Printer-friendly format

Putting himself in his patients’ shoes is an approach Dr. David Lan has utilized since he began medical school at the age of 15 in his native China.

A cardiologist sub-specializing in electrophysiology at Memphis Heart Clinic, Lan spends the majority of his time installing devices and performing ablations on critical heart malfunctions. When he’s not in the operating room, he’s in the exam rooms, talking with patients.

“We’re going into the patient’s heart. Think about that,” Lan said. “That’s a lot of pressure on the patient.”

Ordering tests is not a substitute for communicating with a patient, explained Lan. He spends as much time as necessary answering questions and explaining procedures rather than rushing through patient’s rooms.

“Every physician needs to be in the patient position sometimes to remember how it feels,” Lan maintained. “When you show the patient everything they need to know, it really doesn’t take much of your time, and they appreciate it.”

Lan was drawn to electrophysiology after a personal experience losing a loved one to sudden cardiac death. That event inspired him to learn more about treating arrhythmias and preventing sudden cardiac death, which claims 300,000 to 400,000 lives in the United States each year. He’s especially interested in rapid heart rates, which make up the majority of sudden cardiac deaths.

“Every day you have some kind of struggle and some reward,” he said. “The reward is when you see the patients smile because they’re happy that you can do something for them.”

It was instilled in him early on, he said, to care for one patient at a time and never get in a rush.

Soft spoken and humble, Lan won’t take credit for his abilities and success. He attributes his progression to mentors and colleagues around him throughout his career, and ultimately to God.

In 1993, after he’d been practicing a few years in China, Lan decided to visit the United States to learn what American cardiologists were up to, and get involved in research. Lan first located in New Orleans, where he engaged in ablation studies at Tulane University Medical Center. His early experience with ablation garnered him an invitation to remain there as a fellow in cardiac electrophysiology and later as a research associate at Louisiana State University Medical Center.

“When I first came over here, I intended to learn and go back,” Lan recalled. “I was just going to stay two years; then it was three years. It kept changing.”
Before long, he was immersed in clinical study and anxious for more, which led to Lan making the lengthy, seven-year commitment to go through American medical school, a requirement for all foreign physicians wishing to practice in the United States. During that time, his girlfriend (later his wife) joined him. Now with two sons ages 12 and 6, the family has planted their roots deeply in American soil.

Lan completed his residency at the University of Tennessee Memphis and spent four years at the top-rated heart program at the University of Alabama-Birmingham as a cardiac electrophysiology fellow. There, he received extensive training in atrial fibrillation ablation, a recently approved alternative procedure to correct atrial fibrillation in patients where previous treatments have failed. Atrial fibrillation is the most common form of irregular heart beat, occurring in approximately 2 percent of Americans. Lan introduced this advanced procedure to the Memphis medical community.

Before Lan came to Memphis Heart Clinic (MHC) in 2004, he already had offers in other cities and was in the process of accepting a position in Orlando. At the last minute, Lan decided to take a short day trip to Memphis after being invited for a visit by MHC president Dr. Joseph K. Samaha. Within those few hours, Lan said he simply knew this was the clinic for him and declined Orlando for Memphis. Although his wife was less than happy about his quick decision at first, and regarded it as a trial move, Lan said with a chuckle, they enjoy their life in Memphis and, “we’re not going anywhere.”

Lan performs most of the 150 to 200 ablation procedures at Memphis Heart Clinic each year and is anxious to extend care further in the community because, as he explained, many physicians are still not quite familiar with the subspecialty, or the intricacies of repairing dangerous arrhythmias with ablation.

“I have patients who are very sick and were told there was nothing that could be done for them,” said Lan.

He offered the example of a 28-year-old waiter who passed out at least once a month due to a life-threatening 300 beats per minute heart rate. The patient had been turned down by other doctors who told him there was no way to repair the arrhythmia.

“I was very cautious and told him I thought we should give this a try; that it would give him an 80 percent chance or more,” explained Lan. “I gave him 80 percent when other doctors said nothing would work. So we fixed it, and he’s enjoying his life.”

The driving factor for Lan’s decision to work at MHC, he said, was the professionalism and personality of the group, and that the focus was patient, not profit-centered.

“I enjoy working hard but I don’t want my (clinical) decisions driven by the financial part,” added Lan. “I don’t want to get paid per procedure because I wouldn’t feel comfortable that I was making the appropriate decision for the patient.”

“My patients are the most important thing to me,” he continued. “Every day when I finish work, I feel comfortable going home because I really took care of my patients.”



February 2008

Tags:

None

Login and voice your opinion!