Wake Forest Baptist Health’s hybrid vascular and cardiac catheterization lab combines sophisticated imaging technology with surgical suite capabilities to offer advanced therapies for your heart and vascular conditions.

Wake Forest Baptist was the first medical center in the Piedmont region offering a hybrid catheterization-surgery lab.

A hybrid lab is not just a catheterization lab and not just an operating room. The lab is equipped with the lighting, sterile field and anesthesia capabilities required for open-heart surgeries coupled with the sophisticated imaging technology to support the most advanced percutaneous cardiovascular interventions.

The lab creates an opportunity for a cardiovascular surgeon and interventional cardiologist to perform collaborative procedures on patients during a single procedure, reducing the need for multiple surgeries.

Examples of hybrid vascular and cardiac catheterization lab procedures include:

  • Valve repair with coronary artery bypass graft (CABG)
  • Percutaneous valve procedures
  • Endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR)
  • Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR)
  • Hybrid peripheral vascular disease procedures

The hybrid vascular and cardiac catheterization lab is the culmination of 20 years of advancements in surgical techniques and technologies. “We are constantly striving for minimally invasive or less invasive surgery, more safety, and more integration and efficiency. This lab represents those efforts,” said Renato Santos, MD.

The Vascular and Cardiac Catheterization Lab Team

One of the advantages of the hybrid room is that it’s built specifically for multi-disciplinary interactions. Your team may include cardiovascular surgeons, interventional cardiologists, anesthesiologists, nurses and technicians.