After years of contemplation, leaders of the Bryn Mawr Hospital have decided to transfer their open heart surgery division down the road to Lankenau Medical Center, according to a recent Main Line Suburban Life report.

A hospital representative broke the news to the Radnor Board of Health on Dec. 15.

“We firmly believe the decision on cardiothoracic surgery is best for our patients across our health system and really leverages all the expertise across our system and enables us to provide a high standard,” President Andi Gilbert said in the article. “… Best outcomes are done in high-volume centers.”

Lankenau performs more than 500 open heart procedures annually. Meanwhile, the majority of Bryn Mawr’s 60 open heart surgeries a year are scheduled in advance, so the transition to Lankenau is expected to be a relatively minor change for most patients. In the case of an “extremely rare” emergency transfer, Main Line Health plans to mobilize a special cardiothoracic surgical team from Lankenau to Bryn Mawr.

Read much more about the decision to relocate the health service and its implications for both Bryn Mawr and Lankenau in Main Line Suburban Life here.