Our Team
Michael Black, M.D.
Dr. Michael Black, Chief of California Pacific’s Division of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery and Surgical Director of the Pediatric and Adult Congenital Heart Program, first became intrigued with minimally invasive heart surgery in the mid-1990s. Since 1993, he has been awarded more than a dozen patents for his innovations in the field of robotics. Additionally, he was named one of the Best Doctors in America® for 2007-2008 in the field of thoracic surgery. His unique program attracts both local and out-of-state patients. We can offer out-of-state patients assistance with their accommodations as needed.
In his early operations, Dr. Black used a robot-controlled camera that mimicked the movements of a well-trained surgeon. Around 2000, his focus turned to the emerging field of telemanipulation. This “touch-free” surgical technique uses miniaturized instruments, digital cameras, and robots to perform delicate heart surgeries on a scale smaller than ever thought possible.
Since arriving at California Pacific in April 2003, Dr. Black has focused on repairing congenital heart defects in premature infants. “More than 32,000 infants are born with congenital heart disease each year in the U.S.,” he explains. “If a mother gives birth in the second trimester and her premature infant has heart disease, there is significant potential of mortality.” Dr. Black explains that this is due in part to the size of the infant and to the frequent occurrence of premature lung disease. “Clearly, when there is a need to repair a baby’s heart, we must make use of all available technologies to optimize the outcome,” he explains.
When asked to describe his vision for the future, Dr. Black explains that he wants to make California Pacific a leading center in robotics for premature infants. In early 2004, California Pacific Medical Center went another step toward this vision by acquiring the da Vinci™ Telemanipulator, considered state-of-the-art in robotic surgery. “I can foresee a time when we will be able to repair congenital heart defects and send many patients home the same day,” Black says.
Jill Ley, R.N., M.S., CCRN, CNS is the Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) for Pediatric & Adult Congenital Heart Surgery, having recently joined the program after serving as California Pacific's adult cardiac surgical CNS for the last 17 years. Jill is also an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Physiological Nursing at the University of California, San Francisco, where she received her Master's degree in Nursing in 1987. She has been active in research, publishing and teaching. In addition to overseeing clinical care for surgical patients, Jill coordinates departmental research projects and manages the clinical database for the congenital heart surgery program.
Our Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery Program also includes pediatric cardiologists and nurse practitioners. Adult patients with congenital heart disease generally see one of our adult cardiologists prior to surgical referral.
Other Team Members
Our Pediatric and Adult Congenital Heart Program centers around staff physicians with decades of experience in cardiovascular medicine. Our pediatric patients usually see one of our pediatric cardiologists prior to surgical referral while adult patients with congenital heart disease generally see one of our adult cardiologists.
Other members of our multi-displinary team include board-certified intensivists, anesthesiologists and hospitalists and an experienced nursing team. For pediatric patients, we have an extensive array of pediatric subspecialists, social workers and child life therapists.
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Heart Surgery Overview
Surgical Procedures
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