Written by Michelle Abt | Photographed by Peter Cooper

Since 2016 the cardiac specialists from Torrance Memorial and Cedars-Sinai have been working together to bring outstanding cardiovascular care to the residents of the South Bay community. Now Torrance Memorial and Cedars-Sinai are pleased to announce a further extension of that partnership: Cedars-Sinai cardiothoracic surgeons will practice alongside our already exceptional surgical team to provide the latest and best cardiac surgery options to our patients, right here in the South Bay.

This partnership is a welcome expansion of the Torrance Memorial Lundquist Lurie Cardiovascular Institute’s Cardiothoracic Surgery Program and is made possible with the addition to Torrance Memorial’s medical staff of respected Cedars-Sinai surgeons Wen Cheng, MD, Joshua Suah Chung, MD, Dominic Anthony Emerson, MD, Fardad Esmailian, MD, Dominick J Megna, MD, Danny Ramzy, MD, Aamir Sayeed Shah, MD and Alfredo Trento, MD. The Cedars-Sinai surgeons will join Torrance Memorial lead by cardiothoracic surgeon John M. Stoneburner, MD.

The addition of Dr. Shah strengthens the existing Torrance Memorial heart surgery program by providing further expertise in a variety of procedures such as complex valve repair and replacement, coronary artery bypass grafting, aortic root and arch surgery, surgical treatment of arrhythmias and percutaneous heart valve therapy.

While these procedures, as well as diagnostics and treatment, have always been available at the medical center, the addition of Dr. Shah to the surgical team will allow for the growth and expansion of the program in the South Bay. Explains Dr. Shah: “Cedars-Sinai has one of the top cardiothoracic programs in the country, and we see a very high volume of patients. Our goal is to bring our experience and expertise to Torrance Memorial, partnering with their physicians to make more of these services available to patients at the Torrance Memorial campus.”

“This partnership builds on what is already an excellent program at Torrance Memorial and a strong relationship between the two medical centers,” says Craig Leach, president/CEO of Torrance Memorial Medical Center. “By working together we add important resources to our program, and that additional surgical coverage will ensure that community members have a highly skilled team available in an emergency, able to treat highly complicated cases of heart disease and structural heart defects.”

Mark Lurie, MD, medical director of the Lundquist Lurie Cardiovascular Institute, is looking forward to taking the Cedars-Sinai partnership to the next level. “The Cedars-Sinai relationship has been extremely productive in terms of providing enhanced cardiovascular care for our patients at Torrance Memorial," Dr. Lurie says. "Adding extra surgical resources means even better access for our patients without having to travel out of the South Bay. It’s a win for our program and a win for the community.”