The St. Elizabeth Cardiac Surgery Care team offers insights into the expertise and quality of care at St. Elizabeth Healthcare. The cardiac surgery team includes Mario Castillo-Sang, MD, George Christensen, DO, Mickey Ising, MD, James Locher, MD, Michael Kasten, MD and Juan Penaranda Canal, MD.
Q: The St. Elizabeth Healthcare heart surgery program is nationally recognized. How do these awards highlight the hospital’s position as a cardiac care leader?
Dr. Mario Castillo-Sang: Our heart surgery program has earned the attention of numerous national organizations, and we are incredibly proud that these accolades spotlight our expertise in heart surgery care. The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association certified us as a Comprehensive Cardiac Center. Additionally, both the U.S. News & World Report and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons awarded us their highest rankings for heart bypass surgery, also called coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). These accolades ensure that our patients receive care held to the highest national standards, offering peace of mind during a difficult time.
Lastly, Healthgrades included us among the top 50 hospitals for heart surgery in 2024. Overall, these honors and rankings spotlight our team’s expertise in using leading-edge techniques to achieve the best outcomes for our patients. Our patients benefit from this recognition through shorter recovery times, fewer complications and superior surgical outcomes.
Q: What do these awards and honors say about the level of care St. Elizabeth provides?
Dr. Juan Penaranda Canal: Each of these awards highlights our commitment to excellent care. More importantly, they show our dedication to ensuring patient satisfaction and the best outcome for everyone we serve. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services awarded its highest honor — a five-star rating — to our Edgewood and Dearborn hospitals. Our patient satisfaction scores, which consistently rank above the 90th percentile in Press Ganey surveys, further reveal our devotion to delivering an exceptional patient experience. Our patients can trust that their care will exceed national benchmarks in safety and satisfaction.
Q: How is the St. Elizabeth Healthcare cardiac care team structured to provide specialized care for different patient needs?Dr. Mario Castillo-Sang: At St. Elizabeth, we are proud to offer distinct units tailored to the specific needs of our cardiac patients. Unlike many institutions that combine medical and surgical cardiac patients into one unit, we have the privilege of operating both a true CICU (medical cardiac intensive care unit) and the CVSICU (cardiovascular surgical intensive care unit), dedicated exclusively to high-acuity postoperative cardiac surgery patients. The addition of the ‘S’ in CVSICU reflects the surgical nature of the care provided, ensuring clarity and specialization. This structure allows our team to deliver more precise, focused care, ultimately enhancing patient outcomes and providing peace of mind for the families we serve.
Q: What is unique about heart valve surgery at St. Elizabeth?
Dr. Michael Kasten: Our heart surgeons are highly skilled in performing complex mitral valve repair and replacement procedures. But what truly makes us different is our expertise in minimally invasive — or endoscopic — mitral valve surgeries. Led by Dr. Castillo-Sang and Dr. Penaranda Canal, we perform 99% of our mitral valve procedures using minimally invasive techniques. Taking this approach reduces pain and it shortens recovery time. Plus, patients can get back to their regular daily activities faster.
We are also the only health system in Ohio and Kentucky to offer a minimally invasive procedure to treat mitral annular calcification, the build up of calcium around the mitral valve that increases a patient’s risk for stroke or heart failure. Based on these innovations, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons also gave our mitral valve surgery program their highest possible rating.
Q: What types of treatments and surgeries does St. Elizabeth offer?
Dr. James Locher: We are experts in a full range of heart surgery procedures, including CABG and advanced mitral, aortic and tricuspid valve repair and replacement. Alongside being experts in minimally invasive procedures, we are also leaders in procedures to correct atrial septal defects (holes in the heart). Patients can also count on us for superior surgical care when treating atrial fibrillation and other irregular heartbeat disorders, as well as advanced procedures like left ventricular assist device (LVAD) surgery to treat heart failure. As mentioned previously, it’s our expertise and the consistent high quality of our work with these procedures that earned us such high recognition from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons.
Q: What approach does St. Elizabeth take with innovative cardiac treatments?
Dr. Mickey Ising: In addition to providing our community with experienced LVAD care close to home, we are trailblazers who stay at the leading-edge of cardiac surgical care. For example, our team collaborates with the Structural Heart & Valve Center to regularly perform transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and MitraClip for valve repairs. These techniques allow many patients to avoid traditional open heart surgery, offering safer, less invasive options.
We also apply our expertise with minimally invasive procedures to tumor removal and cardiac ablations. Additionally, we’re innovators in cardiac surgery education and frequently share our knowledge with surgeons from around the United States and Canada. By training other surgeons, we ensure that our advancements in care benefit even more patients nationwide.
Q: Why should patients turn to St. Elizabeth for their heart surgery?Dr. James Locher: Facing heart surgery can feel overwhelming, but patients can feel confident they’ll receive the most advanced, experienced care at St. Elizabeth. Our nurse navigators are here to guide patients every step of the way. With a research-based, compassionate approach, we bring together world-class surgeons and sophisticated technologies to deliver the most advanced diagnostic and treatment services. Our integrated care approach ensures patients feel supported, from diagnosis through recovery. We also support patients with cardiac rehabilitation to help them regain their strength and return to their daily lives as quickly as possible.
Q: What outcomes and recovery can patients anticipate?
Dr. Mario Castillo-Sang: Any heart surgery is a significant procedure. But because we use minimally invasive techniques, we can offer patients better outcomes and a faster recovery. Instead of a week-long hospital stay, our minimally invasive surgery patients go home within three days. They start to feel better within a few weeks and typically make a full recovery in two months — far quicker than traditional surgeries, which can take up to a year.
When it comes to avoiding complications, we consistently outperform the national averages. For example, nationwide, 40% of people who have open heart surgery develop atrial fibrillation. Thanks to our precision and expertise at St. Elizabeth, that number is just 8% for our minimally invasive mitral valve repair patients. This exceptional statistic underscores how our advanced techniques and meticulous care help patients heal faster and avoid common risks.
Q: When should someone consider St. Elizabeth for a second opinion?
Dr. George Christensen: There are several situations where a second opinion can be helpful. Patients should make an in-person or virtual appointment with us if they have questions about their diagnosis or a suggested treatment plan. No referral is needed. We can re-evaluate whether a patient is a potential candidate for a minimally invasive surgery rather than a traditional procedure. Our team of expert heart surgeons and cardiologists work together to evaluate each patient’s case and design a personalized care plan that best fits their needs.
Learn more about Heart Surgery at St. Elizabeth Healthcare.
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