MDNews - Mid Hudson

COVER FEATURE ���Before we started the cardiac surgery program here, there was a tremendous need for advanced cardiac care in this part of the state. Our goal is to impact the overall cardiovascular mortality of this region by providing advanced services, and the Center for Valve Surgery is critical to achieving that goal.��� Dr. Salenger reviews a patient���s films in the cardiac catheterization laboratory with cath lab technician Will Torres. For the surgical treatment of aortic aneurysms, Dr. Salenger���s team performs a similar open-heart procedure to standard aortic valve replacement, with an added component of reducing the patient���s body temperature. The team connects the patient to the heart-lung machine, cuts out the dilated aortic segment, cools the patient down and shuts off the heart-lung machine. Dr. Lundy and Dr. Salenger then sew a synthetic vascular graft to replace the resected aortic segment and restart the heart-lung machine, warming the patient to normal temperature. Postoperatively, specialized team members focus their expertise on restoring the patient to health. ���Postop, critical care physicians aid the patient���s recovery,��� says Dr. Salenger. ���Many times after valve surgery the patients feel completely renewed. They feel energy they haven���t had in years. Excellent surgery alone will not achieve that. You need excellent medicine, excellent physical therapists and an excellent nursing staff; you need Dr. Salenger, cardiothoracic surgeon, Director of the Center for Valve Surgery at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center 10 | Mid Hudson MD NEWS I MDNEWS.COM ��� Rawn Salenger, M.D., cardiothoracic surgeon, Director of the Center for Valve Surgery at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center everyone working together to achieve the best outcome. Our team does that every day. It���s our team approach that allows us to achieve such outstanding results for even the sickest patients.��� The Center for Valve Surgery Advantage The role AICI���s cardiologists and the rest of the multidisciplinary team play in the foundation and perpetuation of the high levels of care provided at the Center for Valve Surgery cannot be overstated, says Dr. Salenger. ���At the Center for Valve Surgery, the medical subspecialties that contribute to our team have always provided the highest standards of care, whether contributing to patients��� pre- or postsurgical care,��� Dr. Salenger says. ���Whenever a service has been needed, it���s always been available at a high level. That kind of teamwork provides something that no one or two physicians can provide on their own.��� For more information about the cardiac services at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center and the Center for Valve Surgery, please visit bschs.org and select ���cardiac programs��� under the ���Our Services��� tab. I

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