January 14 2022 – Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center reported that it is the first hospital in the state of Florida to now offer the new LARIAT/Convergent Hybrid AF™ procedure for patients who have atrial fibrillation, or A-Fib. This technique combines left atrial appendage closure with the LARIAT and the Convergent procedure to ablate both the inside and outside part of the heart tissue causing A-Fib. This gives patients a better chance of curing their A-Fib, and reduce their risk of stroke. Dr. Nishant Patel and Dr. Matthew Kolek were the first two physicians to perform this type of procedure.
“1 in 4 adults over the age of 40 will develop A-Fib in their lifetime, but this new hybrid procedure is now giving people an opportunity to no longer suffer with this disease and be able to resume their daily activities,” said Dr. Nishant Patel cardiothoracic surgeon on staff at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center. “This hospital is at the forefront of new procedures for cardiac care, and our community has access to them right here in our backyard.”
Unlike traditional surgical treatments, the LARIAT procedure is completed through small punctures in the skin, so in addition to less pain, the patient benefits from a shorter recovery time and less risk of complications.
The Convergent procedure effectively treats patients with chronic atrial fibrillation. It utilizes radiofrequency to block irregular electrical signals by producing lesions, or scar tissue, on the heart.
“As the first hospital in Florida to combine these two procedures, Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, is invested in making sure patients in our community have access to the very best, and most sophisticated cardiac treatment in the state,” said Dr. Matthew Kolek, electrophysiologist on staff at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center. “As one of just a handful of centers performing this new procedure, this treatment will give people, who in the past have had unsuccessful A-Fib therapies, a new lease on life, and reduce their chance of suffering a stroke.”
As the first hospital in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast to perform open-heart surgery, we continue to be at the forefront when it comes to being the first hospital performing cardiac procedures and the most experienced.
- More than 100,000 cardiac catheterizations
- Over 19,000 open heart surgeries
- Over 700 TAVR’s
- Over 275 Mitraclips
- Over 50 convergent procedures
- Nearly 300 Watchman procedures
For more information about our services, go to www.pbgmc.com or call 561-622-1411.
About Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center:
Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center is a 199-bed acute care hospital serving the medical and healthcare needs of Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast for over 50 years. The hospital was the first in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast to perform open-heart surgery and has since remained one of the area’s leading heart hospitals, having performed over 19,000 open-heart surgeries and more than 100,000 cardiac catheterizations to date.
Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center offers comprehensive cardiac care and advanced minimally-invasive procedures including Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR), MitraClip, and Watchman. The hospital is the first in Palm Beach, Broward and Martin County to adopt the minimally invasive convergent approach to treat patients with atrial fibrillation. The hospital’s outpatient cardiac rehabilitation program is designed for people recovering from a heart attack, coronary bypass or valve surgery, and angioplasty or stent procedures.
Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center offers advanced orthopedic care to our community. Some of the services offered include: total joint replacements for hip, knee and shoulder, sports medicine, arthroscopy, podiatry, fracture management and inpatient/outpatient rehabilitation. In 2021, Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center utilized the CORI robotic-assisted surgical system to perform knee replacements.
Additional services include an Advanced Certified Primary Stroke Center, diagnostic imaging, general and robotic surgery, an Epilepsy Program and 24-hour emergency care. Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center’s Emergency Department offers all private rooms and is equipped with technology to help increase patient comfort, reduce wait times and provide up-to-the-minute patient status, as well as immediate access to film-based radiological images, interpretations and related data. The hospital’s Epilepsy Program is the first of its kind in Palm Beach County to have a dedicated Epilepsy Monitoring Unit that is equipped with long-term video monitoring, a specialized form of an EEG for patients who suffer from seizures. The hospital acquired the da Vinci Xi Robotic Surgical System which can be used across a spectrum of minimally-invasive procedures such as cardiovascular, colorectal, general surgery, gynecology, urology and more.
The hospital was the recipient of the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines – Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award with Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus from 2015 – 2021, and also was named a High Performance Hospital for COPD and stroke in U.S. News and World Report’s 2021-2022 Best Hospitals. Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center was also named as the best heart center in Palm County from the Palm Beach Post 2020 Best of Palm Beach County Awards. For more information or for a complimentary physician referral, please call (833)-619-8831 or visit www.pbgmc.com.
