Heart & Vascular Institute – Memorial City

World-Class Innovation

Physicians at the Institute are dedicated to the advancement of cardiovascular medicine. Continually recognized for innovation and talent in the treatment of heart conditions, their achievements include:

• Off-pump coronary artery bypass – Patients who undergo this type of surgery exhibit better outcomes, including lower mortality and morbidity rates. At the Institute, cardiac surgeons Donald Gibson, MD, and Miguel Gomez, MD, have led a distinguished cardiovascular team to achieve a milestone in 2005 with their 1,500th off-pump bypass surgery, more than any other facility in the Houston metropolitan area. Drs. Gibson and Gomez perform 98 percent of all bypass cases off-pump, compared to a 15 percent rate nationwide.
    
• Robotic-Assisted Surgery - The Institute is home to the da Vinci ® Surgical System, integrating robotics to enhance surgical skill and transform major invasive surgeries into minimally invasive procedures. As a leading innovator in robotic-assisted heart surgery, Miguel Gomez, M.D., performed the first and only robotic-assisted multi-vessel minithoracotomy in Houston, as well as many other robotic-assisted surgeries such as the off-pump coronary artery bypass and thoracic tumor removal.
     
• Cardioverter Defibrillators - Alexander F. Drtil, M.D. implanted Houston's first Lumos DR-T implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). Lumos is the first ICD that automatically transmits intracardiac electrograms (IEGMs) via the cellular telephone network and allows the physician to view these IEGMs on a secure website at anytime. Moreover, the Heart Failure Monitor® displays important predictors for the development of heart failure, allowing continuous monitoring no matter where the patient is at any given time.