About The Procedures

  Crouse Hospital operates a major inpatient and outpatient adult cardiac catheterization laboratory and the only pediatric (for infants and children) catheterization laboratory in central New York. More than 2,200 adult and pediatric diagnostic procedures and 800 interventional procedures were performed in the hospital in 2002. These procedures are critical in aiding physicians in providing the most effective, state-of-the-art treatment for their patients.

  Crouse Hospital is also the only area hospital offering the Amplatzer Septal Occluder procedure, a method to repair holes in the heart of young children without major surgery.

Key Features/Services

Adult Catheterization

  The majority of adults are studied to determine the presence and severity of coronary artery disease. Currently, key procedures such as balloon angioplasty and stenting of the coronary arteries are therapeutic interventions performed in the adult catheterization lab in providing treatment of coronary artery disease.

Balloon angioplasty compresses the blockage into the wall of the vessel.

A coronary artery stent is an expandable stainless steel mesh tube which is implanted into the wall of the vessel to support the opening of the vessel.

Rotoblation is also performed using a rotating diamond burr to disintegrate a diseased area within the coronary artery without harming the healthy tissue.

  These procedures all improve blood flow to the heart muscle and relieve symptoms of heart disease.

Pediatric Catheterization

  Catheterization is used in the infant and child populations to study and diagnose congenital heart abnormalities in preparation for open heart surgery or evaluation after surgery. In addition, procedures such as coiling, valvuloplasty and aortoplasty, which once required open heart surgery, are now interventions performed in the pediatric catheterization laboratory. Another valuable procedure done in the pediatric catheterization laboratory at Crouse Hospital is radio-frequency ablation. This procedure is routinely performed to treat arrythmias (irregular heartbeats). After mapping the arrythmia's origin, radio frequency energy is directed at the location which interrupts the abnormal electrical circuit and eliminates the arrythmia.

Key Personnel

Joseph Battaglia, MD -- Director, Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory & Cardiac Services
Craig J. Byrum, MD -- Director, Pediatric Catheterization Laboratory
Theresa Hallinan, RN -- Nurse Manager

  The adult department functions with the expertise of 12 board certified cardiologists. Staff backgrounds in critical care and special procedures with certification in critical care and advanced cardiac life support contribute to the high quality of care in performing procedures.

Location/Hours of Operation

  The unit is located on the 1st floor of our Memorial Unit in the Cardic Care Center and is open for scheduled procedures from 6 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. However, the department staff are available on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

For More Information

  Contact Theresa Hallinan, RN, Nurse Manager at 315/470-8707

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