Optimizing Outcomes in Endoscopic Vessel Harvesting

Erin Miller, PA-C, is currently employed as a Physician Assistant at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey. Before that, she was employed for six years as a Physician Assistant at Montefiore Health System. Erin graduated from Philadelphia University with a Bachelor of Science and a Masters in Physician Assistant Studies. During her long career, Erin estimates that she has completed more than 600 EVH cases, and approximately 100 ERAH cases. She says that cardiac surgery became her career choice after rotating with talented PAs during school. Erin was inspired by their talent and high-level performance and began to strive for similar skills. She says that her current position allows her to keep pushing boundaries, expand her skill set, and help patients with state-of-the-art surgical techniques.

Dr. Igor Zivkovic is a Cardiac Surgeon and clinical teaching assistant in the CV surgery department at the Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases Dedinje in Belgrade, Serbia. At this high-volume center, more than 2,500 open heart procedures and 150 EVH/20 ERAH procedures are performed every year. Dr. Zivkovic joined the EVH team at Dedinje about two years ago and became a clinical proctor for Terumo in 2021. Since then, he has trained a number of harvesters on the endoscopic vessel harvesting technique.