Two years after having COVID, Eduardo Escalona Gonzalez, 53, went to his doctor complaining of a persistent cough. He learned his weakened heart muscle was further complicated by pulmonary hypertension, a lingering effect of COVID. His heart was failing.
Escalona was eventually referred to Jackson Heart Institute, where the cardiac team determined he was too sick for a heart transplant. They proposed implanting a left ventricular assist device (LVAD).
“The LVAD serves as a bridge, maintaining his cardiac function while we optimize his overall health to allow for the pulmonary pressures to improve, to a point where heart transplantation could become viable.” said Hari Mallidi, MD, Jackson Heart Institute director, chief of cardiac surgery, and heart transplant program director at Miami Transplant Institute.
Treating patients who have run out of options elsewhere is a hallmark of Jackson Heart Institute, where Mallidi, whose credentials include working at Harvard Medical School and Stanford University, has built a team with an impressive breadth and depth of talent.
Patient-centric team approach
Mallidi says the team’s clinical expertise and Jackson’s multidisciplinary approach are unique in the region.
“We are able to care for more complex patients because, Jackson Heart Institute resides within a hospital system that is capable of taking care of many of sickest residents of Miami-Dade County,” says Mallidi. “As an example, possible complications of major aortic surgery include neurologic concerns, and at Jackson, we have one of the best Neuro and Neurosurgical programs in the nation. We can leverage the expertise of these programs to help us optimally manage heart surgery patients that have significant neurological issues. That capability just doesn't exist at many places.”
“What makes us unique is the depth of our expertise and the way we work together across specialties.” Hari Mallidi, MD
New options for aortic disease
Promising new treatments for aortic disease include the Thoraflex Hybrid to repair complex aortic arch aneurysms or dissection. Mallidi was the first in South Florida to use the innovative technique, making repairs with a single intervention as opposed to two or more surgeries. He says patients have a faster recovery and a lower overall risk due to the avoidance of multiple high-risk procedures.
Redo heart surgeries
As heart patients live longer, they are requiring additional surgeries such as valve replacements. They tend to be older, with multiple other health concerns, and in many cases have already had heart surgery in the past. Many of these inherently high-risk patients land at Jackson.
“We are always going to excel at taking care of patients that need complex reoperations, have heart failure, or multiple medical comorbidities because we have this comprehensive complex care program across multiple organs, across multiple disciplines,” says Mallidi, who also performs coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) on many patients in renal failure awaiting kidney transplant.
For the full range of Jackson Heart Institute services for children and adults, visit MiamiHeartLeader.org or call 786-465-5878 to make an appointment with a specialist.
Top rating from Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Jackson Heart Institute is one of the best performing cardiac surgery programs in the nation. Earning a prestigious 3-star rating from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the gold standard for assessing surgical quality and patient outcomes in cardiac surgical care. Jackson was recognized for the quality of the overall surgical program (across multiple procedures) but, also specifically, for the outcomes following Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery.
Jackson Heart Institute Services
Cardiac Catheterization and Electrophysiology Cardiothoracic surgery Congenital heart treatment Coronary artery surgery Heart failure and transplantation Heart valve surgery Transcatheter valve procedure (TAVR) Vascular and endovascular surgery