Introduction
Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, Department of cardiovascular surgery. We offer patients with cardiovascular disease the most comprehensive care, the most precise diagnosis and treatment within the shortest hospital stay. Our surgeons offer virtually every type of cardiac surgery including off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery, minimally invasive heart surgery for coronary artery disease or valvular heart disease, open and endovascular aortic surgery, correction or palliative surgery of congenital heart disease. For hemodialysis patients, we also offer dialysis access creation or intervention. Common forms of peripheral vascular surgery such as endovascular treatment, peripheral vascular bypass surgery or varicose vein surgery are also provided.
We are top-ranking nationwide at following: more than 80% of coronary artery bypass surgeries have been performed without cardiopulmonary bypass (off-pump), more than 10,000 endoscopic saphenous vein harvest cases have been done and more than 85% of valvular heart surgeries are minimally invasive, which is our core expertise.
Service & Treatment
Minimally invasive heart surgery can be performed to treat a variety of valvular heart disease or coronary artery disease through small incisions on your chest to reach the heart between the ribs, rather than cutting through the breastbone (sternotomy), as is done in open-heart surgery. Because it involves a smaller incision, it offers potential benefits including: less pain, less noticeable scars, less blood loss, lower risk of infection, shorter hospital stays after surgery and faster recovery. Patients who undergo minimally invasive heart surgery are usually discharged from hospital within 7 days after the procedure. In general, it takes about two to four weeks to return to normal activities after surgery.
The most popular approach for minimally invasive mitral valve surgery in current practice is through a right mini-thoracotomy. Right mini-thoracotomy is performed with a 4-5 cm skin incision, providing an excellent cosmetic result. Through the incision, we perform valve repair or replacement using specialized surgical instruments.
Numerous alternative incisions were evaluated for minimally invasive aortic valve surgery. Our para-sternal approach is through a longitudinal 5-6cm incision one fingerbreadth lateral to the right sternal border. After muscle sparing dissection, the third rib is cut at the chondrosternal junction and the myocostal flap is bent into the right pleural cavity to create surgical window for aortic valve surgery.
Multi-vessel revascularization through left anterior thoracotomy is feasible. We perform a revascularization configuration equivalent to that of a regular coronary artery bypass safely but without a sternotomy.
Our Team
Currently we have 9 full-time attending physicians.
