News and Events

Find our current Cardiothoracic events and news stories below.

Lung Cancer Health Fair November 4th

Lung Health Fair Flyer

Cardiac Surgeons Issue ‘Call to Action’ to Improve CABG Outcomes in Women

One trial that may close the research gap is ROMA-WomenMario Gaudino, MD, PhD (Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY), one of the principal investigators, said that while there are observational data to support multiarterial grafting over a single arterial graft, this is being put to the test in a randomized trial in the 4,000-patient ROMA trial. Moreover, it remains possible the treatment effect may vary by sex. However, with only a minority of female patients (approximately 15%), ROMA, which has completed enrollment, would be unable to detect meaningful differences between men and women.

Given that concern, investigators took advantage of existing site infrastructure and launched ROMA-Women. Speaking in the EACTS session, Gaudino provided an update on the trial’s progress, noting it recently gained support from the Global Cardiovascular Research Funding Forum, an international consortium of funders for investigator-led multinational trials. To date, the trial has enrolled more than 200 out of a planned 1,300 patients—not including the roughly 700 female participants in ROMA who will be rolled into ROMA-Women—since the trial launched 3 months ago.

That pace of enrollment is “better than expected,” said Gaudino. “If we keep this pace, we can make this impossible trial possible.”

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Pulmonologists Diagnose a Rare Respiratory Condition and Save a Patient’s Life

Arlene Packles had a violent cough. It didn’t sound quite human. It was like a seal’s bark or a car engine in trouble. And a round of coughing could last for an entire hour. 

Packles’ illness began in 2020, just when the COVID-19 pandemic began its inexorable sweep across the country. A woman with a severe cough wasn’t unusual back then. The novel coronavirus—SARS-CoV-2—tended to push other respiratory conditions to the margins, at least at first. But there was another reason why it took a while for the 73-year-old from Bergen County, New Jersey, to find her way to a diagnosis

Tracheobronchomalacia (TBM) is under-recognized by the pulmonary community, says Dr. Eugene Shostak, an Assistant Professor of Interventional Pulmonology who co-directs Weill Cornell’s TBM program with Dr. Oliver Chow, an Assistant Attending Cardiothoracic Surgeon and Assistant Professor of Clinical Cardiothoracic Surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine. 

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Valley Health System Participates in First Cardiac Surgery Clinical Trial for Women

Valley Health System is pleased to participate in the ROMA: WOMEN clinical trial, the first cardiovascular surgery clinical trial in women. Valley recently enrolled its first two patients in the trial. Sponsored by Weill Medical College of Cornell University and The Starr Foundation, the trial is designed to determine which bypass graft type is more effective for women with coronary artery disease (CAD) who are undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) procedure. Click here to learn more about the article 

PCORI Awards $30 Million for a Comparative Study of Surgical Options for Coronary Artery Disease in Underrepresented Patient Populations

Dr. Mario Gaudino

A multi-institutional team of scientists led by Dr. Mario Gaudino, the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Professor in Cardiothoracic Surgery and assistant dean for clinical trials at Weill Cornell Medicine, has been approved for a nearly $30 million funding award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). The award will fund the first study among women and Black and Hispanic patients comparing the effectiveness of two revascularization options used to treat coronary artery disease.

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WCM Redefines Lung Cancer Treatment with Streamlined Diagnosis and Surgery

Dr. Eugene Shostak.    jonathan villena-vargas, thoracic surgery, lung cancer surgeon 

For patients diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer, the journey from detection to treatment has traditionally been a prolonged and intricate process. However, Weill Cornell Medicine has introduced an innovative approach that is streamlining the field of lung cancer care. Led by thoracic surgeon Dr. Jonathan Villena-Vargas and interventional pulmonologist Dr. Eugene Shostak, this innovative technique aims to simplify the diagnosis and surgical treatment of lung tumors, providing patients with a more efficient and effective healthcare experience.

The new combined procedure, offers a comprehensive and integrated approach to lung cancer management. By combining cutting-edge technology, unified anesthetic administration, and seamless diagnostic and surgical capabilities, patients now benefit from a rational pathway that consolidates multiple procedures into a single session.

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Doing More With Less in Lung Cancer Surgery

Patients with stage 1A non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who undergo surgery to remove a small portion of their lung have outcomes comparable to patients who have surgery removing an entire lobe, according to recent study results. Read More

Lung-Sparing Surgery Is Effective for Some with Early-Stage Lung Cancer

Nasser Altorki, MD

When lung cancer is found early, before it has spread beyond the lungs, people usually have surgery to remove the tumor. For more than 25 years, the standard of surgical care for such patients—even those with very small tumors—has been to remove the entire large section, or lobe, of the lung that contains the tumor. This is done to reduce the chances of the cancer coming back.

But some lung surgeons have suggested that certain patients may do just as well or even better with an operation to remove only part of the affected lobe.

Now, results of a large international clinical trial show that, for certain people with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), surgery to remove a piece of the affected lobe is as effective as surgery to remove the whole lobe.

Cardiac Surgical Complications: Strategic Analysis and Clinical Review

Cardiac Surgical Complications

Cardiac Surgical Complications: Strategic Analysis and Clinical Review provides a practically applicable guide on how to successfully resolve and mitigate potential complications in cardiac surgery. This book comprehensively reviews a selection of cases resulting from complications that can occur in cardiac surgical procedures. It details the science behind each potential complication along with a range of available strategies to rectify the issues, including those applicable to minimally invasive techniques.

Click here to learn more about Dr. Sandhya Balaram and Dr. Levi Bassin's new book. 

NY State Report 2017 - 2019

NY State Report from 2017 to 2019 Adult Cardiac surgery

Click here to learn more about the report

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