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Published on 09/22/1999 All articles from this issue

Medical advancements and El Camino: 'If it's available, we're going to get it'

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By Leslie K. Martin

Special to the Town Crier

"Medicine today is dramatically different than the medicine of 10 years ago," said Dr. Frederick St. Gore, head of cardiovascular services at El Camino Hospital.

For instance, heart-bypass surgery involved slitting the patient's leg from groin to ankle and removing a vein to use for the bypass. Often the operation to remove the vein was more painful than the bypass surgery.

Soon, said Renaldo Juanso, a media spokesperson for Guidant Corporation, slits will be made near groin and ankle, and the vein will be slipped out, without opening the leg at all.

El Camino Hospital CEO, Richard Warren, recalled his days at Washington Hospital, "In 1969, you can't believe this, but our treatment then was nothing. You lay in a coronary care unit for two weeks, and if you got through it, we gave you lidocaine to knock out the pain, and you went home, and you were a cardiac cripple for the rest of your life. Now we come on with the invasive stuff, and people are back on the golf course in two weeks."

Warren knows. He's at home recovering from triple by-pass heart surgery, but he's walking a mile a day.

According to St. Gore, staff at El Camino Hospital have made an effort to have an open dialogue with industry and local technology, to stay on the cutting edge of medical advancements.

Plastic Surgeon Burton Brent is already at the cutting edge of his art. In fact, two of his sculptures can be seen at El Camino Hospital and at the San Diego Zoo. But, he has carried his art to a new level in his surgery, where he carves new ears. In under two hours, using the patient's rib cartilage, a reversed photograph of the patient's ear, and wood carving chisels, he carves, and attaches an aesthetically-complete product.

For accident victims and children with birth defects, Brent said, "There is an immediate visual effect that reduces emotional trauma. It's very magical."

Guidant Corporation, based in Indiana, has a division in Santa Clara that makes products to treat coronary artery disease. One such product is a tiny mesh tube, called a stent. Designed to prop coronary arteries open following surgery, the Stent is inserted by catheter and guided to the blocked area. The tiny device literally clears out arterial blockage, and once surgical procedures are completed to remove plaque, becomes a permanent part of the anatomy.

These are but tantalizing tidbits of an exciting time in medical history. With the blend of corporate research funds and local medical staff, St. Gore believes the best place for a front row seat in medical advancements is here and now. "If it's available, we're going to get it," he said.