CLinical Volume
The combination of bountiful volume in every facet of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at Loyola, Christ, and the Hines VA Hospital imparts confidence and skill to our residents. This page will describe the variety of cases available at each site, but the bottom line is the experience reported by our most recent graduates to the ACGME in their final case logs, downloadable here:
| 2019_resident_a_acgme_final_case_log.pdf |
| 2019_resident_b_acgme_final_case_log.pdf |
| 2020_resident_a_acgme_final_case_log.pdf |
| 2020_resident_b_acgme_final_case_log.pdf |
| 2021_resident_a_acgme_final_case_log.pdf |
| 2021_resident_b_acgme_final_case_log.pdf |
| 2022_resident_a_acgme_final_case_log.pdf |
| 2022_resident_b_acgme_final_case_log.pdf |
| 2023_resident_a_acgme_final_case_log.pdf |
| 2023_resident_b_acgme_final_case_log.pdf |
| 2024_resident_a_acgme_final_case_log.pdf |
| 2024_resident_b_acgme_final_case_log.pdf |
| 2025_resident_a_acgme_final_case_log_copy.pdf |
| 2025_resident_b_acgme_final_case_log_copy.pdf |
This table summarizes the information that can be gleaned from a detailed examination of the case logs listed above.
Please note that this period covers the entirety of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that the impact of the pandemic on clinical workflow and bed occupancy did not have an appreciable impact on resident training volume.
Loyola Thoracic And ADULT CARDIOVASCULAR Surgery
Heart-Lung Bloc ready for Heart-Lung Transplant
A Third of the Way into a Commando Procedure
Flail No More
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With a very active heart and lung transplant program, as well as its regional leadership in advanced technology such as endovascular grafting, percutaneous valve implantation, and destination therapy circulatory support, Loyola performs cardiovascular and thoracic procedures far in excess of what can be staffed by our complement of categorical residents. This provides an environment where residents can involve themselves with those cases they believe will most benefit their education, while our surgical assistants cover the remainder. Similarly, our dedicated Cardiovascular and Thoracic Intensive Care Unit is staffed by Anesthesia residents who carry out the majority of the 'front-line' care with the oversight of our trainees, so that our Thoracic residents are freed to pursue their technical development while building their clinical management skills. On the wards and in clinic, our team of Nurse Clinicians and Physician Assistants effectively manage inpatient and outpatient care with resident involvement as necessary.
Loyola is a regional leader in thoracoabdominal aortic surgery, lung and heart transplantation, as well as mechanical circulatory support. A substantial amount of our volume is valvular. Since the time of the early Heartport experience, Loyola has been a leader in minimally invasive valvular surgery, with particular preeminence in advanced mitral repair, and valve sparing aortic root procedures. Our transcatheter aortic valve implantation experience includes both Medtronic CoreValve and Edward Sapien devices. Our Structural Heart work includes Aortic, Mitral, Tricuspid and Pulmonic Valves. We are a regional referral center for complex reconstructive surgery for endocarditis. Revascularization on pump and off pump, traditional sternotomy and minimally invasive with or without hybrid approaches, multiple arterial grafts: the resident will experience the full spectrum of coronary work. Our strength in mechanical circulatory support allows us to offer surgery to those with extremely low ejection fractions with the use of Impella 5.5. We apply a comprehensive set of tools to the treatment of atrial fibrillation. Bi-atrial Maze procedures, and closed left-sided lesion sets in combination with our valve and coronary surgery, or minimally invasive stand-alone approaches such as the Convergent procedure in collaboration with our electrophysiology colleagues. Mechanical support with extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation, alone or in combination with other devices, is applied to patients in cardiogenic shock, respiratory failure, either as bridge to recovery or to advanced support and transplantation. 
Dr. Schwartz assists Second Year Dr. Joohee Son
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Loyola Thoracic Surgery
Loyola Thoracic Surgery has always drawn complex patients from around the Midwest, as has the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, which offers our patients close coordination of our care with multi-disciplinary oncology teams. Under the leadership of Dr. Zaid Abdelsattar, Division Chief, and Dr. Lubawski, Departmental Vice Chair, Loyola is establishing regional leadership in Robot Assisted Thoracic Surgery, including Foregut Surgery, closely integrated with advanced interventional Pulmonology and Gastroenterology techniques. The Thoracic Section also features a very busy lung transplant service, as well as extensive experience with mechanical circulatory support for respiratory insufficiency. Dr. Abdelsattar applies robotic surgery skills learned at the Mayo Clinic to the full spectrum of thoracic disease at Loyola and the Hines VA Hospital. Dr. Raad is very experienced in robot assisted thoracic surgery, and divides his time between Loyola and Lutheran General Hospital. Dr. Coughlin has joined their practice after her time at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, with special interests in Robotic Surgery and surgery for the treatment of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. She sees patients at both Loyola and Lutheran General Hospital.
Our Thoracic surgeons perform 90 percent of procedures using robotic techniques, and harness numerous adjuncts to facilitate both minimally invasive and open procedures. These include Augmented Reality, Fluorescent Imaging, Robotic Bronchoscopy, and Cytalux localization.
Video files of some representative procedures that have been presented at national fora can be found here.
Our Thoracic surgeons perform 90 percent of procedures using robotic techniques, and harness numerous adjuncts to facilitate both minimally invasive and open procedures. These include Augmented Reality, Fluorescent Imaging, Robotic Bronchoscopy, and Cytalux localization.
Video files of some representative procedures that have been presented at national fora can be found here.
Hines VA Hospital Cardiothoracic Surgery
 Robotic Lung Procedure at the Hines VA Hospital
The Hines VA Hospital, physically contiguous with Loyola University Medical Center, is an invaluable training site for the residency program, and a favorite rotation for our residents, both for the opportunity to care for our nation's veterans, and for the chance to "put together" what they have learned about technique, clinical decision making, and practice management in an environment where they are allowed carefully supervised autonomy. The recently renovated operating rooms, intensive care units, and wards handle complex cases, including minimally invasive procedures, referred from throughout VISN 12. The Hines VA service screens about 450 patients per quarter. Hines VA has three DaVinci Robotic operating rooms, two Xi and one Si platforms.
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Cytalux Visualization at the Hines VA
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Thoracic Resident at the DaVinci Console
Congenital Cardiothoracic Surgery
Though some congenital cardiothoracic cases are performed at Loyola, the vast majority of the resident experience in this field is acquired at Christ Hospital, where Dr. Vricella's team tackles the full spectrum of complex repairs of congenital malformations. Residents are typically extremely satisfied with the technical education they receive from our faculty there, As American Board of Thoracic Surgery case requirements are easily satisfied in a one month rotation, at the request of our residents, and in alignment with other traditional track programs, this rotation block has been changed to one month duration, with the other two months of the block assigned to Thoracic Surgery at Loyola.
