New Vascular Surgery Department Launches

Building on one of the area’s premiere cardiothoracic programs, Deborah Heart and Lung Center is pleased to announce the institution of a comprehensive vascular surgery department, with the addition of the hospital’s first full-time vascular surgeon Dr. Gabor Winkler. Dr. Winkler brings to the program a wealth of clinical experience developed while starting an endovascular program at Virtua Memorial Hospital, and cutting-edge training in both open vascular surgery and minimally-invasive percutaneous and catheter-driven interventions learned at Pennsylvania Hospital, one of the leading programs blending the two approaches to vascular disease.

Deborah’s new, comprehensive, vascular program offers convenient, “one-stop” shopping for patients with advancing atherosclerosis and its concurrent symptoms. Here at the hospital’s non-invasive vascular laboratory, which was the first in South Jersey to have received national certification from the Inter-Societal Commission for the Accreditation of Vascular Labs (ICAVL), patients first receive comprehensive screening services. According to Dr. Winkler, since two-thirds of patients experiencing vascular problems often have undiagnosed cardiac or pulmonary problems, the hospital’s interlinked departments offer an opportunity to get the whole picture of the patient’s condition. “When they come to see us for vascular problems,” he said “we make sure they get a full assessment so we don’t treat the symptoms piecemeal.”

The vascular evaluation looks at the four traditional risk factors leading to systemic disease: high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, and high cholesterol, as well as two additional areas: renal failure and aortic aneurysms. A recently established South Jersey Aortic Program at Deborah deals with the gamut of aortic conditions. With no comparable program in the area, patients have a convenient alternative to traveling to Philadelphia for care.

“This particular aspect of the program is important because here we can provide the necessary vascular and cardiothoracic surgical expertise, cardiac anesthesia, intensive-care medicine, as well as cardiologic and pulmonary expertise,” noted Winkler.

“Deborah has always offered superb cardiovascular care and the vascular surgery program continues this comprehensive and collaborative philosophy. We have the size and experience to treat complex patients and now have broadened that commitment.”™