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When it comes to heart health, Southwest Brooklyn has more than its share of troubles. In Sunset Park, the neighborhood surrounding �����о��� Langone Hospital—Brooklyn, 24 percent of residents are obese, 11 percent have diabetes, and 27 percent have high blood pressure, three of the greatest risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

As of January 2025, however, the hospital is now a fully equipped cardiac troubleshooter. �����о��� Langone Health has expanded its renowned cardiac surgical capabilities to �����о��� Langone Hospital—Brooklyn. Residents of the borough who require complex cardiac care and highly specialized procedures can now benefit from a full range of clinical services close to home.

The hospital’s cardiac surgery program was carefully crafted under the supervision of Mathew Williams, MD, chief of adult cardiac surgery, a renowned surgeon who was the first person to receive dual training in cardiac surgery and interventional cardiology. As co-director of �����о��� Langone Heart, which integrates a constellation of clinical services across the institution’s 7 inpatient locations and more than 70 adult cardiology and cardiac surgery practices, Dr. Williams has ensured that the Brooklyn program provides the same standard of cardiac care—from prevention to diagnosis, treatment, and recovery—available at our Manhattan and Long Island hospitals. “We have attained some of the nation’s highest success rates for treating an array of cardiovascular conditions,” he notes, “and the first cardiac surgery performed at �����о��� Langone Hospital—Brooklyn is a prime example.”

Zhenjin Chen, a 65-year-old resident of Sheepshead Bay, needed a coronary artery bypass graft, a procedure for which �����о��� Langone has earned a three-star rating—the highest possible—from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. He underwent open heart surgery on January 13 and was discharged three days later with no complications and the expectation of a normal life following his recovery.

The launch of a cardiac surgery program at �����о��� Langone Hospital—Brooklyn is welcome news to both Brooklynites and our health system. About one-third of �����о��� Langone’s patients live in New York City’s most populous and fastest-growing borough. Previously, Brooklyn residents requiring a coronary bypass or other advanced cardiac procedure had to travel to Manhattan, inconveniencing patients and their families. Now, they can be treated by �����о��� Langone’s top-tier clinicians without the burden of distant follow-up visits.

“Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States,” notes Bret Rudy, MD, executive vice president and chief of hospital operations at �����о��� Langone Hospital—Brooklyn. “Providing this type of advanced patient care in Sunset Park is an important step toward improving cardiovascular health in our community for years to come.”

In April, �����о��� Langone Hospital—Brooklyn proudly welcomed Noritsugu Naito, MD, its first chief of cardiac surgery. Dr. Naito earned his MD and PhD from the University of Tokyo and completed an advanced cardiac surgery fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital and a fellowship in structural heart and valve disease surgery at �����о��� Langone. Dr. Williams observed his protégé’s handiwork when Dr. Naito was a member of the from 2019 to 2023. He then returned to Japan, where he served as director of cardiovascular surgery at Shizuoka Medical Center for one year.

Now, Dr. Naito directs the cardiac surgery program under the guidance of his former mentor. “Because we’re essentially building this program from the ground up, we wanted a leader who is not only driven, but who also has the technical skills to back up that ambition,” says Dr. Williams. “Dr. Naito is a phenomenal surgeon with great outcomes.”

For all his mastery of the intricacies of cardiac surgery, Dr. Naito has lost none of his sense of wonder. “The first time I scrubbed in for an open heart surgery, I recall they stopped the heart for hours, opened the aorta to perfuse the organ, and then the heart started beating again,” he says. “I thought to myself, ‘Oh, what an organ!’ The heart contains a lot of mystery. I became a cardiac surgeon because this is a relatively young field, and there is still so much room for improvement.”

Dr. Naito’s passion and prowess are seen as critical to the success of �����о��� Langone’s vision for the new program, including plans to take on about 100 cases during the first year. “�����о��� Langone is known for innovative treatments, and Dr. Naito has trained in these,” explains Dr. Williams. “Ultimately, we’re going to perform advanced aortic, advanced transcatheter, and robot-assisted procedures—the same high-level expertise we offer in Manhattan and Long Island.”

Patients considered for cardiac surgery in Brooklyn will benefit from the institution’s vast and varied multidisciplinary expertise. When the risks and rewards of open heart surgery must be carefully weighed against those of a less-invasive intervention, such as coronary stenting, the case is evaluated by a team of experts representing each of �����о��� Langone’s three campuses. “The multidisciplinary heart team helps to ensure that patients are getting the right treatment plan,” says Michael Querijero, MSPA, health system director at �����о��� Langone Heart.

Beyond the benefits afforded to patients who require open heart surgery, the new program enhances other cardiac services, as well. For example, arrhythmia specialists in the cardiac electrophysiology laboratory previously could not perform procedures that risked severe bleeding, such as ablations to restore normal heart rhythms, because there was no specialized surgical team in place to deal with such complications.

“Whatever the procedure,” says Felix Yang, MD, director of cardiac electrophysiology at �����о��� Langone Hospital—Brooklyn, “patients who come to this hospital can rest assured that their hearts are in good hands.” The same is true for the cardiac catheterization laboratory, led by Atul Sharma, MD, director of interventional cardiology at �����о��� Langone Hospital—Brooklyn, which performs noninvasive cardiac testing, stenting, and emergency treatments for blocked arteries and heart attacks.

Elizabeth Douglas, RN, senior director of nursing, leads a team of a dozen nurses who were trained through simulation exercises to learn about complications that can arise during and after open-heart surgery and to ensure that patients are educated about home care. The OR nurses were assembled by Vidya Boodhram-Dayal, EdD, RN, senior director of perioperative services, who built a team from scratch to support the surgical program.

“These patients have a fixable disease,” notes Douglas. “We watch them go from fearful to confident and ready to start the next phase of their lives. It’s the mission and vision of �����о��� Langone come to life.”