NEWARK, NJ – The renowned
heart transplant team at Newark Beth Israel Medical
Center, an affiliate of the Saint Barnabas Health
Care System, recently performed its 500th heart
transplant. Over nearly two decades, the Heart
Failure Treatment and Transplant Program has brought
the benefits of cutting edge treatment options,
cardiac research and the highest level of care
to residents of the tri-state area.
 Since New Jersey’s
first heart transplant was performed at Newark
Beth Israel, the Heart Failure Treatment and Transplant
Program has evolved into one of the nation’s
most active and respected centers. The experienced
multidisciplinary team has worked together under
the leadership of Mark J. Zucker, MD, JD, for nearly
20 years. A comprehensive approach to care,
special attention to every detail and ongoing support
for recipients and families distinguish the program.
“Dr.
Zucker and his team have developed a heart transplant
program that rivals that of any of the premier
heart centers in the country. They excel in the
critical factors established by The United Network
for Organ Sharing, our nation’s organ donation
and procurement governing body," said Ronald
J. Del Mauro, President and Chief Executive Office of Saint Barnabas Health Care
System.
Among the factors are the number of transplant
surgeries performed at the institution, the graft
survival rates, and the general feeling of confidence
a patient gains from the transplant team. Newark
Beth Israel's program has achieved long- and short-term
graft survival rates that consistently exceed national
averages and ranks among the nations’ top programs by volume.
Aggressive in the treatment
of end-stage organ disease and known across the
country as strong advocates for transplant candidates,
the Heart Failure Treatment and Transplant Program
offers treatment not available elsewhere. The team’s
experience has made it a principal site for numerous clinical research trials
that offer people diagnosed with heart failure or end-stage heart disease the
benefit of cutting-edge therapies. Newark Beth Israel was the first to
introduce the use of left ventricular assist devices in New Jersey in 1993 and
remains one of the East Coast’s principal centers for implantation of the
latest generation of mechanical assist devices that replace a diseased heart’s
pumping action while the patient waits for a compatible organ. These devices
are also available for long-term treatment of heart failure in patients who are
not candidates for transplant.
The Heart Failure Treatment and Transplant Program
was the also the first in New Jersey to employ
extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). The
heart/lung machine supports patients when their
heart and lungs are failing. It is primarily used
to sustain patients who are severely ill and waiting
for heart transplant.
"A
comprehensive cardiac service that includes the opportunity for heart transplant
offers the ultimate level of treatment," said John A. Brennan,
MD, Executive Director of Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and Children's Hospital
of New Jersey. "New Jersey residents can receive world-class care close
to home."
The successful outcomes and important clinical
research associated with the Saint Barnabas Health
Care System's heart and kidney and pancreas transplant
programs have resulted in Newark Beth Israel Medical
Centers' designation as New Jersey' only Lung Transplant
Program. In addition to providing the highest quality
care close to home, transplant programs within
the state increase organ donation and ensure wider
access to this highly specialized treatment.
Physician Leaders
At the core of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System’s Heart Failure Treatment
and Transplant Program at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center is a team of dedicated
physicians who possess equal measures of talent, experience and compassion.
Mark J. Zucker, MD, JD, Director
of Heart Failure Treatment and Transplant Program,
has been involved with heart transplantation since
1987. Under his leadership, 500 heart transplants,
31 lung transplants and over 150 left ventricular
assist device implants have been performed at Newark
Beth Israel Medical Center. Nationally respected
in his field, Dr. Zucker serves as President and
Governor of the New Jersey Chapter of the American
College of Cardiology (ACC) and as the Board of
Governor representative to the national ACC Subcommittee
on Heart Failure and Transplantation. In addition,
Dr. Zucker has served on the Board of Directors
of the New Jersey Organ and Tissue Sharing Network
for 15 years, as the Thoracic Representative for
the mid-Atlantic states to the United Network for
Organ Sharing for more than five years and now
as a member-at-large on the Membership and Professional
Standards Committee of UNOS.
Margarita T. Camacho, MD, Surgical
Director of Cardiac Transplantation and Assist
Devices, has performed thousands of open heart
surgeries and heart transplants. A renowned cardiothoracic
surgeon, she served as a clinical associate at
the Cleveland Clinic Foundation’s Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery
program where she specialized in transplantation and mechanical assist devices. Dr.
Camacho is a member of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Workforce on End-stage
Cardiopulmonary Disease and President of the Society of Women in Thoracic Surgery.
She is the author of many journal articles, book chapters and surgical manuals.
David A. Baran, MD, FACC,
Director of Heart Failure and Transplant Research,
joined the Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in 2003.
He is a highly skilled transplant cardiologist with
special expertise in endomyocardial biopsy, diagnostic
angiography and intravascular coronary ultrasound.
Dr. Baran is the principal investigator for numerous
prestigious clinical research trials related to heart
failure treatment and immunosuppression. He is the
author of more than 30 peer reviewed articles and
has lectured at conferences in the United States
and abroad.
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