( continued on page 39 ) volume of cardiac surgeries ( over 30,000 in his career ).
“ It was busy when you were on his service , but you got to see everything , so you were well prepared when you left due to the huge amount of operative experience .”
After training , he found a job at East Carolina University , and after just three months , got a call from a surgeon in New Jersey at the Deborah Heart & Lung Center saying they had an opening for which he ’ d be a good fit . He soon moved to New Jersey and was there just a year before a former ECU colleague who had moved to Louisville called and told him about a new cardiac position at UofL . In 1990 , he accepted a position with the University where he stayed for the next 12 years .
During this time , he met his wife Laura while she was a nurse at Norton . An awkward , but funny , first meeting of “ Who are you ?” and “ I ’ m Dr . Pollock …” would eventually lead to their marriage in 1994 .
In 2002 , Dr . Laman Gray Jr . was retiring as Chair of the Cardiovascular section at UofL Surgery , and Dr . Pollock began thinking about the opportunity to open a private practice . Laura became the office manager , and they dove in head first .
“ The first three months , we had no income really . But it was nice to have some consistency as far as operating . When I was at UofL , I was operating sometimes at four different hospitals . In many ways , being in one place , in total control , it was a lot easier .”
In 2010 , Dr . Pollock became employed by Baptist Health Medical Group , and as things got busier , he added three additional surgeons to the practice . In his current role , he does adult cardiac surgery , coronary bypass surgery and valve surgery , typically operating every day with five to seven procedures per week .
“ I tend to do the more complicated CABG surgeries , and I tend to get referred for people who need more numerous bypasses . Kentucky has more diffuse disease for coronary artery disease than other places I ’ ve been . If somebody needs 6 , 7 or 8 bypasses I tend to get referred those patients .”
By also seeing patients in the office every day , he is able to accommodate changing schedules and new cardiologist referrals , often seeing them the next day . Accessibility to his patients is very important to him . While he does love the patient interactions and amazing staff he works with , his favorite part of his job is being in the operating room .
“ You hear a lot of people talk about being burned out , but I don ’ t get that . I think surgery presents challenges every day , and I really look at it as an ongoing challenge . One of Dr . Kirklin ’ s favorite phrases was , ‘ Cats never play , they always practice fighting .’ So you ’ re always training to do something else , there ’ s all this new stuff coming along , and it keeps me motivated ,” he said . “ For me , it ’ s a calm environment , and you want to be able to sustain that . You can have a sudden event that can be a life-threatening situation in a matter of a couple of seconds . The ability to control that and keep everyone on an even keel is really important . William Osler , who was the Regius Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins in the early 1900s , he said you should have aequanimitas , like a ship sailing on the calm sea . If you can remain calm when others are not , everyone can get through the situation .”
Over the years , so much has changed in the world of cardiac surgery , and Dr . Pollock has had a front row seat to it all – from both perspectives . In 2011 , the doctor became the patient when he had robotic open heart surgery .
“ It was a great experience . I went to Atlanta to have it done by Dr . Doug Murphy , and we really talked about everything . He knew I wanted to see what it was all about , see everything in the OR . But I got my pre-med in the holding area , and the next thing I knew I woke up at 8 o ’ clock at night , total retrograde amnesia . They all teased me because I was such a lightweight with the anesthesia , but one of my sons said that I was so tired , and I just needed to sleep , so they just let me .”
Over the last 10-15 years though , he said he ’ s seen many advances in myocardial protection , allowing them to do more complicated
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