Professor Bruce W. Lytle: let the talented people exhibit their ideas without inhibiting them, taking the advantages of the people around you—the key for collaboration
Editor’s note
The 97th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) was successfully held at Boston, USA from 29 April to 3 May, 2017. This meeting was also a celebration of the association’s centennial [1917–2017]. Taking this opportunity, AME has done a series of interviews with distinguished experts on the meeting and provided a chance for young Chinese cardiothoracic surgeons and researchers to disabuse themselves of the questions encountered in daily clinical practice and researches.
Introduction
Prof. Bruce W. Lytle is an internationally renounced cardiovascular surgeon. Having served the Cleveland Clinic for 38 years, he is now the chairman of Cardiovascular Strategic Development and Planning for Cardiovascular Medicine and Surgery at The Heart Hospital Baylor Plano, USA. Prof. Lytle also found Miller Family Heart & Vascular Institute in 2007, which has been awarded as the best in the nation for 21 consecutive years by the U.S. News & World Report.
Prof. Lytle had been the first chairman of the institute before he stepped down in 2014. During his term, according to Cleveland’s Plain-Dealer, he formed a medical team of 100 cardiologists and 25 surgeons, which performed more than 7,600 operations each year (1).
This interview of Prof. Lytle consists of two parts. In the first part, Prof. Lytle has shared his wisdom on talent cultivation, collaborative philosophy and hospital management. In the second part, professional cardiovascular topics raised by Chinese cardiac surgeons were discussed.
For details, please enjoy the interview video (Figure 1).
After the interview, we were happy to introduce more about AME to Prof. Lytle and took a photograph for memory (Figure 2).
Interview questions
Part I
- Everybody may have his/her own definition on a superb surgeon. What is your definition of a superb surgeon accountable for their patients, and how to become that?
- Would you like to share your collaborative philosophy?
- Would you like to share your rich experience on hospital management?
Part II
- Stent interventional therapy and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) are effective treatment of coronary heart disease. Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has brought a huge impact on the CABG. What will be the future of CABG—minimally invasive CABG, hybrid coronary revascularization or total arterial graft?
- Valvular interventional therapy is the future for structural heart disease. Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) could benefit the patients at extreme surgical risks, but will it provide more clinical benefits to patients with severe mitral or tricuspid regurgitation?
- For degenerative mitral valve disease, mitral valve repair is the preferred treatment. Other intervention techniques, such as Mitraclip and NeoChord, also have their advantages. How do you look at the future of mitral valve repair?
Acknowledgements
Here we would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Dr. Jianmin Gu, from Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China, for his academic support for the interview.
Footnote
Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
References
- Goodman M. Renowned Surgeon Dr. Bruce Lytle, Formerly Of The Cleveland Clinic, Is Now Working In Plano. Available online: http://healthcare.dmagazine.com/2016/01/28/renowned-surgeon-dr-bruce-lytle-formerly-of-cleveland-clinic-lands-job-in-plano/
- He CX, Lun C. Professor Bruce W. Lytle: let the talented people exhibit their ideas without inhibiting them, taking the advantages of the people around you—the key for collaboration. Asvide 2017;4:426. Available online: http://www.asvide.com/articles/1740
[Science Editors: Chao-Xiu (Melanie) He, Cliff Lun, JTD, jtd@amepc.org]
