heart surgery

Thomas B. Ferguson, MD, professor emeritus of cardiothoracic surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, died Sunday, May 26, 2013, of complications following a heart valve procedure. He was 90.

This illustration of the Cox-Maze procedure shows the ablation lines in the left atrium.Heart surgeons at the School of Medicine 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.

This illustration of the Cox-Maze procedure shows the ablation lines in the left atrium.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…