DEBORAH launches new vascular surgery division

Building on one of the area’s premier cardiothoracic programs, Deborah Heart and Lung Center has instituted a comprehensive vascular surgery division by adding the hospital’s first full-time vascular surgeon, Gabor Winkler, M.D. Dr. Winkler brings to the program a wealth of clinical experience developed while starting an endovascular program at Virtua Memorial Hospital. He acquired his cutting-edge training in open vascular surgery and minimally invasive percutaneous and catheter-driven interventions at Pennsylvania Hospital, one of the leading programs blending the two approaches to vascular disease.

The new, comprehensive vascular program offers convenient, "one-stop shopping" for patients with advancing atherosclerosis and its symptoms. At the hospital’s noninvasive vascular laboratory—the first in South Jersey to receive national certification from the Inter-Societal Commission for the Accreditation of Vascular Labs—patients undergo a comprehensive screening. As two-thirds of patients experiencing vascular difficulties often have undiagnosed cardiac or pulmonary problems, the hospital’s interlinked departments offer an opportunity to obtain the whole picture of the patient’s condition instead of looking at symptoms piecemeal.

The vascular evaluation reviews 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 addresses the gamut of aortic conditions, giving patients a convenient alternative to traveling to Philadelphia for care.

"This particular aspect of the program is important because we can provide the necessary vascular and cardiothoracic surgical expertise, cardiac anesthesia and intensive-care medicine as well as cardiologic and pulmonary expertise," says Dr. 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 we’ve broadened that commitment."