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Home > Physicians Directory > Surgery / Cardiothoracic Surgery

Ralph James Damiano, Jr., MD

Specialty Areas
Robotic-Assisted Cardiac Surgery
Cardiothoracic Surgery
Off Pump Cardiac Surgery
Cardiac Surgery
Coronary Artery ByPass Graft (CABG)

Areas of Clinical Interest
Cardiac surgery, endoscopic coronary artery bypass grafting, beating heart surgery, coronary artery revascularization, valve repair and replacement, arrhythmia surgery, minimally invasive cardiac surgery, myocardial preservation, surgical electrophysiology, transmyocardial laser revascularization, TMR, HCM,

hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with obstruction

Areas of Research Interest
Surgical treatment of arrhythmias,pathophysiology of surgical ischemia, hyperpolarizing cardioplegia, cell volume regulation during cardioplegia, transplant preservation (donor heart), surgical robotics, minimally invasive cardiac surgery


Major or Recent Publications/Awards

Awards

Listed in Best Doctors in America, 2005, 2006, 2008 (Best Doctors, Inc)

Listed in America's Top Doctors, Castle Connolly Medical Ltd, 2004-2008

American College of Surgeons Faculty Fellowship Award

ComputerWorld Smithsonian Award

Editorial Responsibilities

Editorial Board
Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery
Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery
Journal of Laparoendoscopic and Advanced Surgical Techniques

Associate Editor
Journal of Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery

Editorial Review Group Chair
Cardiothoracic Surgery, Doody Publishing

Books and Book Chapters

Melby SJ, Lee AM, Damiano RJ Jr. Advances in Surgical Ablation Devices for Atrial Fibrillation. In: Naccarelli GV, Rosen MR, Estes III, NAM et al. (eds.).New Arrhythmia Technologies. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing; 2005:233-241.

Mokadam NA, Moazami N, Damiano RJ. “Cardiac Surgery.” In: Klingensmith, et al. (eds.). The Washington University Manual of Surgery. 4th edition. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins; 2005:579-600.

Diodato MD Jr, Prasad SM, Klingensmith ME, Damiano RJ Jr. Robotics in Surgery. Current Problems in Surgery. 2004;41:752-810.

Damiano RJ Jr, Maniar HS. An Overview of the Computer Motion System. In: Cox JL (ed.). Operative Techniques in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. A Comparative Atlas. Philadelphia: WB Saunders Company;2001.

Damiano RJ Jr. Beating Heart Coronary Artery Surgery. Salerno, et al. Book Review. J Interven Cardiol. 2001;14(4):487-488.

Damiano RJ Jr, Reichenspurner H, Ducko CT. Endoscopic Robotically-assisted Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: Present State-of-the-Art and Future Directives. Advances in Cardiac Surgery. 2000;12:37-57.

Damiano RJ, Jr. Minimal Access Cardiothoracic Surgery (Book Review). Annals of Thoracic Surgery. 2000;69:1611.

Ducko CT, Stephenson ER, Sankholkar S, Damiano RJ Jr. Computer-assisted endoscopic coronary artery bypass grafting: The Penn State experience. Surgical Technology International 1999;8:195-200.

Damiano RJ Jr. Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery. Cohen RG, Mack MJ, Forger JD, Landereneau RJ (eds.). (Book Review) J Laparoendoscopic and Adv Surgical Techniques. 1999;9:365.

Selected Journal Articles

Lall SC, Melby SJ, Voeller RK, Zierer A, Bailey MS, Guthrie TJ, Moon MR, Moazami N, Lawton JS, Damiano RJ Jr. The impact of ablation technology on surgical outcomes following the Cox-Maze procedure: A propensity study. Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. 2007;133:389-396.

Melby SJ, Gaynor SL, Lubahn JG, Lee AM, Rahgozar P, Caruthers SD, Williams TA, Schuessler RB, Damiano RJ Jr. Efficacy and safety of right and left atrial ablations on the beating heart using irrigated bipolar radiofrequency energy: A chronic animal study. Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. 2006;132:853-860.

Melby SJ, Zierer A, Voeller RK, Lall S, Bailey MS, Moon MR, Huddleston CB, Crabtree TD, Damiano RJ Jr. A new era in the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation: The impact of ablation technology and lesion set on procedural efficacy. Annals of Surgery. 2006;244:583-592.

Moon MR, Pasque MK, Munfakh NA, Melby SJ, Lawton JS, Moazami N, Codd JE, Crabtree TD, Barner HB, Damiano RJ Jr. Prosthesis-patient mismatch following aortic valve replacement: Impact of age and body size on late survival. Annals of Thoracic Surgery. 2006;81:481-489.

Gaynor SL, Byrd GD, Diodato MD, Ishii Y, Lee AM, Prasad SM, Gopal J, Schuessler RB, Damiano RJ Jr. Microwave ablation for atrial fibrillation: Dose response curves in the cardioplegia-arrested and beating heart. Annals of Thoracic Surgery. 2006;81:72-77.

Gaynor SL, Schuessler RB, Bailey MS, Ishii Y, Boineau JP, Gleva MJ, Cox JL, Damiano RJ Jr. Surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation: Predictors of late recurrence. Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. 2005;129:104-111.

Maniar HS, Prasad SM, Prasad SM, Chu CM, Damiano RJ Jr. Comparison of skill training with robotic systems and traditional endoscopy: Implications on training and adoption. Journal of Surgical Research. 2005;125:23-29.

Ishii Y, Schuessler RB, Gaynor SL, Yamada K, Fu AS, Boineau JP, Damiano RJ Jr. Inflammation of the atrium following cardiac surgery is associated with inhomogeneity of atrial conduction and atrial fibrillation. Circulation. 2005;111:2881-2888

Kreisel D, Bailey M, Lindsay BD, Damiano RJ Jr. A minimally invasive surgical treatment for inappropriate sinus tachycardia. Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. 2005;130:598-599.

Byrd GD, Prasad SM, Ripplinger CM, Cassilly TR, Schuessler RB, Boineau JP, Damiano RJ Jr. Importance of geometry and refractory period in sustaining atrial fibrillation. Circulation. 2005;112(suppl I):I-7-I-13.

Diodato MD, Shah NR, Prasad SM, Racen EL, Mizutani S, Lawton JS, Damiano RJ Jr. Progress towards a more physiologic approach to donor heart preservation: The advantages of hyperpolarized arrest. Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation. 2005;24(9):1362-1368.

Lawton JS, Barner HB, Bailey MS, Moazami N, Pasque MK, Moon MR, Damiano RJ, Jr. Radial artery grafts in women: Utilization and results. Annals of Thoracic Surgery. 2005;80:559-563.

Ishii Y, Gleva MJ, Gamache MC, Schuessler RB, Boineau JP, Bailey MS, Damiano RJ Jr. Atrial tachyarrhythmias following the Maze procedure: Incidence and prognosis. Circulation. 2004;110 (suppl II):II-164-II-168.

Diodato MD, Moon MR, Pasque MK, Barner HB, Moazami N, Lawton JS, Bailey MS, Guthrie TJ, Meyers BF, Damiano RJ Jr. Repair of ischemic mitral regurgitation does not increase mortality in patients undergoing coronary artery revascularization: A propensity analysis. Annals of Thoracic Surgery. 2004;78:794-799.

Prasad SM, Prasad SM, Maniar HS, Chu C, Schuessler RB, Damiano RJ Jr. Surgical robotics: Impact of motion scaling on task performance. Journal of the American College of Surgeons. 2004;199:863-868.

Gaynor SL, Ishii Y, Diodato MD, Prasad S, Barnett K, Damiano NR, Wickline SA, Schuessler RB, Damiano RJ Jr. Successful performance of the Cox-Maze procedure on the beating heart using bipolar radiofrequency ablation: A feasibility study in animals. Annals of Thoracic Surgery. 2004;78:1671-1677.

Mokadam NA, Gaynor SL, McCarthy PM, Gillnov AM, Ryan WH, Moon MR, Mack MJ, Prasad SM, Wickline SA, Bailey MS, Barnett KM, Damiano NR, Ishii Y, Schuessler RB, Damiano RJ Jr. A prospective multi-center trial of bipolar radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation: Early results. Annals of Thoracic Surgery. 2004;78:1665-1670.

Damiano RJ Jr, Gaynor SL, Bailey M, Prasad S, Cox JL, Boineau JP, Schuessler RP. The long-term outcome of patients with coronary disease and atrial fibrillation undergoing the Cox-Maze procedure. Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. 2003;126:2016-2021.