Every year, says the Centers for Disease Control, more than 1 million Americans die from heart disease and cancer.
At the Indian River Medical Center, thoracic surgeons Cary Stowe and Mark Malias are taking on both those killers.
Dr. Stowe, the cardiovascular surgery director for Vero Beach’s heart valve center, is ranked in the top 1 percent of all cardiovascular surgeons in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. His equally accomplished partner, Dr. Malias, is a consulting surgical associate for the Duke University Medical Center.
Together they’ve turned their skillful hands to battling cancer as well as heart disease.
In a late 2015 report, the CDC cited 611,105 deaths from heart disease and 584,881 cancer deaths. Together that’s nearly half of all deaths in the United States each year, which makes fighting both diseases a top national priority.
Malias and Stowe have heard the call.
Stowe came to IRMC from Orlando in 2006 to start the Heart Center here. Malias, a Princeton, Louisville and University of Florida product, joined him and together they have performed close to 10,000 heart procedures and 500-plus cancer surgeries.
“Lung cancers,” according to Malias, “make up the vast majority of the cancer operations.”
Despite the recent completion of the adjacent Scully-Welsh cancer center, Malias points out that, “all of the major operations are done at IRMC. Most of the outpatient cancer treatments are delivered at Scully Welsh, but the in-patient procedures are done at the hospital.”
That’s not surprising given the cost and sheer bulk of the da Vinci robotic surgical equipment Malias favors.
(The da Vinci system consists of three separate units: a surgeon’s control console; an image processing console; and the surgical section with four long and carefully calibrated mechanical arms.)
There are, according to Malias, similarities and differences between heart and cancer procedures.
“What is the same,” Malias explains, “is it is still a person. It is someone’s loved one and you are entrusted to take care of them as if they were your own family member.”
“What is different is the type of procedure we are doing. Lung surgery is very different than heart surgery. Heart surgery is operating on a beating heart and we have to support (the patient) while we stop the heart to work on it.
“In lung surgery, we deflate the lung that we are operating on and rely on the opposite side lung to keep the patient alive. It is a little different. We are not dependent upon an extracorporeal machine (a blood pump), to keep the patient alive while we operate so there is a little less pressure on us from a time standpoint.”
Asked if there are different qualifications and certifications required to perform heart and cancer surgeries, the affable Malias is quick to respond.
“Sure,” he says, “There are different qualifications but certification is another issue. Certification is really rendered from the American College of Surgeons or the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. Once you are a board-certified thoracic surgeon, you have proved your competency,” for both.
Malias pauses and then adds, “During my training you had to become a board certified general surgeon before you were allowed to go into cardiac surgery.”
Still wearing a surgical cap and scrubs from a just-completed procedure, Malias continues: “Hospitals provide privileges for doing different types of operations and you have to get those privileges. There is different training required, but no (additional) certifications.”
Malias, who boasts a perfect five-star patient satisfaction rating on ucomparehealthcare.com, vitals.com and healthgrades.com, talks enthusiastically about his work in lung cancer but, if pressed, will admit to having an ever-so-slight preference for heart procedures.
“I’m a glorified plumber,” Malias deadpans, “so micro-valve (heart) repair is my favorite operation. It’s what I have spent my life training to do.”
Malias’ already high-energy enthusiasm kicks into overdrive when IRMC’s upcoming TAVR or “trans-catheter aortic valve replacement” heart program is mentioned.
“We are really excited to kick off our TAVR program and that will be sometime this summer. I have been very excited about that.
“Dr. Stowe and I will (be able to) do the entire operation in about 30 minutes, which we believe will drastically minimize the inflammation and trauma that the patient has to go through and recover from.”
In the fields of both heart and cancer surgery Malias sees more big changes and even more impressive results just ahead.
“We are on the horizon of great changes in medicine. It’s an exciting time. I see a lot of promise coming down the road for heart surgery. The same for lung surgery,” Malias says. “The big area of advancements in lung cancer is going to be in the genetic markers and the genetic manipulation of tumors.”
That, Malias admits, “is truly outside the surgical realm,” but that’s just fine with this self-professed “glorified plumber” who, along with Stowe, is proud of the double duty they’ve taken on helping fight both cancer and heart disease in Vero Beach.
Both Dr. Mark Malias and Dr. Cary Stowe are with Cardiovascular Surgical Services at 1040 37th Place, Suite 101 in Vero Beach. The phone number is 772-563-4580.
