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Washington University in St. Louis News & Information > Faculty Experts at Washington University in St. Louis >
The John Shoenberg Professor of Surgery
Expertise: surgical robotics, minimally invasive heart surgery, robotically assisted surgery, minimally invasive surgery, heart rhythm abnormalities
Bio:
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| Damiano |
The chief of cardiac surgery in the Division of Cariothoracic Surgery, Damiano is internationally recognized for his innovative research in surgical robotics and minimally invasive heart surgery.
Education:
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B.A. in Biology at Dartmouth College
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M.D. at Duke University Medical School
| News Stories & Tip Sheets: |
Showing Stories 1 through 5 of 6.
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Simple, significant improvement
Surgeons announce advance in atrial fibrillation surgery
April 7,
2008 -- Heart surgeons at the School of Medicine report that by adding a simple 10-20 second step to an operative procedure they achieved a significant improvement in the outcome for the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). The surgeons redirected wayward electrical impulses that cause AF by creating precisely placed scars, or ablations, in the heart muscle.
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New hope for heart patients
Woman is first in region to receive new heart valve without open-heart surgery
Jan. 17,
2008 --
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| John Lasala and Ralph Damiano Jr. work together on the first surgery in the PARTNER trial. |
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A 78-year-old St. Louis woman was the first patient in this region to receive an experimental device to replace her defective aortic valve without opening the chest wall or using a heart-lung machine. This procedure was performed by Washington University heart specialists at Barnes-Jewish Hospital on Jan. 15.
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Potential PARTNER for heart patients
Heart valve replacement without open-heart surgery is subject of clinical study
Dec. 6,
2007 --
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| Courtesy Edward Lifesciences |
In a nationwide clinical trial, physicians are testing an investigational device that allows them to insert replacement aortic valves without opening the chest or using a heart-lung machine, making the procedure available to high-risk and formerly inoperable patients. The School of Medicine has been selected as a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigative site in the trial evaluating this technique, which uses a far less invasive procedure than the standard open-heart surgery.
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An easier way
Surgeons develop simpler way to cure atrial fibrillation
Feb. 12,
2007 --
Physicians have an effective new option for treating atrial fibrillation, a common irregular heart rhythm that can cause stroke. WUSM heart surgeons under the direction of Ralph Damiano have developed and tested a device that radically shortens and simplifies a complex surgical procedure that has had the best long-term cure rate for persistent atrial fibrillation. The simplified procedure is termed Cox-maze IV, and the surgeons believe it can replace the older "cut and sew" Cox-maze III.
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Faster and easier
High-energy clamp simplifies heart surgery for atrial fibrillation
Oct. 9,
2006 --
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| This illustration of the Cox-Maze procedure shows the ablation lines in the left atrium. |
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Heart surgeons at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have helped usher in a new era in the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation. Using radiofrequency devices — rather than a scalpel — they've greatly shortened the surgery and made it significantly easier to perform. WUSM surgeon Ralph J. Damiano Jr. and colleagues have played a vital role in developing the devices, which deliver high-energy waves to heart tissue and very quickly create scars or ablations. More...
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Showing Stories 1 through 5 of 6.
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Showing 1 Clips.
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Surgery journal threatens ban for authors' hidden conflicts
Wall Street Journal
Jan. 5,
2006 -- With conflicts of interest increasingly casting doubt on the credibility of medical research, a leading surgery journal is cracking down on authors who fail to disclose links to industry, threatening to temporarily blacklist them.
The action comes as many medical journals struggle with the burgeoning links between researchers and industry.
One AtriCure study mentioned was written by at least two surgeons with financial ties to AtriCure that weren't disclosed in the journal. Richard Schuessler and Ralph Damiano reported that they were consultants to AtriCure and that the journal mistakenly failed to disclose those ties.
The study's medical findings were later challenged by doctors in England.
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Additional Background: Damiano is a pioneer in the development of robotically assisted heart surgery and minimally invasive bypass surgery. He performed the first robotically assisted coronary artery bypass procedure in North America in 1998. He also completed the world's first clinical trial for robotically assisted endoscopic coronary artery bypass grafting. In addition, he has been at the forefront of developments in beating heart surgery, which allows surgeons to perform bypass surgery while the heart is still beating instead of stopping the heart and diverting a patient's blood through a heart-lung bypass machine. He directs a training center for teaching surgeons beating heart surgery techniques. He also has received national and international recognition for his research on preserving donor hearts during transplant surgery and on minimally invasive surgical treatment of heart rhythm abnormalities.
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