One of the leading physician groups in Central Texas will be affiliating with the Shannon Health System and the Shannon Regional Heart Center. As of June 1, 1999 Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeons (CTVS) of Austin will be seeing patients at the Shannon Regional Heart Center in San Angelo and in the fall of 1999 the group will open their own office. The group consists of 11 cardiothoracic surgeons and 6 vascular surgeons and has over 40 years of extensive experience in innovative cardiac, thoracic, vascular, transplantation, and pediatric cardiovascular surgical care. The CTVS San Angelo office will specialize in adult cardiac care and will provide area cardiac patients with state-of-the-art surgical treatment options, comprehensive care, and 24-hour availability.

"CTVS is excited to be associated with the Shannon Health System and the most successful cardiac program in the Concho Valley," says Dr. John D. Oswalt, president of CTVS, "We are looking forward to providing exceptional cardiac care to the San Angelo community and the people of the Concho Valley."

CTVS physicians care for patients of all ages, from infants to seniors, throughout the Central Texas region, from their home office in Austin, to CTVS clinics located throughout Central Texas and in most major Central Texas hospitals.

From their founding in 1958, the physicians of CTVS have amassed a record of medical firsts for Central Texas. CTVS performed the first open heart surgery in Central Texas in 1961. CTVS also performed the first coronary artery bypass graft surgery in 1968, the first kidney transplant in 1975, the first insertion of an intra-aortic balloon pump in 1976, the first heart transplant in 1986 (since that time they have performed over 170 heart transplants), the first Ross Procedure in 1989, and the first video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) in 1991. The group also founded the first pediatric cardiac surgery program for infants and children in Central Texas and is recognized as being the first in the world to perform the Ross Procedure on a newborn.

CTVS has always been at the forefront of cardiac care. "Our goal is to provide our patients with the finest in medical care and to restore them as quickly as possible to good health," says Dr. Oswalt.

The physician staff of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeons includes Drs. Homer S. Arnold, Robert A. Tate, John D. Oswalt, Emery W. Dilling, Robert A. Bridges, Phillip J. Church, Stephen J. Dewan, Mark T. Stewart, Lewis G. King, Michael C. Mueller, Andrew T. Hume, John K. Politz, Mark C. Felger, Jeffrey S. Jobe, Stephen M. Settle, William F. Kessler and Staton L. Awtrey.