Written by Michelle Abt | Photographed by Peter Cooper
Since 2016 the cardiac specialists from Torrance Memorial and Cedars-Sinai
have been working together to bring outstanding cardiovascular care to
the residents of the South Bay community. Now Torrance Memorial and Cedars-Sinai
are pleased to announce a further extension of that partnership: Cedars-Sinai
cardiothoracic surgeons will practice alongside our already exceptional
surgical team to provide the latest and best cardiac surgery options to
our patients, right here in the South Bay.
This partnership is a welcome expansion of the Torrance Memorial Lundquist
Lurie Cardiovascular Institute’s Cardiothoracic Surgery Program
and is made possible with the addition to Torrance Memorial’s medical
staff of respected Cedars-Sinai surgeons Wen Cheng, MD, Joshua Suah Chung,
MD, Dominic Anthony Emerson, MD, Fardad Esmailian, MD, Dominick J Megna,
MD, Danny Ramzy, MD, Aamir Sayeed Shah, MD and Alfredo Trento, MD. The
Cedars-Sinai surgeons will join Torrance Memorial lead by cardiothoracic
surgeon John M. Stoneburner, MD.
The addition of Dr. Shah strengthens the existing Torrance Memorial heart
surgery program by providing further expertise in a variety of procedures
such as complex valve repair and replacement, coronary artery bypass grafting,
aortic root and arch surgery, surgical treatment of arrhythmias and percutaneous
heart valve therapy.
While these procedures, as well as diagnostics and treatment, have always
been available at the medical center, the addition of Dr. Shah to the
surgical team will allow for the growth and expansion of the program in
the South Bay. Explains Dr. Shah: “Cedars-Sinai has one of the top
cardiothoracic programs in the country, and we see a very high volume
of patients. Our goal is to bring our experience and expertise to Torrance
Memorial, partnering with their physicians to make more of these services
available to patients at the Torrance Memorial campus.”
“This partnership builds on what is already an excellent program
at Torrance Memorial and a strong relationship between the two medical
centers,” says Craig Leach, president/CEO of Torrance Memorial Medical
Center. “By working together we add important resources to our program,
and that additional surgical coverage will ensure that community members
have a highly skilled team available in an emergency, able to treat highly
complicated cases of heart disease and structural heart defects.”
Mark Lurie, MD, medical director of the Lundquist Lurie Cardiovascular
Institute, is looking forward to taking the Cedars-Sinai partnership to
the next level. “The Cedars-Sinai relationship has been extremely
productive in terms of providing enhanced cardiovascular care for our
patients at Torrance Memorial," Dr. Lurie says. "Adding extra
surgical resources means even better access for our patients without having
to travel out of the South Bay. It’s a win for our program and a
win for the community.”