Opened in 1984, the cardiac surgery center at Hôpital de La Tour has expanded significantly since then. This success is due to the expertise of its physicians and its integration into a comprehensive, multidisciplinary patient care pathway. Starting in the emergency department—open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week—specialists are on hand to provide initial care and refer patients to the appropriate cardiologists and cardiac surgeons, making it possible to treat the vast majority of cardiovascular conditions within the facility. Intermediate care, intensive care, specialized anesthesiologists, and rehabilitation programs further complement these capabilities.
To further improve efficiency, Hôpital de La Tour is now consolidating the activities of its cardiac and vascular surgeons into a single, fully integrated department, with the aim of further enhancing synergies for the benefit of patients. The surgeons who established this program all specialize in their respective fields, including coronary artery bypass grafting, video-assisted surgery, aortic valve reconstruction, mitral valve repair, and the management of aortic aneurysms, collectively covering a broad range of expertise.
In line with the development of its Heart Team—which already facilitated the discussion of all cases in multidisciplinary meetings involving cardiologists, surgeons, anesthesiologists, and intensivists from Hôpital de La Tour as well as private practitioners—this trend toward pooling expertise in cardiovascular surgery has emerged naturally in recent years.
According to Rodolphe Eurin, CEO of Hôpital de La Tour: “During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hôpital de La Tour provided significant support to the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) by admitting all patients with cardiovascular disease from the canton, as well as welcoming HUG surgeons into its operating rooms. This period provided an opportunity to engage with our colleagues at the public hospital and explore new avenues for the future. It seemed obvious to us that we should continue to improve our operations by strengthening dialogue not only with our partners but also, above all, among our specialists to ensure patients receive the highest possible quality of care.”
Behind the new unit are specialists with complementary expertise
Dr. Patrick Myers, internationally recognized as Secretary General of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS) and past Secretary of the European Board of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, is a specialist in adult cardiac surgery and all-arterial coronary artery bypass grafting, and collaborates with interventional cardiologists at Hôpital de La Tour on structural cardiac interventions (TAVI) and alternative approaches for these procedures.
PD Dr. med. Aristotelis Panos specializes in particular in mitral and cardiac valve repair and thoracic aortic surgery. He is a pioneer and instructor in the field of minimally invasive and video-assisted cardiac surgery at the European level, having performed several hundred procedures in this field. He performed the first robotic mitral valve repair (2008) and the first robotic coronary artery bypass surgery in Switzerland (2011).
Dr. Gino Gemayel, a specialist in vascular surgery, is renowned for his management of complex aortic aneurysms and his expertise in the implantation of fenestrated and branched aortic endoprostheses, a procedure he was the first in Geneva to perform starting in 2017.
Dr. Gregory Khatchatourov is an expert in, among other things, complex aortic valve reconstruction (Ozaki procedure), mitral valve repair, and on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting with a preference for arterial grafts.