Cardiologists Excited by Availability of Surgery

Area cardiologists have been looking forward to the availability of more complete care for their patients that will come with the opening of the open heart surgery program at Southcoast.

“I am very excited about having open heart surgery available in the area for our cardiac patients,” said Peter Cohn, MD, FACC, Chief of the Cardiology Department at Charlton Memorial Hospital. “Until this point, we have only been able to provide cardiac services to the diagnostic phase. Then we had to send patients to Providence or Boston for any type of surgical care. Now we can provide those services close to home.”

Charlton Memorial and St. Luke’s perform some 1,500 cardiac catheterizations each year, with 66 percent of those patients requiring referral for open heart surgery or angioplasty. Cardiac catheterization volume at Southcoast hospitals is projected to reach 2,400 cases by 2003.

With cardiac surgery taking place at Charlton, area cardiologists can have direct contact with cardiac surgeons and their patients before and after surgery takes place.

“As cardiologists, we know our patients and their medical histories best,” Cohn said. “Having direct access to our patients and surgeons will mean better quality and continuity of care and less stress for our patients and their families.

“It can be very traumatic for patients to have to travel for health services and be separated from their families. Having top-notch cardiac surgery services at Southcoast will help change that.”

[Heart services at Southcoast.]

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