Mercy Medical Center begins open heart surgery program

Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids successfully completed its first open heart surgery last week.

A Marion man in his mid-60s underwent coronary artery bypass grafting at Mercy on Wednesday, Nov. 1. The surgery was performed by Dr. C.C. Lee.

Since obtaining approval by the State Health Facilities Council in November 2016, Dr. Lee and Mercy’s staff have been working diligently to bring this service on board; the next step in Mercy’s award-winning heart program.

“We have a long history of providing advanced and high-quality heart care,” said Tim Charles, Mercy’s president and CEO. “Open heart surgery was the next step to ensure we could meet the growing need in the community and provide more timely access to life-saving care.”

Dr. Lee joined Mercy in June of 2017 after developing open heart surgery programs at two previous locations in his career. Most recently, Dr. Lee was lead cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon at the Eastern Division of Marshfield Clinic in Wausau, Wisconsin. He launched an open heart program in Weston, Wisconsin, immediately developing the program into one that achieved stellar marks for quality measurements that far surpass national averages. His background includes education and training from Medical College of Virginia, George Washington University Hospitals, Harvard Medical School/Brigham & Women’s Hospital, and University of Buffalo Hospitals.

“I am very pleased to say the procedure went as expected and the patient is doing well and recovering nicely,” said Dr. Lee. “This is the third time I’ve led the development of an open heart surgery program, and it is always a proud moment to see the hard work of so many staff members come to life with such a complex procedure. We have a strong and experienced team, and I’m pleased to join them in making a profound difference in someone’s life.”

Mercy already treats the most heart patients from Linn County and this extension of its surgical program was the last critical step.