An exciting addition to the cardiovascular operating rooms is the Stryker Communications System. Video cameras throughout the O.R. capture real-time video of surgeries in process. Displayed on flat panel monitors strategically placed throughout the room, every member of the surgical team can view the procedure from the same perspective, helping them anticipate the surgeon's next moves. 

Saint Agnes was the first cardiac surgery program on the West Coast to utilize the da Vinci Surgical Robotic System to harvest an internal mammary artery (IMA) for a patient undergoing a minimally invasive coronary bypass surgery.

The patient was able to leave the hospital within 36 hours and return to work the following week. Saint Agnes was the only Valley hospital invited to participate in an FDA approved da Vinci Surgical Myocardial Revascularization Trial for single coronary bypass procedures.

Saint Agnes was also the third hospital in the U.S. and the first hospital on the West Coast to perform a Total Endoscopic Coronary Artery Bypass operation (TECAB) using the daVinci surgical robot. 

Saint Agnes heart patients have another option in the treatment of clogged coronary arteries – drug-eluting stents. The tiny metal stent is coated with a drug, which is absorbed inside the vessel over several weeks after implantation.

The drug-coated stent, inserted during an invasive angioplasty procedure, has demonstrated positive clinical results in eliminating tissue re-growth inside the artery, which can lead to re-blockage (restenosis) and potential repeat procedures.