News and Events

Find our current Cardiothoracic events and news stories below.

Cardiac Surgical Complications: Strategic Analysis and Clinical Review

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

Click here to learn more about the report

Scientists Detail Major Mechanism Lung Cancers Use to Evade Immune Attack

A protein commonly found at high levels in lung cancer cells controls a major immunosuppressive pathway that allows lung tumors to evade immune attack, according to a study led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine. The discovery could hasten the development of treatments that overcome this tumor defense mechanism and improve outcomes for lung cancer patients. Click here to learn more about the article.

Upcoming Event: WCM’s First Benign Airway Disease Symposium

Airway Disease Symposium

For additional information and registration, please visit the Airway Disease Symposium website.

Surgical Mitral Repair or Mitral Clip for Degenerative Mitral Valve Regurgitation?

We are enrolling in this NIH sponsored trial investigating surgical mitral valve repair versus mitral clip in patients 65 years old or older, of any risk status. Patients suitable for surgery or clip are randomized to the procedure, and will be followed for 10 years.

From Clinical Trials.gov: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05051033

Click here to learn more about the article.

Dr. Sandhya K. Balaram Named Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital

Dr. Sandhya K. Balaram, a leading adult cardiac surgeon in New York City, has been named chief of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, effective Nov. 15. She was also recruited to Weill Cornell Medicine as an associate professor of clinical cardiothoracic surgery.

“I’m thrilled to be joining NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital and Weill Cornell Medicine and look forward to the opportunity to further grow the cardiothoracic surgery program in Brooklyn,” said Dr. Balaram. “I am excited to be working with this talented team to provide excellent clinical outcomes and personalized care to patients in need in Brooklyn and beyond.” Read More

Reducing Copper in the Body Alters Cancer Metabolism to Reduce Risk of Aggressive Breast Cancer

Transmission electron microscopy images showing TM-mediated changes in the cristae (arrow) inside the mitochondria of cancer cells, which contribute to cellular metabolism. Image courtesy of Dr. Divya Ramchandani, Juan Pablo Jimenez and Leona Cohen-Gould.

Depleting copper levels may reduce the production of energy that cancer cells need to travel and establish themselves in other parts of the body by a process referred to as metastasis, according to a new study by investigators from Weill Cornell Medicine and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). The discovery of the underlying mechanisms of how copper depletion may help reduce metastasis in breast cancer will help inform the design of future clinical trials.

In a series of research papers from 2013 to 2021, Weill Cornell Medicine researchers showed that in a phase II clinical trial when patients who had high-risk triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) were treated with a drug that lowers the levels of copper in their bodies, it prolonged the period of time before their cancer recurred and spread or metastasized. In the current study, published Dec. 15 in Nature Communications, and led by first author Divya Ramchandani, a research associate in Cardiothoracic Surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine, the investigators used animal models to take a closer look at why that was the case. Click here to read the full article.

Simple Surgical Technique Associated with Significant Reduction in the Risk of Atrial Fibrillation After Cardiac Surgery

Dr. Mario Gaudino

A simple surgical technique during cardiac surgery was associated with a 56 percent reduction in the incidence of an irregular heart rhythm known as atrial fibrillation that can lead to stroke, with no added risks or side effects, according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian investigators. The findings suggest that the method, called posterior left pericardiotomy, has significant potential for preventing prolonged hospital stays and the need for additional interventions and drugs to reduce the risk of strokes and heart failure associated with atrial fibrillation.

The study evaluated whether a posterior left pericardiotomy, a slit in the backside of the sac around the heart to drain excess fluid, could help prevent atrial fibrillation in patients who underwent cardiac surgeries. The randomized controlled trial was published Nov. 14 in The Lancet. Click here to read the full article.

Healthgrades specialty hospital rankings

Healthgrades rates NewYork-Presbtyerian and Weill Cornell as America's 50 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Surgery Award. Superior Clinical Outcomes in Heart Bypass and Heart Valve Surgery.

Healthgrades rates NewYork-Presbtyerian and Weill Cornell as America's 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care Award. Superior Clinical Outcomes in Heart Bypass, coronary interventional procedures, heart attack treatment, heart failure treatment, and heart valve surgery

Scientists Find a New Way to Reverse Immune Suppression in Tumors

Drs. Vivek Mittal (left) and Dingcheng Gao

Malignant tumors can enhance their ability to survive and spread by suppressing antitumor immune cells in their vicinity, but a study led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian has uncovered a new way to counter this immunosuppressive effect.

In the study, published Sept. 20 in Nature Cancer, the researchers identified a set of anti-immunosuppressive factors that can be secreted by cells called club cells that line airways in the lungs. They showed in a mouse model of lung cancer that these club cell factors inhibit highly potent immunosuppressive cells called myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), which tumors often recruit to help them evade antitumor immune responses.

The inhibition of the MDSCs led to an increase in the number of antitumor T cells at the tumor site, and greatly improved the effectiveness of FDA approved PD1 immunotherapy.

“These club cell-secreted factors are able to nullify immune suppressor cells that otherwise help tumors escape an effective antitumor response,” said co-senior author Dr. Vivek Mittal, director of research at the Neuberger Berman Lung Cancer Center and the Ford-Isom Research Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine. “We’re excited by the possibility of developing these club cell factors into a cancer treatment.” Click Here to read the full article.