Lakeland Regional Health Performs First-of-its-Kind Cardiovascular Procedure in Florida
The Floridant/10352558

LAKELAND, Fla. - Floridant -- LAKELAND, Fla. – Lakeland Regional Health has achieved a major milestone in cardiovascular care, becoming the first hospital in Florida to perform a highly specialized procedure using a customized medical device to repair a complex section of the body's largest artery without traditional open-chest surgery.

In October, a team of cardiovascular surgeons and interventional radiology specialists performed Florida's first physician-modified endograft total aortic repair using the GORE TAG Thoracic Branch Endoprosthesis (TBE) with a fully percutaneous, pre-cannulated technique.

Rather than opening the patient's chest, physicians customized a specialized stent graft, a fabric-covered tube designed to reinforce the artery from within. The team created two precisely positioned openings in the device to maintain blood flow to all three major arteries. The repair was performed through small needle punctures, avoiding the need for traditional open surgery.

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"This procedure allows us to offer patients with complex aortic conditions a treatment option without traditional open surgery," said Dr. Mohammed Hassan, a cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon at Lakeland Regional Health. "For eligible patients, that can mean less blood loss, a shorter hospital stay and a faster recovery. It's especially significant for high-risk patients who may not have otherwise been candidates for surgery."

The procedure required extensive planning, technical precision and close collaboration among cardiovascular surgeons, interventional radiologists, nurses, technologists and other clinical team members.

For patients facing complex aortic conditions, the ability to perform highly specialized, minimally invasive procedures may expand treatment options, particularly for those considered at higher risk for traditional open surgery.

This achievement represents an important advancement in Lakeland Regional Health's cardiovascular capabilities and reinforces its commitment to bringing sophisticated, specialized care to patients in Polk County and surrounding communities.

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About Lakeland Regional Health

Not-for-profit Lakeland Regional Health (http://mylrh.org/) reaches beyond its hospital walls to promote wellness, education, and discovery in new places and new ways, providing a wide range of inpatient and outpatient healthcare services at its Medical Center, Tampa General Cancer Institute | Lakeland Regional Health Hollis Cancer Center, and ambulatory care locations. Lakeland Regional Health earned Most Wired Advanced and Most Wired status 12 times since 2013 and has earned workplace awards from Forbes, Gallup, and Becker's Hospital Review. Its 910-bed comprehensive tertiary referral hospital, Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center, operates the Jack and Tina Harrell Family Institute for Advanced Cardiovascular Medicine; a Level I Trauma Center; the Carol Jenkins Barnett Pavilion for Women and Children, which includes a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit; the Bannasch Institute for Advanced Rehabilitation Medicine; and the Harrell Family Center for Behavioral Wellness.