The beginnings of CARDIOVASCULAR CLINIC go back to 1973, when the newcomers to Panama; Moisés Vicente Ríos Espino, M.D. and José Antonio Hernández Bóveda, M.D., fully completing their cardiovascular surgery training in United States centers, such as Georgetown University and the University of Chicago, and the Texas Heart Institute in Houston respectively; begin to be part of the Cardiovascular Surgery service at Caja del Seguro Social.
At this time, the situation of cardiovascular surgery in Panama was embryonic, and only one (1) successful operation had been achieved until then, which constituted a closure of interatrial communication.
The affinity and friendship that both surgeons maintained since the time of their residence in surgery, made them a formidable team, with an increasing number of operations with open heart and excellent results, with a favorable evolution of their patients.
Due to the fact that in the country there was no group of specialists dedicated to offer treatment and management in the area of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery in Panamanian private medicine, the idea arises of creating a group of specialists dedicated to the specialty; Formalizing this dream in 1975, when CLINICA CARDIOVASCULAR, S.A. begins to work.
In 1978, the team of Clinica Cardiovascular S.A., who had operated in Clinica Hospital San Fernando for several years, decided to invest in an extracorporeal circulation machine to perform open heart surgery at this institution; since no private hospital had such fundamental equipment, for open heart surgery. Doctors José Hernández and Moises Ríos, who had been conducting operations of this type in Caja del Seguro Social for several years, were determined to ensure that Clinica San Fernando was the first private institution to carry out this type of interventions
The first open-heart operation was performed on January 20, 1979, Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG), in a patient who survived enough to see the inauguration of the second hemodynamics suite installed in 1996. This extraordinary effort was not, of course, the work of isolated people, but the product of teamwork of countless people who collaborated to make this yearning come true.
The San Fernando Hospital expanded its operating rooms, especially one with sufficient size to accommodate all the necessary equipment, and the new intensive care unit was built with a room specially designed for patients in the postoperative surgery of heart.
In 1984, it was decided to join to CLINICA CARDIOVASCULAR, César A. Sibauste, M.D., a Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeon trained in CHDrAAM CSS Panama, with experience in the management of Abdominal Aorta Diseases, Peripheral Vascular Pathology and in addition to having extensive experience in the Management of Pulmonary Surgery, contributing significantly to provide a better integral service with its contribution and a spirit of improvement and work. In 1984, it was decided to join to CLINICA CARDIOVASCULAR, César A. Sibauste, M.D., a Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeon trained in CHDrAAM CSS Panama, with experience in the management of Abdominal Aorta Diseases, Peripheral Vascular Pathology and in addition to having extensive experience in the Management of Pulmonary Surgery, contributing significantly to provide a better integral service with its contribution and a spirit of improvement and work.
The entry of a new member into the group led to the expansion of CLINICA CARDIOVASCULAR to be installed in Hospital Santa Fe, in order to offer its services in other hospitals.
Over the years, cardiac surgery progressed and so did the different techniques of hemodynamic diagnosis, in addition to developing more experience in Intensive Care and management of Cardiovascular Anesthesia in Panama.
In this way, in 2003 Miguel Guerra M.D., joined CLINICA CARDIOVASCULAR team, after finishing his specialty in Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery in Caja del Seguro Social in Panama and having completed one year of additional training in Valencia, Spain. Offering greater maturity in Cardiac Surgery, providing experience in the Management of Aortic Endovascular Therapy and with wide knowledge in the treatment of Vascular Accesses in Renal patients, this addition brought new strength to a team that was starting to mature and expand its coverage.
The vision of CLINICA CARDIOVASCULAR was always to become a permanent and solid entity, incorporating new blood into its ranks. Every 10 years a young surgeon is incorporated into the team to replace those who retire by age.
In 2011, Manuel Ochoa A., M.D., Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeon, with total education and training in recognized centers in Mexico and the United States, was invited to be part of CLINICA CARDIOVASCULAR, contributing new knowledge and surgical techniques in the management of thoracic and cardiovascular pathology, having extensive experience in Complex Cardiac Surgery, surgery in congenital pathologies (Adult and Pediatric), Cardiac Transplantation and Minimal Invasive Thoracic Surgery, contributing an important line in subspecialty, expanding our framework of attention, offering a wider range of services in our branch.
More than 40 years ago, CLINICA CARDIOVASCULAR S.A. thus becoming the first group of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons in Panamanian private medicine; And over the years have proven to have the greatest experience, strength and credibility in the field of cardiovascular medicine in the country.
This new association gave great fruits as the opening of CLINICA CARDIOVASCULAR at the Hospital Punta Pacifica, in order to place the group in several strategic sites of the city of Panama, offering a largest coverage.
After hard work and great effort, Dr. Manuel Ochoa and Dr. Miguel Guerra, in collaboration with a team of professionals, successfully started the heart transplant program in Panama in 2016. Over the years, offering several patients this invaluable alternative for the management of heart disease. Terminal Heart Failure and positioning Panama on the map in terms of Transplantation.
Later, in 2022, the surgeons Dr. Alfredo Matos Chong and Dr. Jorge García S. joined our team. Offering the surgical team state-of-the-art and innovative techniques in the area of Endovascular and Peripheral Vascular Therapy, in addition to leading the programs of Percutaneous aortic valve implantation (TAVI) and minimally invasive management of venous disease. In addition to contributing to our headquarters in the National Hospital in order to provide greater coverage and care to our patients.
To date we have five generations in our group, professionals who stand out in addition to their medical-surgical abilities, always maintaining their integrity, their ethics and their capacity to serve others with a great sense of humanism and responsibility.
At present, the largest private hospitals in Panama City have the facilities to perform Cardiovascular, Thoracic and Endovascular procedures and CLINICA CARDIOVASCULAR has the human resource to provide services in all of them even simultaneously, in addition to all members of the Team are involved with each case served, offering better care, availability and meeting all the needs of our patients.
More than 1,800 private open-heart surgeries have been carried out since we started keeping records in 1986, with low morbidity and mortality, comparable to the best centers in the world. In addition to innovating in various areas of our field such as Congenital Heart Diseases in adults and children, minimally invasive lung surgery and the greatest National achievement in Cardiovascular Medicine: The first Heart Transplant in Panama in 2016.
Clinica Cardiovascular offers all specialty services, including:
1. Cardiac Surgery Adults
2. Management of Congenital Heart Disease (Adult and Pediatric)
3. Pulmonary and Thoracic Surgery
4. Cardiac Transplantation and Ventricular Assist devices
5. Endovascular Procedures: Arterial and Venous
6. Cardiovascular Management in Patients with Renal Failure
7. Medical-surgical management of venous disease
These procedures are offered in
1. Hospital Punta Pacífica (Joint Commission)
2. Clínica Hospital San Fernando (Joint Commission)
3. The Panama Clinic
4. Centro Médico Paitilla
5. Hospital Nacional
Dr. Moisés Ríos.
Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeon
Manager of Clínica Cardíovascular