an intensive care unit for one-on-one monitoring by the nursing staff, and then to a medical surgical patient unit for more care. After leaving the hospital, most patients enroll in the Baylor Grapevine cardiac rehabilitation program as did Mr. Smith.

"Baylor Grapevine is proud of its open heart program. Our facility has a long tradition of providing quality health care," says Doug Lawson, president, Baylor Grapevine. "The excellent relationship between the emergency department staff and our heart team is another example of what makes Baylor Grapevine a great place to work and a great place to receive care." Lawson joined Baylor Grapevine in August 2007. Cardiovascular services at Baylor Grapevine include invasive cardiology, electrophysiology, cardiac surgery for coronary artery Disease, valvular heart disease, diseases of the aorta and great vessels, cardiac surgery for atrial fibrillation and adult congenital heart surgery.

"Mr. Smith's case demonstrates the growth of our program," comments Dr. Roughneen. "We can treat the entire cardiovascular system, tailoring the care for the patient."

Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine is a full-service, fully-accredited hospital, serving residents in more than 20 cities throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. The hospital offers advanced medical care for brain and spine conditions, cardiovascular care, intensive care, diagnostic imaging, women's services, neonatal intensive care, sleep disorders and emergency care.

In May 2007, Baylor Grapevine received The Texas Health Care Quality Improvement Award which honors Texas hospitals that are performing quality initiatives aimed at improving outcomes in patient care by recognizing those hospitals that have improved their initial baseline performance on specific national quality measures. A month earlier, the hospital received a VHA Leadership Award for Clinical Excellence for acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) and heart failure. This award means that Baylor Grapevine has differentiated itself around national performance standards by achieving performance at the 90 percent or above level on clinical core measures. Baylor Grapevine joined the System in 1981.

Baylor Health Care System is a network of hospitals, primary care and specialty care centers, rehabilitation clinics, affiliated ambulatory surgery centers and the Baylor Research Institute. One of the largest private-sector employers in Dallas/Fort Worth, Baylor employs more than 16,000 people and has more than 2,700 physicians on its medical staffs. Baylor University Medical Center, flagship hospital of the system, is a major patient care, teaching and research center for the Southwest. For fiscal year 2007, Baylor Health Care System will report $390 million in community benefit to the Texas Department of State Health Services.