Lankenau Medical Center, part of Main Line Health, has earned a distinguished three-star rating from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) for its patient care and outcomes for isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery, isolated aortic valve replacement (AVR) surgery, and isolated mitral valve replacement and repair (MVRR) surgery. Isolated means the surgery is performed on the patient without any other procedure.

The three-star rating denotes the highest category of quality and highlights Lankenau Medical Center’s continued place among the elite institutions, placing it in the top 2.8% of hospitals for isolated AVR in addition to other high-level rankings. The STS star rating system is one of the most sophisticated and highly regarded overall measures of quality in health care, rating the benchmarked outcomes of cardiothoracic surgery programs in the United States and Canada. The rating is calculated using a combination of quality measures for specific procedures performed by an STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database surgeon participant.

The latest analysis of STS data covers a three-year period, from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2022. In addition to its three-star rating for isolated AVR, Lankenau ranked in the top 10% for isolated MVRR and the top 19.4% for isolated CABG.

“We are gratified to retain our high rankings from STS,” said Francis Sutter, DO, chief of cardiac surgery at Lankenau Medical Center. “Our patients deserve the most advanced cardiac therapies to ensure they get back to their families and their lives as soon as possible. These ratings demonstrate that we continue to deliver these surgical procedures at the highest levels. I am grateful to our heart team and hospital leadership for their continued dedication and excellence.”

“I couldn’t be more proud of each and every member of the Lankenau heart team,” said Basel Ramlawi, MD, system chief of cardiac surgery at Main Line Health. “We strive not only to deliver safe, high-quality care but to achieve advances in the field of cardiovascular medicine. Our robotic and hybrid approaches to coronary bypass surgery are unmatched in the region, and we continue to be among the elite in minimally invasive repair of the aortic and mitral valves. My congratulations go out to the entire team and I look forward to continued excellence in the years ahead.”

“The Society of Thoracic Surgeons congratulates STS National Database participants who have received three-star ratings,” said David M. Shahian, MD, chair of the Task Force on Quality Measurement. “Participation in the Database and public reporting demonstrates a commitment to quality improvement in health care delivery and helps provide patients and their families with meaningful information to help them make informed decisions about health care.”

The STS National Database was established in 1989 as a voluntary initiative for quality improvement and patient safety among cardiothoracic surgeons. The Database includes four components: the Adult Cardiac Surgery Database (ACSD), the Congenital Heart Surgery Database (CHSD), the General Thoracic Surgery Database (GTSD), and the mechanical circulatory support database (Intermacs). The STS ACSD houses approximately 6.9 million surgical records and gathers information from more than 3,800 participating physicians, including surgeons and anesthesiologists from more than 90% of groups that perform heart surgery in the US. STS Public Reporting Online enables STS ACSD participants to voluntarily report to each other and the public their heart surgery scores and star ratings.

About STS

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) is a not-for-profit organization that represents more than 7,300 surgeons, researchers, and allied health care professionals worldwide who are dedicated to ensuring the best possible outcomes for surgeries of the heart, lung, and esophagus, as well as other surgical procedures within the chest. The Society’s mission is to enhance the ability of cardiothoracic surgeons to provide the highest quality patient care through education, research, and advocacy.

The Lankenau Heart Institute is Main Line Health's premier, comprehensive cardiovascular medicine and surgery program. Lankenau Heart Institute brings together the clinical expertise of all four Main Line Health acute care hospitals and community cardiology practices to ensure that patients receive a level of quality, service, and experience that is unprecedented in the region. Through the system-wide coordination of services, Lankenau Heart Institute delivers preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic, and rehabilitative cardiovascular services at each of our locations including Lankenau Medical Center, Bryn Mawr Hospital, Paoli Hospital and Riddle Hospital.

Lankenau Heart Institute continues to be an innovator in the use of beating-heart techniques and robotic-assisted procedures for coronary artery revascularization, minimally invasive and transcatheter approaches for valve repair and replacement, complex aortic surgery and heart rhythm disorders. With our growing experience and focus on minimally invasive techniques, Lankenau Heart Institute has expanded participation in clinical trials year over year. Our physicians are frequently invited to participate in clinical/medical device trials, many of these designed to facilitate and expand the use of minimally invasive approaches and procedures.

With a collaborative team of expert consultative cardiologists, interventional cardiologists, electrophysiologists, cardiovascular surgeons and specially trained advance practice nurses and technologists, Lankenau Heart Institute is dedicated to managing and treating patients with simple to complex cardiovascular disease, including heart failure, aortic disease, coronary and peripheral vascular disease, heart rhythm disorders and valve disease. Our team of cardiologists and cardiac specialists provide patients and their families with expert cardiac care, close to home.

Founded in 1985, Main Line Health is a not-for-profit health system serving Philadelphia and its suburbs. Main Line Health's commitment—to deliver advanced medicine for treating and curing disease, playing an important role in prevention and disease management as well as training physicians and other health care providers—reflects our intent to be the region's premier choice for clinical care, research, and education. A team of nearly 13,000 employees and more than 2,000 physicians care for patients throughout the Main Line Health System.

At Main Line Health's core are four of the region's most respected acute care hospitals—Lankenau Medical Center, Bryn Mawr Hospital, Paoli Hospital and Riddle Hospital—as well as one of the nation's premier facilities for rehabilitative medicine, Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation Hospital.

Main Line Health also includes Mirmont Treatment Center for drug and alcohol recovery; Main Line Health HomeCare & Hospice, which includes skilled home health care, hospice and home infusion services; Main Line Health Centers, primary and specialty care, lab and radiology, and other outpatient services located in Broomall, Collegeville, Concordville, Exton, King of Prussia and Newtown Square; Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, a biomedical research organization; and Main Line HealthCare, one of the region's largest multispecialty physician networks.

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