Wisconsin Heart Hospital to broadcast surgery over Web

Wisconsin Heart Hospital to broadcast surgery over Web

Milwaukee, Wis. – The Wisconsin Heart Hospital has announced that in a live Webcast on Thursday, Jan. 17, cardiothoracic surgeon Husam Balkhy will conduct an off-pump coronary artery bypass graft procedure from the hospital.
The 75-minute webcast will be available on http://www.or-live.com/ at 2 p.m. Central Time, and a replay will be available for 180 days following the live presentation.
Balkhy, chairman of the department of cardiac and vascular surgery and head of the robotics program at The Wisconsin Heart Hospital, will perform a beating heart procedure using a C-Port, a new device that allows surgeons to automate the attachment of blood vessel grafts, replacing traditional hand-sewn with sutures. The Wisconsin Heart Hospital recently acquired the C-Port from Cardica, Inc.
“This particular type of bypass is vital to the development of robotic, closed-chest bypass procedures, and therefore proving its efficacy in open-chest procedures is critical,” Balkhy said in a press release.
Also during the broadcast, Dr. Louis A. Brunsting III, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Centennial Medical Center in Nashville, will present video footage that shows a robotic closed-chest bypass procedure using the C-Port system in combination with the da Vinci(R) Surgical System.
Moderating the live procedure will be Tung Cai, medical director and chief of cardiothoracic surgery at the Presbyterian Hospital of Denton (Texas).
All three physicians will narrate during the procedure, explaining critical aspects of the surgery, and will answer viewers’ e-mail questions submitted live during the event.
Located in Wauwatosa, The Wisconsin Heart Hospital is a member of Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare.
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