Gates Vascular Institute

Cardiac Services

The dedicated heart specialists at Buffalo General Medical Center and the Gates Vascular Institute (BGMC/GVI) offer a full complement of advanced cardiac services to help patients regain their health to the greatest extent possible. Knowledgeable staffs will explain the treatmentoptions available and provide advice throughout diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation.

The most state-of-the-art technology and innovative diagnostic and treatment options are utilized in the care of patients. BGMC/GVI cardiac teams are actively involved in many national clinical trials and work tirelessly to discover new and better ways to treat the heart and bring those discoveries to patients.

In fact, Buffalo General Medical Center is the first facility in Western New York to perform the transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a minimally invasive procedure in which an artificial aortic heart valve is attached to a wire frame and guided through the femoral artery by catheter to the heart. 

Services include (but are not limited to) the following:

Cardiac Surgery Services

• Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery (whenever possible)
• Heart valve repair and replacement
• Internal cardioverter defibrillator placement
• Pacemaker and defibrillator implants
• Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) (on and  off pump) with endoscopic vein harvesting
• Transmyocardial laser revascularization
• Repair of adult congenital heart disease

Complex Cardiac Surgery

• Aortic dissection
• Excision of cardiac tumors
• Maze procedure and pulmonary vein isolation – for atrial fibrillation
• Multiple valves
• Septal myectomy for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
• Thoracic and thoracoabdominal aneurysm stents and repairs

Hybrid / Combined Cardiac Procedures

• Carotid stent and heart valve/CABG surgery
• Coronary stent and heart valve surgery
• Epicardial ablation
• Left atrial appendage ligation
• Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)

These following physicians perform these procedures:

Great Lakes Cardiovascular
(716) 859-7600
Janerio Aldridge, MD
Hashmat Ashraf, MD
Awad El-Ashry, MD
Gary Grosner, MD

Cardiac Services: Interventional Cardiology

Diagnostic coronary angiography

• Radial access >60%, significantly higher than national average
• FFR – Fractional Flow Reserve
• CFR – Coronary Flow Reserve

These following physicians perform these procedures:

Great Lakes Cardiovascular
(716) 710-8266
Michael Banas, MD
Ranjan Bhayana, MD
James Conley, MD
Eli Farhi, MD
Vijay Iyer, MD, PhD
William Morris, MD
Kishor Phadke, MD
Jeffrey Stahl, DO
Phillip Sullivan, MD
David Zlotnick, MD

Independent
Neil Dashkoff, MD
John Visco, MD

Percutaneous Cardiac Interventions

• Coronary artery angioplasty & stenting
• Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)
• Coronary atherectomy
• Coronary rotoblation
• Percutaneous left ventricular assist devices (LVAD)

These following physicians perform these procedures:

Cardiac Electrophysiology

• Electrophysiology diagnostic studies (EPS)
• Cardioversion of arrhythmias to normal heart rhythm
• Radio frequency ablations for atrial fibrillation
• Radio frequency ablation for SVT arrhythmias
• Radio frequency ablation for VT
• Cardiac mapping for atrial/ventricular arrhythmias
• Implantable cardioverter defibrillator placement
• Pacemaker insertion & lead changes – including biventricular pacemaker
• Loop recorder device implants
• Cryoablation

The following physicians perform these procedures:

Great Lakes Cardiovascular
(716) 710-8266
Hiroko Beck, MD
Ashish Bhatia,MD
Chee Kim, MD
Donald Switzer, MD 

Structural Heart interventions

• Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR)
• Atrial septal defect closure
• Ventricular septal defect closure
• Patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure
• Balloon aortic valvuloplasty
•  Mitral valve repair (mitraclip)
• WATCHMAN™

The following cardiologist also perform these procedures:

Great Lakes Cardiovascular
(716) 710-8266
Vijay Iyer, MD
William Morris, MD
Kishor V. Phadke, MD
David M. Zlotnick, MD

Other Vascular interventions

• Vascular stents
  • Renal
  • Iliac
  • Peripheral

The following physicians perform these procedures:

Great Lakes Cardiovascular
(716) 710-8266
David Zlotnick, MD

Cardiac Services: Non-Invasive Departments

To schedule:

Cardiac Services: Heart and Lung Center

Scheduling for all clinics:
(716) 859-7280

Tilt table test
(716) 859-7280